Aqueducts are bridges constructed to conveywatercourses across gaps such as valleys or ravines. The termaqueduct may also be used to refer to theentire watercourse, as well as the bridge.[1] Largenavigable aqueducts are used as transport links forboats or ships. Aqueducts must span a crossing at the same level as the watercourses on each end. The word is derived from theLatinaqua ("water") andducere ("to lead"),[2] therefore meaning "to lead water". A modern version of anaqueduct is apipeline bridge. They may take the form of tunnels, networks of surface channels and canals, covered clay pipes or monumental bridges.
Although particularly associated with theRomans, aqueducts were likely first used by theMinoans around 2000 BCE. The Minoans had developed what was then an extremely advancedirrigation system, including several aqueducts.[3]
In the seventh century BCE, theAssyrians built an 80 km long limestone aqueduct, which included a 10 m high section to cross a 300 m wide valley, to carry water to their capital city,Nineveh.[4]
Bridges were a distinctive feature ofRoman aqueducts, which were built in all parts of theRoman Empire, from Germany to Africa, and especially in the city of Rome, where they supplied water to public baths and for drinking. Roman aqueducts set a standard of engineering that was not surpassed for more than a thousand years.[citation needed]
Navigable aqueducts, also called water bridges, are water-filled bridges to allow vessels on awaterway to cross ravines or valleys. During theIndustrial Revolution of the 18th century, navigable aqueducts were constructed as part of the boom in canal-building. A notable revolving aqueduct has been made on theBridgewater Canal. This allowed vessels to cross at high and low levels while conserving water that would be lost in the operation oflocks.
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