Inventions

The Romans were amazing engineers, and one of their greatest inventions was the aqueduct — a huge system of stone bridges, tunnels, and pipes that brought fresh water into their cities. Some aqueducts carried water from mountains more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) away! The city of Rome had 11 major aqueducts that together carried over 200 million gallons of water every day — enough for more than a million people to drink, bathe, and cook!

The water flowed gently downhill, using nothing but gravity, through tunnels, arches, and long channels. The tallest aqueducts stood as high as 100 feet (30 meters) and crossed valleys like stone rainbows. The most famous, the Aqua Claudia and Aqua Marcia, brought clear, cold water from the hills outside Rome. The water filled public fountains, baths, and even private homes of the rich. Without aqueducts, Rome’s huge population could never have survived — they were truly rivers in the sky, keeping the empire clean, healthy, and alive!