Scientists have found an ancient water supply system. It is no worse than in your house!

Volcano erupted in 79 ADVesuvius was one of the biggest disasters in human history. As a result of a terrible cataclysm, the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia, as well as small settlements, were destroyed. According to scientists, 26 thousand people died during the eruption, but the number of victims could be much higher. Along with architectural buildings and people, ancient Roman technologies also remained under a layer of red-hot lava - as we already know, technology in ancient Rome was very well developed. For example, even then the Romans had a water supply system, which other nations could not even dream of. Recently, archaeologists were lucky enough to unearth part of an ancient water supply system and study how it worked.

Part of an ancient Roman plumbing system found in ancient Stabia

The destruction of the city of Stabiae during the eruption of Vesuvius

An ancient labor for supplying water was found onterritory of the ancient city of Stabiae. Initially, Osci lived there - representatives of the Italic tribes, but then the city became part of the Roman Empire. In the works of the ancient Roman writer Pliny the Elder, there is information that luxurious coastal villas of various famous personalities were located in Stabia. Offhand, we can say that there was the property of Julius Caesar, Cicero and some other political figures.

Location of ancient cities near Vesuvius

As a result of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius,a deadly cloud of hot rocks and various gases was raised to a height of 33 kilometers. Scientists believe that every second rose to 1.5. million tons of deadly substances. They began to fall to the ground, due to which Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia of interest to us were under a thick layer of frozen rocks.

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Study of the cities that died from Vesuvius

Archaeological excavations in Pompeii began in1860. In the very first months, scientists managed to find about 40 residents of the city buried under a layer of ash. Over time, archaeological work began in other ancient settlements, but in Stabia they began much earlier. They are still ongoing, and archaeologists regularly find something new.

The city of Stabiae on an ancient image

During the study of the villa of Ariadne in Stabia, scientistsfound a magnificent peristyle - that was the name of the garden surrounded by high columns in the ancient Roman era. Going deeper, archaeologists unearthed an ancient lead pipe with switches. It was immediately clear that they had found part of an ancient Roman water system. During further excavations, it was found that the found pipe distributed water to all nearby villas.

Ariadne's Villa in Stabia

The Villa of Ariadne was first excavated between 1757 and1762 by the Swiss engineer Carl Weber. He discovered an area of ​​2,500 square meters, which housed a huge number of different buildings. The complex was divided into four parts: a central atrium, ancillary rooms, a place for feasting and a palestra - a space for physical exercise. As it became known thanks to the new discovery, the villa was equipped with a water supply system. That is, it was almost as comfortable there as in modern apartments.

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Water supply system in ancient Rome

Inspection of the found part of the plumbing systemshowed that two pipes were connected to a central reservoir to collect water. Water was also taken from this reservoir for other nearby buildings. Scientists noted that access to the pipe was open, that is, even during the existence of Stabia, it was not covered by something. This was done so that people could regulate the power of the water supply or shut it off completely for repairs. In fact, the system for providing buildings with water was not much different from the modern water supply system. Perhaps in the future, archaeologists will make even more interesting discoveries - in order not to miss them, subscribe to our Telegram channel with announcements of the latest news.

This is what the garden looked like in an ancient Roman villa

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Interesting archaeological discoveries duringstudies of the cities that died from Vesuvius are carried out regularly. In 2021, my colleague Andrei Zhukov spoke about how scientists found a perfectly preserved room in which slaves once lived a long time ago. They worked at Villa Civita Giuliana and rested in a cramped 16 square meter room. Three wooden beds were used for sleeping, and there was a chamber pot for going to the toilet. If you want to learn more about this discovery, you can read this material.