Subiaco Dams

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Highest Roman dam and highest in the world until the 14th century

The dam of Subiaco was a Roman dam at Subiaco (Italy ) from the time of Emperor Nero ( 54-68 AD). The executed as a gravity dam shut-off was the largest ever built by the Romans and was 1200 years, until its destruction in 1305, the highest dam building in the world.

Location

The dam was built by the Romans in Sublacus ( Sublaqueum ), today Subiaco, in the Roman province of Lazio, in central Italy on Aniene (Latin: Anio ). Subiaco is derived from the Latin "sub lacu ", meaning " below the lake ." The village is located about 75 km east of Rome. The straight gravity dam consisted of masonry and stood at about 410 m above sea level.

History

The ancient name of the city of Subiaco ( Sublaqueum ) derives from its location from among the lakes on the Nero villa. In the reign of Emperor Claudius ( 41-54 ) and Nero ( 54-68 AD) was the area around Subiaco an imperial summer residence with the possibility of hunting parties and festivals in an idyllic landscape.

Especially under Emperor Nero emerged luxurious villas - in the style related to the Villa Adriana - (Villa di Caccia, Villa of Horace, Villa of Trajan ), which were used by the emperor himself and other high-ranking Roman families. For standard of living and the splendor also included the installation of ornamental water, spacious parks and the organization of festivals.

To safeguard the drinking water supply of the city of Rome, the aqueduct Anio Novus was built under Emperor Trajan, he used the reservoirs now as a water reservoir. First, it sources were selected in the valley below the reservoirs, but this proved to be susceptible to contamination during heavy rainfalls. The use of reservoirs proved to be very advantageous, since the present in water turbidity and impurities deposed at the bottom of the lake and the water was clear.

With the conversion to supply drinking water to the capital these buildings were now on a regular monitoring and repair. This was omitted until the fall of Rome in the late phase of the Roman Empire. Of the once three artificial lakes initially remained two reservoirs in the Middle Ages survived, but in 1305 had a burst floods also the last dam. The destruction of the already dilapidated dam is delivered with a legend:

Specifications

Overall design

The dam was the middle and highest in a cascade of three dams. The architectural remains were removed to new buildings in the city of Subiaco since the late Middle Ages. The building had a suspected dam height of 40 meters (maybe up to 50 meters in height ), a thickness of 13.5 m and a length of the dam crest of 80 m.

For the position of the largest dam there are two hypotheses that are discussed in the literature. One of them refers to a fairly cheap place directly beneath Nero's villa, where the valley narrows like a bottle neck, the other theory assumes the place further down, at the Bridge of San Mauro - there is also a box at the river edge. After Esch the location of the dam is undisputed in the constriction at the Ponte di San Mauro, the bridge over the Aniene on the road to Arcinazzo. There traces of incorporation into the rock face to be visible and a little further downstream cement residues or Roman concrete filling of the wall have been found. In addition to this location under this bridge but Smith also holds the 200 m above nearby location possible. There, in a road of 1883/84 remains have also been found and documented by Giovannoni.

Visualization

In the monastery of St. Benedict (or Sacro Speco ) is at Subiaco a painting by an unknown artist, which originated in 1428, ie 123 years after the destruction. It also depicts the dam and displays it as a straight wall of concrete blocks with two openings below the crest, through which water flows. In addition, Nero's villa is recognizable.

According to Vogel, the Subiaco lock was destroyed on February 20, 1305 by " Eiszerreißung " the flank areas. The dam would be to 1594 the largest reservoir in Europe remained as the 46 m high Tibi Dam was built in Spain, and the highest in the world after the Kurit Dam.