Underground Drainageways in Southern Etruria and Northern Latium

Bibliographic Data

ID10967331
AuthorsSheldon Judson (Princeton University, corresponding author), Anne Kahane (British School at Rome)
Year1963
Volume31
Issue1
Pages74-99
Publication date1963-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePapers of the British School at Rome (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0068-2462 • E-ISSN: 2045-239X
PublisherOpen Book Publishers (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0068246200001677
OpenAlexW2334217836
LanguageEN
Citations received25
References cited2

The River Tiber at Rome flows between the gentle, converging slopes of two extinct volcanoes, the M. Sabatini to the northwest and the complex known as the Alban Hills to the southeast. On the southern flanks of the M. Sabatini lie the Etruscan cities of Veii and Caere (modern Cerveteri) as well as many smaller Etruscan settlements. To the south on the western and southern slopes of the Alban Hills are such ancient towns of northern Latium as Ardea, Lanuvio and Velletri. In these same areas is an extensive development of underground passageways locally known as cuniculi, structures which are the subject of this report. The cuniculus was widely used for a variety of purposes during classical and pre-classical antiquity in central Italy. Livy reports on cuniculi driven as military devices to gain access to besieged cities. The traditional account of the lowering of the Alban Lake, as reported by Livy, dates from the early 4th century B.C. Excavations in urban centres have demonstrated that the Etruscans and later the Romans used cuniculi for drainage purposes, and also as lateral collectors of underground water in wells. This report deals with extensive systems of cuniculi found in the Roman Campagna but not directly related to urban or domestic development

Archaeology · Biology · Drainage · Drainage system (geomorphology · Excavation · Geography · Human settlement · Volcano · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeological Research and Protection · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Ecology · Geology · Paleontology