You must check this out
I got my picture taken under one of those aqueducts, driving from Tuscany to Rome. Wife wanted to stop and look at flowers - I wanted to stop and look at ancient Roman aqueducts.
LOL!
Good link. Thanks!
The English science historian James Burke examines Roman watermill technology such as that of the Barbegal aqueduct and mill, concluding that it influenced the Cistercians and their waterpower, which in turn influenced the Industrial Revolution, in the fourth of his ten-part Connections (TV series), called “Faith in Numbers.”
Excellent series. Made in 1976, the series is still relevant.
I saw this on “Ancient Impossible” and it was fascinating.
"You didn't build that! Muslims did!"
FMCDH(BITS)
Yes, the Romans invented the water mill, which was an early equivalent of the steam engine, at an early date, but they failed to develop their discovery to any extent, probably because they had slaves to do the heavy lifting and such things as grinding grain for bread.
So, basically, the water mill was developed in the Middle Ages, starting in the monasteries and spreading from there. Modern science and engineering mostly began in the Middle Ages, with the water mill, the plow harness and the deep plow, the saddle, and other discoveries essential to modern civilization.
See Lynn Thorndike’s books, especially the first two volumes of “A History of Magic and Experimental Science” (8 vol., 1923–58).
ancient peoples were not stupid.. they were very very smart... ..and in the past people knew that previous generations were damn smart that’s why they study them
it’s only the arrogance of our current generations that seems to forget this fact
I’ve always been enamored with Roman construction, politics, and military. It’s fascinating. Just the logistics of the ordinary day to day Roman family were extraordinarily done, and without computers!
Now with computers it takes twice as long, just 95% of that extra time is spent web surfing.
“What have the Romans ever done for us”. ;)
ping for later