Ancient Roman technology | Wikipedia audio article
Roman. Technology, is the collection of techniques skills, methods, processes, and engineering. Practices, which supported, Roman civilization. And made possible the expansion, of the economy and military of ancient Rome 753. BC, to 476. Ad, the. Roman Empire, was one of the most technologically. Advanced, civilizations. Of antiquity with, some of the more advanced, concepts, and inventions, forgotten, during the turbulent, eras of late antiquity, in the early Middle Ages. Gradually. Some of the technological feats, of the Romans were rediscovered. And/or improved, upon during the Middle Ages and, the beginning of the modern era with some in areas such as civil, engineering, construction, materials. Transport. Technology, and certain, inventions, such as the mechanical, Reaper not improved, upon until the 19th, century, the. Romans achieved, high levels of technology, in large part because they borrowed technologies. From the Greeks Etruscans. Celts, and others. Topic. The energy, constraint. All technology. Uses, energy to transform, the material into. A desirable, object, or uses, some form of mechanics, combined, with another form to make something, better the. Cheaper energy is the wider the class of technologies. That are considered, economic, this. Is why technological. History can be seen as a succession, of ages defined, by energy, type ie human-animal. Water peat coal, and oil the. Romans used water, power and water mills were common throughout the empire especially. To the end of the 1st century AD, they. Were used for cereals, milling, sawing, timber and crushing, or they. Exploited, wood and coal for heating there, were huge reserves, of wood peat and coal in the Roman Empire but they were all in the wrong place, would. Could be floated, down rivers to the major urban centres, but otherwise it was a very poor fuel being heavy for its caloric value, if this. Was improved, by being processed into, charcoal, it was bulky, nor. Was wood ever available, in any concentration. Diocletian's. Price edict, can give us a glimpse of the economics, of transporting. Wood the. Maximum, price of a wagon load of, 1,200, pounds of wood was 150. D denarii, the. Maximum, freight charge per mile for the same wagon load was 20 d per mile room. Heating was normally, better done by charcoal. Brazier as than Hyper costs, but, hyper costs, did allow them to exploit any poor quality smoky, fuels like straw vine prunings, and small wood locally, available, hyper. Costs, also allowed them to generate a humid, heat for the baths. The. Romans worked almost all the coal fields of England that out cropped on the surface, by the end of the 2nd century Smith, 1997. 323. But. There is no evidence that this exploitation. Was on any scale after, C. 200. AD the, commercial, heart of the Empire was in Africa, in the east where the climate severely, limited, timber growth there.
Was No large coal field on the edge of the Mediterranean. Nevertheless. In Roman, Egypt all the essential, components, of the much later steam engine, were first, by the Greek mathematician, and engineer hero. With. The crank and connecting rod system, all elements, for constructing, a steam engine invented, in 1712. Hero's. Aeolipile, generating. Steam power the cylinder, and piston in metal forced pumps non-return. Valves, in water pumps, gearing, in water mills and clocks were. Known in roman times. However. The Eola pile was a reaction engine, inefficient. As a stationary, engine the. First useful steam, engine, did not use steam pressure at all but followed up a scientific, advance in understanding, air pressure. Topic. Craft, basis. Roman. Technology, was largely based on a system, of crafts, although the term engineering, is used today to describe, the technical feats of the Romans, the. Greek words used, to a mechanic, or machine maker or even mathematician. Which had a much wider meaning than now there. Were a large number of engineers, employed, by the army, the, most famous engineer of, this period was the Greek Apollodorus. Of Damascus. Normally. Each trade each group of artisans. Stonemasons. Glassblowers. Surveyors, etc. Within. A project had, its own practice, of masters, and apprentices and. Many tried to keep their trade secrets passing, him on solely, by word of mouth a