Aqueducts of Pisidian Antioch
Aqueducts are large bridges built by people in ancient times to transport water from distant sources into their cities. The Pisidia Antiokheia Aqueducts were constructed thousands of years ago near the present-day Yalvaç district of Isparta to meet the water needs of the ancient city of Antiokheia (Antiochia). During the Roman Empire, Antiokheia was a major and populous city, so ensuring the population’s easy access to clean water was of great importance. These aqueducts are remarkable examples of the engineering knowledge of that era.
Pisidia Antiokheia Aqueducts (Culture Portal)
What Is the Purpose of Aqueducts?
Aqueducts are structures designed to carry water from its source to the city along a sloped route. You can think of them like a pipeline, but instead of being underground, this channel runs atop large stone bridges. When the terrain is flat or when a valley must be crossed, engineers built tall and sturdy arches to maintain the water’s flow.
The aqueducts of Pisidia Antiokheia transported water from a source known as “Su Çıktı,” located about ten kilometers away, into the city. This water was distributed to public fountains and baths. Approximately two-thirds of the city’s water supply was provided by these aqueducts.
Pisidia Antiokheia Aqueducts (Culture Portal)
When Were the Aqueducts Built?
The Pisidia Antiokheia Aqueducts are believed to have been constructed approximately 2000 years ago, in the 1st century AD, during the Roman Empire. This means that long before you were born, and even before your great-great-grandparents were born, these aqueducts were already delivering water to the city!
Pisidia Antiokheia Aqueducts (Culture Portal)
How Were the Aqueducts Built?
These aqueducts were constructed using precisely cut stone blocks. The thick pillars, known as piers, were built by skillfully stacking rectangular stones on top of one another without the use of mortar. The width of the piers reached up to 2.1 meters and their height up to 4 meters.
Water flowed through a channel atop the aqueducts, known in Latin as canalis. The cross-section of this channel was approximately 30 centimeters in diameter. The water thus flowed downhill by gravity into the city. This system represented an extraordinary engineering achievement by the standards of that era.
