In 312 B.C. Appius Claudius built the first aqueduct for the city of Rome. The Romans were still a tightly knit body of citizens whose lives centered on the seven hills within the city wall beside the Tiber river.
What were aqueducts built for and how did they work?
Aqueducts helped keep Romans healthy by carrying away used water and waste, and they also took water to farms for irrigation. So how did aqueducts work? The engineers who designed them used gravity to keep the water moving. If the channel was too steep, water would run too quickly and wear out the surface.
Why were aqueducts built with arches?
The invention of the Roman arch gave them the capability to build larger and heavier structures than any other civilization up to that point. These arches were designed in such a way that the force applied down on them was directed horizontally instead of vertically.