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Trajan’s Aqueduct from the ‘Fiora’ Nymphaeum to Lake Bracciano The most exciting recent discovery in the field of the Aqueducts of Ancient Rome was the most copious source of Trajan’s Aqueduct, inaugurated in 109 A.D. The aquifer spring... more
Trajan’s Aqueduct from the ‘Fiora’ Nymphaeum to Lake Bracciano
The most exciting recent discovery in the field of the Aqueducts of Ancient Rome was the most copious source of Trajan’s Aqueduct, inaugurated in 109 A.D. The aquifer spring at the grotto-church of La Madonna della Fiora, near Lake Bracciano promises science, surprises, and unique lessons in ancient plumbing to the excavator.
Much remains hidden, awaiting the inevitable fundraising and paperwork. Interesting clues about what will be found, have already made their way to the UK amongst the papers of the seventeenth century architect, Carlo Fontana. These paint a picture of a very different landscape in the 1600s, hint at an important site to excavate nearby, and specify how the conduit wriggles its way down the hillside to the nearby lake.
This paper combines the discoveries from recent surveys of the area, and adventures in the aqueduct tunnel with Fontana’s drawings and measurements. The results inevitably leave mouth-watering possibilities for future investigation and excavation on site, and some fascinating questions. Was the aqueduct constructed from scratch by the emperor Trajan with the bounty from his war in Dacia, or did it have earlier, Augustean, or perhaps Etruscan origins?
The most exciting recent discovery in the field of the Aqueducts of Ancient Rome was the most copious source of Trajan’s Aqueduct, inaugurated in 109 A.D. The aquifer spring at the grotto-church of La Madonna della Fiora, near Lake Bracciano promises science, surprises, and unique lessons in ancient plumbing to the excavator.
Much remains hidden, awaiting the inevitable fundraising and paperwork. Interesting clues about what will be found, have already made their way to the UK amongst the papers of the seventeenth century architect, Carlo Fontana. These paint a picture of a very different landscape in the 1600s, hint at an important site to excavate nearby, and specify how the conduit wriggles its way down the hillside to the nearby lake.
This paper combines the discoveries from recent surveys of the area, and adventures in the aqueduct tunnel with Fontana’s drawings and measurements. The results inevitably leave mouth-watering possibilities for future investigation and excavation on site, and some fascinating questions. Was the aqueduct constructed from scratch by the emperor Trajan with the bounty from his war in Dacia, or did it have earlier, Augustean, or perhaps Etruscan origins?
- by Ted O'Neill
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This article reports, in a preliminary fashion, on a discovery of great significance to the history and archaeology of the aqueducts of Rome. In spring 2009, after a period of intensive archival research and communication with public... more
This article reports, in a preliminary fashion, on a discovery of great significance to the history and archaeology of the aqueducts of Rome. In spring 2009, after a period of intensive archival research and communication with public authorities and in the cities of Bracciano and Manziana, two of the authors—Michael and Edward O’Neill—gained temporary access to a defunct spring source on the western rim of the caldera of Lake Bracciano 45 km northwest of Rome. This entire area has long been valued for its abundance of springs delivering premium-quality water for a variety of destinations and uses. Many of the springs have been exploited since antiquity, but few preserve visible traces of Roman engineering. Thus it was extremely gratifying to discover that this source, buried deep within a thicket of mature fig trees and utterly lost to modern scholarship, turned out to be a nearly pristine grotto-shrine of the Roman imperial period later adapted to accommodate a hermitage church named S. Fiora (fig. 1). Not only does the grotto encompass a capacious springhouse, all in well-preserved Roman masonry, but it also connects to several feeder conduits uphill and about 80 m of a well-preserved aqueduct channel downhill. By all appearances, S. Fiora began its life in human history as the headwaters of the Aqua Traiana.
- by Katherine Rinne and +1
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- Roman Archaeology
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