TheCloaca Circi Maximi orCloaca Circi was one of the three main sewers in ancient Rome. Alongside theCloaca Maxima and Chiavicone dell'Olmo[1]
The Cloaca Circi Maximi was built in theAugustan Period to clearRome of unhealthy bodies of water.[2] It was originally a small stream fed by various sources from around thePorta Capena right through the valley between thePalatine Hill andAventine Hill, running down to theriver Tiber.[3] According to tradition, games and horse races were held in this valley from right after the founding of Rome in the 8th century.[citation needed]
Over the centuries theCircus Maximus was built over the stream, with a channel named Euripus running across it halfway and two bridges carrying the track over it. This sewer would drain the area around the Circus Maximus.[4] It also served as thespina down the middle of the track.[citation needed]
UnderJulius Caesar andAugustus the circus and its surroundings were greatly enlarged, covering over the channel, which became a sewer. It was connected to a tunnel modelled on that of theCloaca Maxima and now terminated on the Tiber upstream of the Cloaca Maxima.[citation needed]
Later in the sewer's history it was connected toculverts around theColosseum and maybe theBaths of Caracalla.[4]
TheTorre della Moletta, or Tower ofMoletta was built upon the ruins of the Cloaca Circi Maximi.[3]