Aqua Marcia

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The Aqua Marcia was the longest of the 11 aqueducts that supplied the city of ancient Rome. It still functions today as one of the major water sources to the modern city of Rome.

The Aqua Marcia was constructed from 144 - 140 BC by the praetor Quintus Marcius Rex, whom it is named after. It followed the via Tiburtina into Rome, and entered the city in its eastern boundary at the Porta Tiburtina of the Aurelian Wall. The aqueduct was well known for its cold and pure waters.

The ancient source for the aqueduct was near the modern towns of Arsoli and Agosta, over 91 km away in the Anio valley. This general locale, in hills to the east of the city, was used for other aqueducts as well, including the Anio Vetus, Anio Novus, and Aqua Claudia. Essentially the same source is used today to supply the modern aqueduct.

The aqueduct was repaired by Marcus Agrippa in 33 BC, and then later again by Augustus, according to the inscription in the arch that was later made into the Porta Tiburtina. Augustus also augmented the supply by linking it to an additional source, the Aqua Augusta, doubling the throughput. By the time Frontinus measured the city's aqueducts around 97, the Aqua Marcia was capable of supplying 187,600 cubic meters (6,625,000 ft³) of water a day to the city, the second greatest source of the city's water. However, much of its supply was siphoned off by private citizens for their own use, making it effectively only a trickle in the city by the time of Nero. The supply was increased again by later emperors.

[edit] References

Coarelli, Filippo, Guida Archeologica di Roma, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milano, 1989.
Claridge, Amanda, Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide, Oxford University Press, New York, 1998.