مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - An Assessment of the Water Systems and Cisterns in Ariassos and Kremna

Abstract :

In this contribution the cisterns in the South-Western cities of the Pisidian Region with their various features are examined. In this manner, the intention is to make a contribution towards the inventory or corpus of examples of cisterns, a small water structure which has often been neglected in archaeological excavations and in survey work conducted to date. In this article the geographical positions of the cisterns, the reasons for the choice of their positions, together with their architectural features are examined through some examples from the cities of Ariassos and Cremna, the common models and the techniques employed are investigated and the contributions made by these hydraulic structures to daily life are interpreted in terms of their socio-economic and cultural contribution. It is observed that Rome imposed a certain settlement pattern upon whole regions within the borders of the empire during the pax Romana, in which war and conflicts were replaced by peace, and consequently, town planning and urban settlement patterns also spread rapidly in Pisidia. Despite all the developments and the hydraulic systems and arrangements in the cities, the domestic type of limited capacity cisterns in Ariassos and Cremna seem to have provided citizens with a continuous supply of fresh water.