system, still in use today by, those who do not want to patent their inventions. Writers. Such as Vitruvius. Pliny the Elder, and front eNOS published, widely on many different technologies, and there was a corpus, of manuals, on basic, mathematics. And science such as the many books by Archimedes. Ctesibius. Harun, aka, hero. Of Alexandria. Euclid, and so on not. All of the manuals which were available to, the Romans have, survived, as lost, works illustrate. Much. Of what is known of Roman technology comes. Indirectly, from archaeology. And from the third hand accounts, of Latin texts, copied, from Arabic texts, which were in turn copied, from the Greek texts, of scholars such as hero, of Alexandria. Or contemporary, travelers, who had observed Roman, technologies, in action, writers. Like Pliny, the Elder, and Strabo, had enough intellectual. Curiosity to. Make note of the inventions, they saw during their travels, although, they're typically brief descriptions. Often arouse discussion. As to the precise meaning on the. Other hand Pliny is perfectly, clear when describing gold, mining is text, in book 33, having, been confirmed, by archaeology. And field work at such sites as last meddle a sand dollar Kofi. Topic. Engineering. And construction the. Romans, made extensive, use of aqueducts. Dams bridges, and, amphitheaters. They. Were also responsible for many innovations, - roads sanitation, and, construction. In general, Roman. Architecture, in general was greatly influenced, by the Greeks and Etruscans. Many. Of the columns and arches seen in Roman architecture were, adopted, from the Greek and Etruscan, civilizations. Present, in Italy in. The Roman, Empire cements. Made from pot salinity, ash pots Alana and an aggregate made from pumice were used to make a concrete, very similar, to modern Portland, cement concrete in. Twenties, BC, the architect, Vitruvius described. A low water content method, for mixing concrete, the. Romans found out that insulated, glazing or double. Glazing, improved. Greatly on keeping buildings warm and this technique was used in the construction of public baths. Another. Truly original process, which was born in the Empire was the practice of glassblowing which started, in Syria and spread in about one generation, in the Empire, there.
Were Many types of presses, to press olives in the, first century, AD Pliny, the Elder, reported, the invention, and subsequent, general use of the new and more compact screw presses. However. The screw press was almost certainly, not a Roman invention, it. Was first described, by the Greek mathematician. And engineer hero, of Alexandria. But may have already been in use when he mentioned it in his mechanical, three. Cranes. Were used for construction, work and possibly to load and unload ships at, the ports although for the latter use there is according, to the present, state of knowledge still, no evidence, most. Cranes were capable of lifting about, 6 to 7 tons of cargo and according, to a relief shown on Trajan's column will, work by treadwheel. Topic. Roads. The, Romans primarily, built roads for their military their, economic, importance, was probably also significant. Although wagon, traffic, was often banned from the roads to preserve their military, value at. Its largest extent. The total length of the Roman Road network was, eighty-five thousand, kilometers, fifty, three thousand miles. Weigh. Stations providing. Refreshments, were maintained, by the government at, regular, intervals, along the roads a separate. System of changing, stations, for official, and private couriers, was also maintained, this. Allowed a dispatch, to travel, a maximum, of 800 kilometres 500, miles in 24, hours by using a relay of horses. The. Roads were constructed, by digging a pit along the length of the intended, course often to bedrock the. Pit was first filled with rocks gravel, or sand and then a layer of concrete. Finally. They were paved with polygonal, rock saps Roman. Roads are considered, the most advanced, roads built, until the early 19th, century. Bridges. Were constructed. Over waterways, the. Roads were resistant, to floods and other environmental. Hazards, after. The fall of the Roman Empire the roads were still usable, and used for more than 1,000. Years. Most. Roman, cities were shaped like a square there, were four main roads