Time Tourist - A trip to Ancient Rome

Social Studies Online

Problem Solving Activity

You have one period to solve this problem that confronted Roman Architects 2000 years ago in the small settlement of Segovia outside of Madrid, the Capital City of Spain.

Here is the problem. The Romans built Segovia in the most logical place in the area, on an easily defended hill. They constructed high defensive walls and ramparts around the town to protect it from attack, they had gates to access the town, they built pipes and channels to bring in water and take it away from the town. The only problem was that there was no regular supply of water easily accessible from inside the town. They could not drill a well for their water, they were high up on a hill. The closest regular supply of water was from a spring about 1.5km away, and it was flowing out of the ground at a lower level than the town. This would be an ideal, continuous supply of water if it could be harnessed. So, how to get the water from the spring, up-hill, across a valley and into the town?

Solution: They built an Aqueduct (here is the actual one below)

Photos Copyright mcmillanh@skc.school.nz

Local legend says the only problem the Romans had was that every time they reached about the 10m height, their Aqueduct would topple over. Look carefully at the photos of the Aqueduct. Note it's length, height and also how thin it is. In the middle photograph you can see the Aqueduct going off into the distance, however it does not end there. It turns to the left and continues for about another half kilometre. You should also be able to see that they didn't use cement or make a really wide base to hold it up. Obviously the Romans were able to overcome the problem of the toppling Aqueduct; the actual one is still standing 2000 years later (true - I took those photos you see above). How did they do it? You try and solve the problem using only the resources the Ancient Romans had at their disposal.

When you have finished share your solution with the class - we will see who is the closest to the truth

The resources you can use are:

Pulleys, ropes, pick-axes, stone cutting tools and stone masons, spades, shovels, donkeys, a brittle form of cement, large quantities of sand, large quantities of rock and stone, large numbers of slaves, a spring (source of water).

The town of Segovia came under attack many times while it was under Roman occupation. The story goes that the final group of Arabs to attack the town were camped outside for 3 years waiting for the town to fall. Suddenly (after 3 years) their leader had a brilliant idea - they would pee in the water. Didn't work. The Aqueduct was constantly being flushed clean like a toilet. They tried poison - same thing. Finally they got the idea that they should break the Aqueduct. The town was finally taken.