Floods of the Tiber in Ancient Rome

Contents

Contents ix List of Figures and Tables xiii Acknowledgments xvii Introduction: Floods and History 1 One Floods in Ancient Rome: Sources and Topography 10 Floods and the Foundation of Rome 10 Primary Source Descriptions of Floods in Ancient Rome 13 Geographic Extent of Floods Based on Primary Sources 33 The Topography of Rome and Floods 39 Maps of Hypothetical Floods of Different Magnitudes 45 Two Characteristics of Floods 51 Flood Types and Basic Hydrology 51 Hydrology of the Tiber and the Tiber Drainage Basin 54 Duration of Floods at Rome 61 Seasonality of Floods at Rome 66 Frequency of Floods at Rome 71 Magnitude of Floods at Rome 81 Conclusion 89 Three Immediate Effects of Floods 91 Introduction and Methodology 91 Disruption of the Daily Life of the City 92 Destruction of Property 97 Collapse of Structures 102 Injuries and Drowning 118 Cleaning Up after a Flood: Water, Mud, Debris, Corpses 123 Four Delayed Effects of Floods 129 Weakened Buildings 129 Food Spoilage and Famine 131 Disease 141 Psychological Trauma 154 Recovery and Reconstruction 160 Five Methods of Flood Control 166 Drain: The Roman Sewers 167 Fill: Attempts to Raise Ground Level 177 Divert: Canals and Channel Modification Schemes 181 Contain: Roman Embankments 192 Administrative Oversight of the Tiber 198 Six Roman Attitudes toward Floods 204 Floods and the Urban Fabric of Ancient Rome: Public Buildings 204 Floods and the Urban Fabric of Ancient Rome: Housing 211 Water and the Gods 217 Floods and the Gods: Portents and Divine Anger 219 Flood Reports: Context and Causation 221 Flood Prevention: Costs and Benefits 225 Conclusion: The Romans’ Failure to Make Rome Safe from Floods 232 Appendix I: List of Major Floods at Rome, 414 BC–AD 2000 241 Appendix II: The Modern Tiber Embankments 247 x Contents Appendix III: A Note on Hydrological Sources 253 Notes 257 Bibliography 303 Index 325 Contents xi This page intentionally left blank ...