leading, to the center of the city or forum, they. Formed a cross shape and each point on the edge of the cross was a gateway into, the city. Connecting. To these main roads were smaller roads the streets where people lived. Topic, aqueducts. The, Romans constructed. Numerous aqueducts, to supply water the, city of Rome itself was, supplied, by eleven aqueducts, made of limestone that provided. The city with over 1 million cubic meters of water each day sufficient. For 3.5. Million people even, in modern day times and with a combined, length of 350. Kilometres, 220. Miles water, inside, the aqueducts, depended, entirely on gravity, the. Raised stone channels, in which the water traveled, was slightly slanted, the. Water was carried directly, from Mountain Springs after. It had gone through the aqueduct, the water was collected in tanks, and fed through pipes to fountains, toilets, etc, the main aqueducts, in ancient Rome were the Aqua Claudia and, the aqua Marcia, most. Aqueducts. Were constructed, below the surface with only small portions, above ground supported. By arches, the. Longest Roman aqueduct. 178. Kilometers. In. Length was, traditionally, assumed to be that which supplied the city of Carthage, the. Complex, system, built to supply Constantinople. Had its most distant supply drawn from over 120. Kilometres. Away along a sinuous route of more than 300, and 36, kilometers Roman, aqueducts, were built to remarkably, fine tolerances and, to a technological. Standard, that was not to be equalled until modern times. Powered. Entirely by gravity they, transported. Very large amounts, of water very, efficiently. Sometimes. Where depressions, deeper, than 50 metres had to be crossed inverted, siphons, were used to force water uphill an, aqueduct. Also supplied water for the overshot, wheels at barbegal in, Roman Gaul a complex, of water mills Helders. The, greatest, known concentration. Of mechanical, power in the ancient world. Topic bridges. Roman. Bridges, were among the first large and lasting, bridges built they, were built with stone and/or concrete, and utilized, the arch, built.
In 142. BC, the ponds I'm Ilyas later named Ponte righto broken, bridge is the oldest Roman stone bridge in Rome Italy, the. Biggest Roman bridge was Trajan's bridge over the lower danube constructed. By Apollodorus. Of Damascus which. Remained, for over a millennium the longest bridge to have been built both in terms of overall and span length they. Were most of the time at least 60, feet 80 metres, above the body of water an. Example. Of temporary, military bridge, construction, is the two Caesars, Rhine bridges. Topic dams. They. Also built, many dams for water collection such, as the Subiaco, dams two of which fed a neo Novus, one of the largest aqueducts, of Rome they. Built 72, dams in just one country Spain, and many more are known across the Empire, some of which are still in use at. One site Monte Farrar doe in Galicia, they appear to have built a dam across the river sill to expose alluvial, gold deposits. In the bed of the river the. Site is near the spectacular. Roman goldmine, of las med alas, several. Earthen dams are known from Britain including, a well-preserved, example from. Roman Lanchester, longer vision where it may have been used in industrial scale smithing, or smelting, judging, by the piles of slag found, at this site in northern England, tanks. For holding water are also common, along aqueduct, systems, and numerous, examples are, known from just one site the gold mines at dolaucothi in, West Wales. Masonry. Dams were common in North Africa for, providing a reliable water supply from the woodies behind, many settlements. Topic. Mining. The. Romans also made great use of aqueducts, in their extensive, mining operations, across the empire some sites such as last med alas in northwest, Spain having, at least seven major channels entering, the mine head other. Sites, such as dolaucothi in, South Wales was fed by at least five leads all leading, to reservoirs. And tanks or cisterns, high above the present opencast, the. Water was used for hydraulic, mining where, streams or waves of water are released onto the hillsides first to reveal any gold bearing or and then to work the ore itself, rock. Debris, could be sluiced away by hushing, and the water also used to douse fires created.
