Floods of the Tiber in Ancient Rome

Appendix III

Appendix III A Note on Hydrological Sources ∞ lthough the primary readership of this book is most likely ancient historians, archaeologists, and classicists, due to the subject matter, it has of necessity drawn heavily from other fields and disciplines, especially hydrology , civil engineering, and geology. In the interest of accessibility , I have tried to restrain the use of technical hydrological and engineering jargon to reasonable levels, and in sections where a book on floods aimed at engineers might have relied upon mathematical formulas to portray hydrological phenomena, I have substituted more generalized verbal descriptions. For those interested in more detailed or technical information about floods, however, this appendix suggests some starting points. An excellent up-to-date overall introduction to floods, flood processes , and responses to flood hazards is Floods: Physical Processes and Human Impacts, by K. Smith and Ward (1998). This book also contains an extensive and fairly current bibliography. Other particularly useful books on floods are Inland Flood Hazards: Human, Riparian, and Aquatic Communities, by Wohl (2000), and Natural Disasters: Floods, by Miller and Miller (2000). Older, more general works include Floods, by Hoyt and Langbein (1955), and Floods: A Geographical Perspective, by Ward (1978). 253 Some other works I found informative on floods and flood prevention were Floods and Flood Management, edited by Saul (1992); Risk Analysis and Uncertainty in Flood Damage Reduction Studies, published by the Committee on Risk Based Analysis for Flood Damage Reduction , National Water Science and Technology Board (2000); Coping with Floods, edited by Rossi et al. (1994); Urban Flood Loss Prevention and Mitigation, published by United Nations (1990); and Urban Disaster Mitigation: The Role of Engineering and Technology, edited by Cheng and Sheu (1995). Hydrology textbooks provide an understanding of more specialized aspects of water flow. Examples include Elements of Physical Hydrology, by Hornberger et al. (1998); Groundwater Science, by Fitts (2002); River Morphology, by Schumm (1972); Urban Hydrology, by Hall (1984); and Urban Hydrology: A Multidisciplinary Perspective, by Lazaro (1979). On aspects of floods and flood control engineering, there are numerous standard reference works that contain similar information, such as Handbook of Applied Hydraulics, by C. Davis and Sorensen (1984); Drainage and Flood-Control Engineering, by Pickels (1941); Standard Handbook for Civil Engineers, by Merritt (1968); and Building Construction Handbook, by Merritt (1958). The many publications of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on flood control engineering also offer considerable relevant data. On the geology of the city of Rome, an older but still valuable work is La geologia della città di Roma, by Ventriglia (1971). An English language summary of this material is “Geology of Rome, Italy,” by Thomas (1989). A recent supplement to Ventriglia that both features a number of large maps and is particularly concerned with hydrology is La geologia di Roma: Il centro storico, 2 vols., edited by Funiciello (1995). On the Tiber itself and its behavior, the ultimate source of information is the archival records of the Servizio Idrografia and the Autorit à di Bacino del Tevere. For interested readers, summaries of this material as well as substantial amounts of raw numerical data can most conveniently be accessed in Il Tevere: Le inondazioni di Roma e i provvedimenti presi dal governo Italiano per evitarle, by Frosini (1977); Le piene del Tevere a Roma dal V secolo a.C. all’anno 2000, by Bersani and Bencivenga (2001); “Il regime idrologico del Tevere, con particolare riguardo alle piene nella città di Roma,” by Bencivenga et al. (1995); and Appendix III 254 La pianificazione del Bacino del Fiume Tevere 1992–2000, by Ferranti and Paolella (2001). Finally, the various issues of the journal Tevere, published by the Autorità di Bacino del Tevere, contain a wealth of useful information about both the historical and current Tiber, as well as its tributaries. At the time this book went to press, several works containing significant information relevant to the topic of floods and the Tiber were forthcoming, including Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series no. 61, Imaging Ancient Rome, edited by L. Haselberger and J. Humphrey, and several articles by A. Ammerman reporting important new finds concerning the topography of Rome. A Note on Hydrological Sources 255 This page intentionally left blank ...