Aquae Urbis Romae: the Waters of the City of Rome

Summary form only given. This presentation will provide an introduction to and demonstration of Aquae Urbis Romae: the Waters of the City of Rome. Aquae Urbis Romae is a synoptic analysis of the hydrological and hydraulic history of Rome that presents water as a single continuum related to nearly 3000 years of urban development. Published a free, public, interactive World Wide Web-based cartographic encyclopedia, it is constructed around a series of original topographic maps of intramural Rome. The first maps, inventory entries, images, online books, and contributed articles are now available, and will be supplemented on a regular basis. Together these documents give a sense of the intent and scope of the project, which is grounded on the theoretical basis that every element of a water history is part of an integrated whole. Every component of any water system, whether an aqueduct, spring, fountain, or sewer, is in a delicately exploited topographical and gravitational relationship with every other component. No feature can be understood in isolation. Rather, to understand any part, you must have some knowledge of the system as a whole