How were aqueducts built during the Roman empire?

During his reign, Caligula began building two aqueducts that were finished by Emperor Claudius, the Aqua Claudia and Aqua Anio Novus. Trajan built the Aqua Traiana, which is 37 miles long, in A.D. 109. The last of Rome's aqueducts was the Aqua Alexandrina, nearly 14 miles long, built by Alexander Severus in A.D. 226. read more

Hundreds of similar aqueducts were built throughout the Roman Empire. Many of them have since collapsed or been destroyed, but a number of intact portions remain. The Zaghouan Aqueduct is 92.5 km (57.5 mi) in length. It was built in the 2nd century to supply Carthage (in modern Tunisia). read more

Aqueducts in the Roman Empire. The first aqueduct in the city of Rome was the Aqua Appia, built in 312 BC during the Roman Republic. The combined length of all the aqueducts built in ancient Rome is about 800 km (500 miles). However, only 47 km (29 miles) were above ground, as most Roman aqueducts ran beneath the surface of the ground. read more

Gradually, other aqueducts were built across Italy, for example, in Alatri (130-120 BCE) and Pompeii (ca 80 BCE). Julius Caesar built an aqueduct at Antioch, the first outside Italy. Augustus oversaw the construction of aqueducts at Carthage, Ephesus, and the 96km aqueduct which served Naples. read more