Author: Klaus Grewe

Roman engineers were not only outstanding in the construction of impressive structures, such as the monumental aqueducts that supplied the population with fresh drinking water. They also completed these structures in extremely short construction times. Our board member Klaus Grewe has written an interesting article on this topic that we recommend for reading.

How did the »outrageously« short construction times for major Roman projects come about?

The Roman architects set new standards not only with ingenious designs for their time (semicircular arches in bridge construction, dome structures), but also with the development of particularly strong and durable building materials. In particular, construction work was already at a level comparable to today’s standards. For example, in order to reduce construction times in aqueducts, construction was already carried out in sections. This was confirmed by the investigations into the Eifel Aqueduct. For example, between the individual sections, drops and small stilling basins were found (see image) to overcome the resulting slight differences in height in the canal bed, thus confirming such a division into sections.

The article was published in VDVmagazin 6/21.