Why Did Rome Use Aqueducts

An aqueduct is an artificial channel for conveying water, typically in the form of a bridge. Aqueducts transported water from natural sources into cities and towns. Romans proved to be ahead of their time with the formation of aqueducts. Roman techniques to collect, store, and channel water over huge distances remained unmatched and some of their ideas are still used today. Romans used the water obtained from aqueducts for drinking water and as a water supply for public baths. Although the most sophisticated when it came to water systems, Romans were not the first to create a water system. The Sumerians from Mesopotamia built levees around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to keep from flooding. They then built canals to channel river water
to the fields. The Mayans were another group of people with a developed water system. The Mayans used a series of dams and reservoirs to obtain their water. There is also some evidence that they used sand to filter their water. Although the water systems of the Mesopotamians and the Mayans were developed and productive, they were still no match to the Roman aqueducts. Compared to the Romans, the Mayans’ system was not as easy because they often still had to travel to get their water whereas the aqueducts brought the water to the Romans. The Mesopotamian water systems were just not as advanced as the Roman water systems. Because of their intelligence in building their water system and the amount of aqueducts built throughout Rome, the Romans were able to develop many other things, making the Roman Empire one of the greatest to ever reign.