• Citer

Analysis of three private hydraulic systems operated in Apamea during the Byzantine period

par Vannesse, Michaël ;Haut, Benoît ;Debaste, Frédéric ;Viviers, Didier
Référence Journal of archaeological science, 46, page (245–254)
Publication Publié, 2014-04-01

Article révisé par les pairs

• Accès en ligne
• Détails
• Contenu
• Statistiques

Résumé :

In this paper, three hydraulic systems (two nymphaea and a private bath), excavated in three houses located in the southeast of the city of Apamea and operated during the Byzantine period, are described from an archaeological point of view and using fluid mechanics. Information (mostly unpublished) about the architecture of these systems, their construction material, their construction date and their operation (water flow rate …) is provided.The cisterns of these three hydraulic systems were previously understood as being dedicated to collect rainwater. It is clear today that these cisterns belonged to larger systems and that they were not meant to simply collect rainwater.There was probably no precise period for building these hydraulic systems. They spread gradually via major projects scattered over time, as they belong to the embellishment of the Apamean houses during the Byzantine period.The similarities and differences between these systems are discussed. This comparison highlights the probable existence of Roman good practice rules in the construction of nymphaea.The analysis of the data presented in this work stresses highly probable evidence about connections between an operative aqueduct and the hydraulic systems analyzed in this work. These are valuable results, as no documented information about water adduction is available for the southern half of the city of Apamea, except for a distribution table.