41°53′20″N12°27′11″E / 41.888976°N 12.453132°E /41.888976; 12.453132
TheAqua Tepula is an ancientRoman aqueduct completed in 125 BC bycensorsGnaeus Servilius Caepio andLucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla[1]: 147 [2]: 339 . The water the aqueduct carried was tepid, and probably thus unpalatable[3]: 404 . It is not known how much water the original aqueduct carried, but the amount conducted to the city was smaller than that of theAqua Marcia[1]: 147 . After a (major) reconstruction byAgrippa in 33 BC the aqueduct delivered to the city daily 400quinariae[4]: §68 (394-5) -- 17,800 m3 (4,700,000 US gal)[5]: 347 .
After its initial construction, theAqua Tepula was not maintained or repaired for almost a century[1]: 147 . The first, and extensive, repairs took place in 33 BC when the aqueduct was restored, and probably rebuilt for the most part, by Agrippa[1]: 147 [3]: 403 . During these restoration works an additional source was added to the aqueduct while the first few miles of the original conduit were abandoned, and water from both sources of Tepula added to those ofAqua Julia[1]: 148 [3]: 403 .
Between 11 and 4 BCAqua Tepula was again restored, this time byAugustus[1]: 147 , and archaeological remains of local repair works show that the aqueduct was subjected to (at least) local repairs) between 41 and 54 AD, during the reign ofClaudius[1]: 147 . Though there are a few remains of later repairs, these can't be dated reliablly[1]: 147 .
Its source was at the volcanic area of the Alban hills on the estate ofLucullus,[6] between today's municipalities ofGrottaferrata andMarino, a mere 18 km fromRome.
Until theAugustan era the aqueduct flowed along an underground route from source to terminus.
In 33 BC,Agrippa modified the aqueduct concurrently with the construction of theAqua Julia and added 92 quinariae of water flow from the Julia. The conduit was made to join the newly built one for Julia until it reached the current locality of Capannelle near theAqua Marcia where there was alimaria pool (settling basin) and by which time the water had cooled.
The water was then split again (for an unexplained reason) into two conduits for the Tepula and the Julia, the Tepula being the highest, superimposed on arches of the Marcia, for the remaining 10 km. They reached the city atad spem veterem, nearPorta Maggiore.
From here on the conduit used theAurelian Walls and crossedVia Tiburtina on an arch which becamePorta Tiburtina. The route passed theViminal gate, where Termini Station stands today, and ended near thePorta Collina, where the main distributioncastellum was, near the current Via XX Settembre. It passed through 14castella delivering water to four regions.[7]
Later another 163 quinariae of water,[8] derived from the futureAnio Novus aqueduct (built around 50 AD), were added at thehorti Epaphroditiani on theEsquiline hill for a final overall total, upon distribution, of 445 (190+92+163) quinariae (18,467 m3, about 200 litres per second), still a scant amount in Roman times.
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