The Aqua Traiana and the Mills on the Janiculum Author(s): Albert William Van Buren and Gorham Phillips Stevens Source: Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, Vol. 1 (1915/1916), pp. 59-61 Published by: University of Michigan Press for the American Academy in Rome Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4238499 Accessed: 25-12-2015 20:17 UTC
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This content downloaded from 198.91.37.2 on Fri, 25 Dec 2015 20:17:51 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE AQUA TRAIANAAND THE MILLS ON THE JANICULUM ALBERT WILLIAM VAN BUREN
IN COLLABORATIONWITHi GORHAM PHILLIPS STEVENS.
(PLATE 15)
ITis thepurpose of thisarticle to publishthat portion of theAqua Traianawhich is in existenceunder the new buildingof the AmericanAcademy in Rome. This stretchof theaqueduct was uncoveredin theyears 1912-1913, at thetime that earth was beingremoved for the Academy's foundations 1. We includealso inthis publication theremains of theancient mills, apparently run by water-powerfrom that aqueduct, whichwere found a generationago in connectionwith the constructionof the modern streetsadjoining the Academy's premises. For ourknowledge of themills, of whichno tracesare visibletoday, we are undergreat obligation to the courtesy of SenatorRo- dolfoLanciani, who has placed at ourdisposal his original record of thefinds, bearing the date2nd March, 1880. As forthe aqueductitself, it has beenmeasured and drawnby Mr. Stevens;the text of thisarticle has beenprepared by Mr. Van Buren. The upperpart of ourplate (P1. 15) showsthe plan of thesetwo groups of re- mainsand theirposition relative to thenew building of the Academy and otheradjacent property2. The portionA B ofthe aqueduct, extending under the Academy building, has beenfreed of debris,blocked at bothends by twoof the new foundationwalls, andmade accessible from the Academy's basement by meansof shafts at the pointsA andB; it willthus always be availablefor inspection. The aqueductcomes to thesur- faceat thepoint C, whereinsignificant remains are nowvisible, and points toward the
1 In theseexcavations, no traceswere found either 2 Cf. LANCIANI, Forma Urbis Romae, fol. 27; it ofthe Aurelian Wall or ofthe road shown in LANCIANI, shouldbe notedthat the schemefor new streetsthere FormaUrbis Romae, fol. 27. indicatedin blue has sincebeen modified.
This content downloaded from 198.91.37.2 on Fri, 25 Dec 2015 20:17:51 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 60 A. W. VAN BUREN
casinoof Villa Spada,D, whichhas longbeen recognized as having been built on some ancientremains connected with the aqueduct, probably having to do withthe monumental fountain'. In theconstruction of the aqueduct, the portionA B was madepartly by " cut and cover' work,partly (to theWest, where the ground is higher)by tunneling.At A, wherethe ridge of theJaniculum attains one of thehighest levels in thisvicinity, thebottom of thespecus is todayat a depthof m.7.84 belowthe surface of theearth. It emergedabove ground certainly before it reached the casino of VillaSpada (pointD). A sectionat pointB is givenin thelower part of ourplate, Fig. 1; thefloor of the specushere is m. 8.54 lowerthan G, a pointon thethreshold ofthe gate of theVilla Aureliawhich the Academy's official plan of itsproperty states to lie m.82.25 above sea-level.The latterfigure is derivedfrom the officialsurvey of ttheMunicipality of Rome. Thereforethe floor of the specusat pointB liesm. 73.71 abovesea-level. At pointA thefloor of thespecus is m. 0.03 higherthan at B; and as the interval betweenthe two points is m. 26, thereis a slopeof m. 0.115 in m. 100,or a ratio of 1 in 869.562. At thepoint A, theaqueduct changes direction slightly towards the right (facing up-stream),and becomes somewhat broader and higherjust around the bend, probably owingeither to an effortto ease theflow of waterthere or to themeeting oftwo sec- tionsof theaqueduct at thatsame point. The specusis linedwith opus signinum consisting of fragmentsof terra-cotta and browntufa mixed with pozzolana mortar of a whitecolor. Behindthis, on thesides, is opusreliculatum ofbrown tufa laid in pozzolanamortar of a browncolor; see Pi. 15, Fig. 2. The vaultingconsists of fragmentsof brown tufa laid in pozzolana mortarof a browncolor'. Theremains at E F arepresented on a largerscale in the accompanyingcut, Fig. 1,which is a faithfulreproduction of SenatorLanciani's own record; the plan of partof themappears in his FormaUrbis Fig. 1. Romae,fol. 27. It appearsthat these are
