Aedes - The dwelling place of a god
Aqueduct – a system of tunnels, bridges and canals that uses a specific gradient and the force of gravity to provide water for the city of Rome
Castella – enormous cisterns used to house the water of Rome; located on the highest ground
Cloaca Maxima – the stream that drains all the valleys between the Quirinal and Esquiline Hills, running through the Forum Romanum and emptying into the Tiber
Curator Aquarum – Roman curator assigned to the maintenance of the city’s aqueducts and sewer system
Fistulae – the name given to the lead pipes that were used by Roman citizens to distribute water from the aqueducts
Pozzuolana – volcanic cement used to build the aqueduct structures
Quadrigaes- a two-wheeled chariot drawn by four horses harnessed abreast.
Euripus- a strait or channel with a strong current or tide
Topic 1: Water supply and Roman technology
The Aqueduct system
* Built from a combination of stone, rock and volcanic cement (pozzuolana) * Approx. 260 miles of aqueduct. Only 30 miles visible above ground * Built to carry the flow of water in areas where digging, burrowing or surface grades were problematic (eg valleys) * Maintenance was assigned to a Roman Curator Aquarum
* Water from aqueducts passed into catch-basins in Rome * Water from catch-basins would flow through canals and terracotta pipes to reservoirs * From the reservoirs it would flow through fistulae to Rome’s citizens * Waste-water collection system discharged waste into drains/sewer system (Cloaca Maxima) * Main outlet for drain system was the Tiber River
Drains and sewers (Cloaca Maxima)
* Sewage system * Drained the valleys between the Esquiline, Viminal, and Quirinal Hills into the Tiber River * Cloaca Maxima dried the Forum area so that it could be used as a civic centre
Topic 2: Leisure and entertainment in Rome
Circus Maximus (seating, attendance, activities)
Activities: * Processions * Gladiator combats * Chariot races * Races were extremely popular and supported by one of the four factions: red (summer), white (winter), spring (green) and blue (autumn)
Seating:
* Could seat over 250 000 people
Attendance:
* Admission was free. Anyone could attend the races; including the poor
In 46 BC, Julius Caesar lengthened the track and built an euripus or water-filled channel around it. In 33 BC, Agrippa sused seven bronze dolphins, and had another set of eggs placed near the starting gates to mark laps for the charioteers. After a fire destroyed much of the Circus in 31 BC Augustus constructed the pulvinar, a shrine built into the seating below the Palatine Hill, which was used as an imperial box to watch the games and where images of the gods were installed after having been brought in procession (pompa) from the Capitol.
Gladiatorial Contests in the Forum * Used to instil fear in citizens, even during peacetime * Gladiators were often prisoners of war or slaves
Ranks:
* Eques/horseman * Fought against other horsemen * Began matches on horseback, ended with hand-to-hand combat * Hoplomachus/heavy weapons fighter * Namd after the Greek warrior * Fought with a long spear and a short sword or dagger * Murmillo/”fish” * Wore visored helmet with a high crest * Had a large rectangular shield * Provocator/attacker * Most heavily armed gladiator * Retarius/netman * Quickest/most mobile of all the gladiators * Wore no defensive armour * Secutor/pursuer * Often paired with a retarius * Wears an egg-shaped helmet which gives little vision * Thraex/Thracian * Loosely based on the Tracians (former enemies of Rome) * Helmet was similar to that of a Murmillo * Most