To Break down the hard rock and veins a method known as fire setting. Alluvial. Gold deposits. Could be worked and the gold extracted, without needing, to crush the or washing. Tables, were fitted below the tanks to collect the gold dust and any nuggets present, vein. Gold needed, crushing, and they probably used, crushing, or stamp mills work by water wheels to come in at the hard or before washing, large. Quantities, of water were, also needed in deep mining, to remove waste debris, and power primitive, machines, as well as for washing the crushed ore Pliny. The Elder, provides a detailed description, of gold mining, in book x-23 of his naturalist, historia, most of which has been confirmed by archaeology, that they, used water mills on a large scale elsewhere, is attested, by the flour mills at barbegal in southern france and on the jannah' column in rome. Topic. Sanitation. The. Romans did not invent plumbing, or toilets, but instead borrowed, their waste disposal, system from their neighbors particularly, the Minoans a waste. Disposal system was, not a new invention but rather had been around since 3100. BCE when one was created in the Indus River Valley the Roman public baths or Fermi served hygienic. Social, and cultural, functions the. Baths contained, three main facilities, for bathing after. Undressing, in the apatit area or changing, room Romans, would proceed to the tepidarium, or warm room in, the moderate dry heat of the tepidarium, some, performed, warm-up exercises, and stretched while others oiled themselves. Or had slaves oil them the. Tepidarium, main purpose, was to promote sweating, to prepare for the next room the caldera amor hot room the. Caldera, 'm unlike the tepidarium, was, extremely, humid and hot. Temperatures. In the Calgarian could reach 40, degrees celsius 104. Degrees, Fahrenheit. Many. Contained, steam baths and a cold water fountain, known as the labrum the last. Room was the frigidarium, or cold room which offered a cold bath for cooling off after the caldera 'm the. Romans also had flush toilets. Topic. Roman, military technology. The, Roman military technology. Ranged, from personal, equipment and armament, to deadly siege engines, they. Inherited, almost, all ancient weapons. While. Heavy, intricate, armor was not uncommon cataphracts. The Romans perfected a, relatively, light full torso armor, made of segmented, plates the Rika segment Tata this. Segmented, armor provided, good protection, for vital areas but did not cover as much of the body as lorica hamato or chainmail, the. Larico segment, arter provided, better protection. But the plate bands were expensive, and difficult to produce and, difficult, to repair in the field, overall. Chainmail, was cheaper, easier to produce and simpler, to maintain, was one-size-fits-all. And was more comfortable, to wear thus it remained, the primary form of armor even when the reco segment arter was in use, the.
Roman Cavalry saddle, had four horns one and was believed to have been copied from Celtic people's. Roman. Siege engines, such as ballistas. Scorpions. And on udders were not unique but. The Romans were probably the first people to put the Lister's on carts, for better mobility, on campaigns, on the. Battlefield, it is thought that they were used to pick off enemy leaders, there. Is one account of the use of artillery in battle, from Tacitus, history's. 3:23. On. Engaging. They drove back the enemy only to be driven back themselves for, the vital Ian's had concentrated, their artillery on the raised road that they might have free and open ground from which to fire their earlier shots had been scattered and had struck the trees without injuring, the enemy a ballista. Of enormous, size belonging, to the 15th Legion began to do great harm to the Flavians, line with the huge stones that it held and it would have caused wide destruction. If it had not been for the splendid bravery, of two soldiers who taking, some shields, from the dead and so disguising. Themselves cut. The ropes and Springs of the machine in addition, to innovations, in land warfare the Romans also developed, the Corvis boarding, device a movable, bridge that could attach itself, to an enemy ship and allow the Romans, to board the enemy vessel, developed. During the First Punic War it allowed them to apply their experience, in land warfare, on the seas. Topic. Other innovations. Rome, was responsible, for the innovation of other vital, technology, in addition to cataphracts. Siege engines, and the Corvis. Military. Surgery, although various, levels of medicine were practiced, in the ancient world the Romans created, or pioneered, many innovative, surgeries and tools that are still in use today such. As Hema static toner Ches and arterial. Surgical, clamps, Rome. Was also responsible for, producing, the first battlefield, surgery unit a move that paired with their contributions, to medicine made, the Roman army a force to be reckoned with they. Also used, a rudimentary version of, antiseptic, surgery years, before, its use became popular, in the 19th, century and possessed very capable, doctors. The. Lister inanna Jers continued, while core artillery, inventions, were notably founded, by the Greeks Rome saw opportunity.
In The ability, to enhance this long-range artillery, large. Artillery, pieces such, as carob Alastair and on urges bombarded. Enemy lines before, full ground assault by infantry, the. Manoeuvre Lister would often. Be described, as the most advanced, to armed torsion, engine, used by the Roman, army, the. Weapon often looks like a mounted, crossbow, capable, of shooting projectiles. Similarly. The, onager named after the wild-ass because, of its kick. Was. A larger, weapon that was capable of hurling large projectiles. At walls or forts, both. Were very capable machines, of war and were put to use by the Roman, military. Greek. Fire originally. An incendiary weapon. Perfected, from the Greeks in 7th century AD the Greek fire is one of the very few contrivances. Whose gruesome effectiveness, was noted by many sources. Roman. Innovators, made this already lethal, weapon even more deadly its nature, is often described, as a precursor, to napalm, military. Strategists. Often put the weapon to good use during, naval battles and the ingredients, to its construction, remained, a closely, guarded military, secret. Despite. This the devastation. Caused by Greek, fire in combat, is indisputable. Testudo, this, strategic, military maneuver, is originally, Roman the, tactic, was implemented, by having units raise their shields in order to protect themselves, from enemy, projectiles raining. Down on him the. Strategy, only worked if each member of the test it protected, his comrade. Commonly. Used during siege battles, that sheer discipline, and synchronization. Required to form a test judo was a testament, to the abilities, of Legionnaires. Testudo. Meaning, tortoise in Latin was not the norm but rather adopted, in specific, situations, to deal with particular threats, on the battlefield, the. Greek phalanx, and other roman formations, were a source of inspiration for, this maneuver. Pontoon. Bridge mobility. For a military force was an essential key to success, although. This was not a Roman invention as there were instances, of ancient Chinese and Persians making, use of the floating mechanism. Roman generals, used the innovation, to great effect in campaigns. Furthermore. Engineers, perfected, the speed at which these bridges were constructed. Leaders. Surprised, enemy, units to great effect by, speedily, crossing, otherwise treacherous, bodies of water, lightweight. Crafts, were organized, and tied together with the aid of planks, nails and cables. Rafts. Were more commonly used instead, of building new makeshift, bridges enabling. Quick construction. And deconstruction. The. Expedient, and valuable, innovation, of the pontoon, bridge also accredited its, success, to the excellent, abilities, of Roman engineers. Pilum. Spear, the Roman heavy spear was a weapon, favored, by legionaries, and weight approximated. 5 pounds. The. Innovative javelin, was designed, to be used only once and was destroyed, upon initial use, this. Ability prevented. The enemy from reusing, Spears all soldiers, carried. Two versions, of this weapon a primary, spear, and a backup a solid. Block of wood in the middle of the weapon enabled, legionaries, protection, for their hands while carrying the device, according. To Polybius, historians. Have records, of how, the Romans, threw the spears and then charged, with swords. This, tactic, seemed to be common practice, among Roman infantry in summary, Rome contributed. Numerous advances, in technology, to the ancient world, however. It is also viewed that the, ancient, world under, the domination, of Rome in fact reached a kind of climax, in the technological. Field as many, technologies. Had advanced, as far as possible with, the equipment, then available. This. Concept, of perfecting, the unperfect, it was a theme that governed Roman technological. Supremacy throughout. Its. 1470. Year reign, ideas. That had already been invented or designed, like the pontoon bridge aqueducts. And military, surgery, were constructed. Or utilized, to perfection by Roman innovators, it's. The innovation of, technology, that contributed. To Rome's military success. Topic, technologies. Developed. Or invented, by the Romans. You. Topic. See, also. Roman. Mining. Maritime hydraulics. In antiquity. De.
Architectura. Ancient. Greek technology. History. Of science in classical, antiquity. Medieval. Technology. Science. In medieval, Western Europe, list. Of Byzantine, inventions. Renaissance. Technology.
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