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Transcript
0:00 · Zaghouan, Tunisia is a small town about 60 kilometers south of Tunis. Here,
0:07 · on the edge of the Dorsal Mountains, stand the remains of a monumental
0:11 · fountain that marked the beginning of Africa's greatest Roman aqueduct.
0:16 · In the mid-second century, the leading citizens of
0:19 · Carthage – the most important city in the western provinces after Rome
0:23 · itself – decided to build an aqueduct fed by Zaghouan's mountain springs. When complete,
0:30 · this aqueduct extended 132 kilometers, making it one of the longest anywhere in the Roman world.
0:38 · At the aqueduct's source in Zaghouan, a semicircular portico was built. It was
0:44 · richly decorated with Corinthian columns, a mosaic floor, and statues. At its center,
0:51 · directly over the springs, was a small temple dedicated to the local nymphs.
0:57 · The spring water emerged into a pool shaped like a figure 8,
1:01 · which served as a settling basin for the water before it began the long journey to Carthage.
1:07 · Like most Roman aqueducts, the Zaghouan Aqueduct was subterranean for most of its length. Here,
1:14 · just below the nymphaeum, a short segment has been excavated. The channel was relatively
1:20 · small – about 90 cm wide by 130 cm high, just large enough for maintenance workers
1:27 · to crawl through and clean out the sediment traps in the channel floor.
1:32 · After falling steeply for the first few kilometers, the aqueduct channel leveled out,
1:37 · with a subsequent average gradient of only .15%. In several places,
1:43 · long lines of arcades were constructed to maintain the gradient over valleys. Here,
1:49 · at Mohamedia, the arcades parallel the modern highway.
1:53 · As you can see, the piers of the arcade were constructed from large stone blocks, topped by a
1:58 · masonry channel. Water took about a day and a half to flow from one end of the aqueduct to the other.
2:05 · On the outskirts of Carthage, the aqueduct flowed into the massive La Malga cisterns.
2:11 · There were originally 24 chambers. To judge from the surviving examples,
2:16 · each was a vault 95 meters long and 12.5 meters wide. Much of the water stored here
2:23 · was eventually channeled to the Antonine Baths, the aqueduct's final destination.
2:29 · Carthage seems to have had a water supply adequate for the needs of its residents before
2:34 · the aqueduct was built. It was probably the construction of the Antonine Baths,
2:39 · the largest anywhere outside Rome, that made the Zahgouan aqueduct necessary.
2:45 · The superstructure of the Antonine Baths is long gone, destroyed by medieval earthquakes
2:51 · and stone robbers. But the basement remains intact enough to provide a sense of the vast
2:56 · halls in which the water of the Zaghouan springs finally returned to the sun.
3:04 · If you're interested in visiting the Roman ruins of Tunisia and other historic destinations with
3:09 · me, check out the Toldinstone Trips page, linked onscreen and in the description.

Too few people today appreciate just how brilliant, organized, and determined the Romans were.

Thank you for posting that. The work of the Romans is still impressive.

I cannot help but think that “baths” does not mean what we think it means, however. This seems consistent to me in archeology, that we do not understand what our ancestors were up to.

Aside from that, what have the Romans done for us?

What have the bloody Romans ever done for us?

The aqueducts?

Transcript
0:00	·	Zaghouan, Tunisia is a small town about 60 kilometers south of Tunis. Here,
0:07	·	on the edge of the Dorsal Mountains, stand the remains of a monumental
0:11	·	fountain that marked the beginning of Africa's greatest Roman aqueduct.
0:16	·	In the mid-second century, the leading citizens of
0:19	·	Carthage – the most important city in the western provinces after Rome
0:23	·	itself – decided to build an aqueduct fed by Zaghouan's mountain springs. When complete,
0:30	·	this aqueduct extended 132 kilometers, making it one of the longest anywhere in the Roman world.
0:38	·	At the aqueduct's source in Zaghouan, a semicircular portico was built. It was
0:44	·	richly decorated with Corinthian columns, a mosaic floor, and statues. At its center,
0:51	·	directly over the springs, was a small temple dedicated to the local nymphs.
0:57	·	The spring water emerged into a pool shaped like a figure 8,
1:01	·	which served as a settling basin for the water before it began the long journey to Carthage.
1:07	·	Like most Roman aqueducts, the Zaghouan Aqueduct was subterranean for most of its length. Here,
1:14	·	just below the nymphaeum, a short segment has been excavated. The channel was relatively
1:20	·	small – about 90 cm wide by 130 cm high, just large enough for maintenance workers
1:27	·	to crawl through and clean out the sediment traps in the channel floor.
1:32	·	After falling steeply for the first few kilometers, the aqueduct channel leveled out,
1:37	·	with a subsequent average gradient of only .15%. In several places,
1:43	·	long lines of arcades were constructed to maintain the gradient over valleys. Here,
1:49	·	at Mohamedia, the arcades parallel the modern highway.
1:53	·	As you can see, the piers of the arcade were constructed from large stone blocks, topped by a
1:58	·	masonry channel. Water took about a day and a half to flow from one end of the aqueduct to the other.
2:05	·	On the outskirts of Carthage, the aqueduct flowed into the massive La Malga cisterns.
2:11	·	There were originally 24 chambers. To judge from the surviving examples,
2:16	·	each was a vault 95 meters long and 12.5 meters wide. Much of the water stored here
2:23	·	was eventually channeled to the Antonine Baths, the aqueduct's final destination.
2:29	·	Carthage seems to have had a water supply adequate for the needs of its residents before
2:34	·	the aqueduct was built. It was probably the construction of the Antonine Baths,
2:39	·	the largest anywhere outside Rome, that made the Zahgouan aqueduct necessary.
2:45	·	The superstructure of the Antonine Baths is long gone, destroyed by medieval earthquakes
2:51	·	and stone robbers. But the basement remains intact enough to provide a sense of the vast
2:56	·	halls in which the water of the Zaghouan springs finally returned to the sun.
3:04	·	If you're interested in visiting the Roman ruins of Tunisia and other historic destinations with
3:09	·	me, check out the Toldinstone Trips page, linked onscreen and in the description.