You are currently viewing the European Union version of the site.
Would you like to switch to your local site?
3 MIN READ TIME

WHAT DID THE ROMANS EVER DO FOR US?

WORDS: JONNY WILKES & EMMA SLATTERY WILLIAMS

PLUMBING

One thing the Romans are well-known for is their plumbing, particularly the great aqueducts that carried water into towns – a major engineering feat – and huge sewers, such as the 6th-century BC Cloaca Maxima in Rome, that took waste out of the city. Aqueducts used gravity and the natural slope of the land to transport fresh water downhill from streams and lakes often located some distance away.

Aqueducts supplied farms, mines and (of course) the ubiquitous Roman baths. This is the Pont du Gard, which carried an aqueduct in southern France
GETTY IMAGES X5, ALAMY X4
Unlock this article and much more with
You can enjoy:
Enjoy this edition in full
Instant access to 600+ titles
Thousands of back issues
No contract or commitment
Try for €1.09
SUBSCRIBE NOW
30 day trial, then just €11,99 / month. Cancel anytime. New subscribers only.


Learn more
Pocketmags Plus
Pocketmags Plus

This article is from...


View Issues
BBC History Revealed Magazine
September 2020
VIEW IN STORE

Other Articles in this Issue


In This Issue
WELCOME
From tyrannical emperors and imperial expansion, to bathing, beauty and
ROMANS
POWER GAMES AND POLITICS IN THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
Before the Empire, there was the Republic. Philip Matyszak explains how it came about, how the Senate worked, and why the whole mighty edifice came crashing down
THE BURGEONING ROMAN EMPIRE
After almost half a millennia of republic came five centuries of empire – and some of the most famous and colourful rulers in history. Trace a path through the dynastic squabbles and murder plots
SLAVERY IN ANCIENT ROME
Whether you worked in the mines or as a concubine, life as a slave could be thoroughly unpleasant. Delve into the dangerous world of forced labour
ROMAN FOOD AND DRINK
What could you expect to find on the average Roman’s dining table?
HOME IS WHERE THE BATH IS
What were Ancient Romans’ houses like, and why were they obsessed with bathing? Take a tour of a Roman villa and bathhouse
RELIGION AND WORSHIP
Prior to adopting Christianity, the Romans worshipped a multitude of gods and goddesses
THE MIGHT OF THE ROMAN ARMY
The legions of Rome were the backbone of the Empire, but what was it like being a soldier?
LEISURE AND GAMES
When it came to fun, the Ancient Romans weren’t all that different from us
FEATURES
THE VILLAS-BÔAS BROTHERS’ EXTRAORDINARY EXPEDITION
Pat Kinsella follows the footsteps of the Roncador-Xingu expedition – a trail through the Brazilian rainforest and across one of Earth’s final frontiers that led to the establishment of a unique national park
THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE FEMALE DETECTIVES
From the mid-19th century onwards, an increasing number of women discovered a new career, one that offered freedom, excitement and subterfuge. Nell Darby explores why female private detectives came to be in such demand…
WHAT IF... NAPOLEON HAD BEEN VICTORIOUS AT WATERLOO?
Jonny Wilkes talks to Professor Alan Forrest about whether Napoleon could have secured his remarkable return to power at Waterloo – or if victory would only have delayed the inevitable
EVERY MONTH
THIS MONTH’S BIG NUMBERS
The tender age of Edward the Black Prince when he
Untitled
Star of the silver screen Marlene Dietrich was known for
THINGS WE’VE LEARNED THIS MONTH...
Underwater divers have uncovered a cave in Mexico that is
Sackbut player
MEET THE PEOPLE BRINGING HISTORY TO LIFE
The English triumph at the Battle of Poitiers
Early in the morning of 19 September 1356, the thunder
The Siege of Leningrad
Between 8 September 1941 and 27 January 1944, the Soviet
YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE ROMANS
It’s hard to imagine Rome as it began – a
Q&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER
HISTORY’S GREATEST CONUNDRUMS AND MYSTERIES SOLVED
TV, FILM & RADIO
THE LATEST DOCUMENTARIES, BLOCKBUSTERS AND PERIOD DRAMAS
EVENTS & EXHIBITIONS
WHAT TO SEE AND WHERE TO VISIT IN WORLD OF HISTORY
BOOKS & AUDIO BOOKS
THIS MONTH’S BEST HISTORICAL READS AND LISTENS
HISTORICAL FICTION
In 1657, Frances, the youngest daughter of Oliver Cromwell, is
Q&A
Miranda Malins is a historian and writer who specialises in
LETTERS
I came across Sue Gent’s stunning illustration of Abubakari II
EGYPTIAN WOMEN UNDERGO WEAPONS TRAINING 1956
Since 1951, the area around Egypt’s Suez Canal had become
Chat
X
Pocketmags Support