I LANCIANI,I Comentariidi Frontino,in, Atti dei cessarilysubject to a certaindegree of variation,owing Lincei,anno CCLXXVII, 1879-80,ser. 3, memorie to irregularitiesof construction, earthquakes, etc. della classedi scienzemorali, storiche e filologiche,vol. 3 CompareDr. E. B. VAN DEMAN, A. J. A., 2. IV, p. 377. Ser., XVI (1912), pp. 415-417. ' It wiil be understoodthat these figuresare ne-
This content downloaded from 198.91.37.2 on Fri, 25 Dec 2015 20:17:51 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE AQUA TRAIANAAND THE MILLS ON THE JANICULUM 61 remainsof a channelroughly parallel to the Aqua Traiana, doubtless fed from it atsome pointbetween B andC', andof transversechannels, sluices, reservoirs, etc., the character of whichmay be explainedas follows:Deriving their supply of waterfrom the aqueduct at somepoint between B and C, as abovesuggested, the mills,with their reservoirs full,could be cutoff entirely from the aqueduct in case the latterwas in needof re- pairs;and thestorage space in thereservoirs would then permit the mills to be usedfor sometime while the repairing was beingcarried on. The sluiceat E (see detail,P1. 15, Fig. 3) probablyregulated the flow of thewater through the mills in accordance withthe varying level of waterin theaqueduct, or drainedthe reservoirswhen they had to be cleanedor repaired;its material was travertine.P1. 15, Fig. 4 represents anothersluice, at pointF; itsmaterial is notrecorded. P1. 15, Fig. 5 showsone of thenumerous millstones, presumably of selce, seen by SenatorLanciani near point E. They confirmthe identificationof this group of channelsetc. as belongingto millsfor grinding grain . The generalquestions connected with the Aqua Traianahave been treated in a broadercontext by Nibby3 and Lanciani4, and willbe includedin the systematic treatiseon theaqueducts of Romewhich is in preparationby Dr. ThomasAshby, Di- rectorof theBritish School of Rome; accordinglyit is notnecessary for me to enter uponthem here. As forthe mills which the courtesy of SenatorLanciani enables us to publish,it is obviousthat they have to do withthe mills on theJaniculum of which we haverecord in the Curiosumand Notitia,Reg. XIV; in theedict of Claudius luliusEcclesius Dynamius, who was PraefectusUrbi towards the end of the fifth century A. D. 5; in Procopius'saccount of thesiege of Romein theyear 537 A. D. 6; and in the LiberPontificalis 7.
I If channelE had originallyextended westward Dintornidi Roma, 2. ed., t. 111,pp. 254-268; forany considerable distance, the foundationwalls of see especiallyp. 263. ournew building, all ofwhich are as deepas thoseat 4 I comentariidi Frontino,pp. 374-380; Ruinsand A andB, shouldhave encountered it. As no suchdis- Excavationsof AncientRome, pp. 47-59. coverywas made,we infer that the aqueduct was tapped 5 C. L L., VI, 1711; compareLANCIANI in Mon. at somepoint between B andC. Ant. dei Lincei,1, 480 f. 2 One maycompare the millsand fullonica which 6 B. G.,1. 19. 8, 19; compareJORDAN-HULSEN, To- havebeen recently discovered in thesubstructures ofthe pographieder Stadt Rom, 1. 3, p. 648, withreferences AntonineBaths. For the opportunityto study these I theregiven; THOMAS HODGKIN, Italy and Her Invaders, am indebtedto the courtesyof Senator Lanciani and IV., 2d. ed., pp. 161 f. theIngegnere Gaetano Ferri, to whomwe maylook for 7 LiberPontificalis, LXXII, Honorius,c. 7 (an in- theofficial publication. terpolation),and XCVII, Hadrian,c. 59. 8
This content downloaded from 198.91.37.2 on Fri, 25 Dec 2015 20:17:51 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions PLATE 15.
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0 qua Traianaand Mills, Janiculum, Rome: General plan and details.
This content downloaded from 198.91.37.2 on Fri, 25 Dec 2015 20:17:51 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions