Description
Book SynopsisHe discusses the strategies the Romans employed to alleviate or prevent flooding, their social and religious attitudes toward floods, and how the threat of inundation influenced the development of the city's physical and economic landscapes.
Trade ReviewA comprehensive, insightful and lucid book-length study on a topic of great importance. -- Eric Kondratieff Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2007 Floods of the Tiber in Ancient Rome is that rare thing in scholarship, a work that genuinely fills a gap in the scholarly literature. Professor Aldrete has brilliantly illuminated an aspect of ancient Rome that was ever present to the city's inhabitants but almost invisible to modern historians. -- Stanley Burstein History Teacher 2007 Thoughtful study. -- Dennis E. Trout American Historical Review 2007 A noble attempt to bring interdisciplinary evidence from outside classical sources to bear on a long-standing problem of Roman history and archaeology. -- James C. Anderson, Jr. Journal of Interdisciplinary History 2008 A meticulously researched, well-written, and thoroughly referenced study of a little known aspect of Rome's history. -- Brian Fagan Historian 2009
Table of ContentsList of Figures and Tables
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Floods and History
Chapter One
Floods in Ancient Rome: Sources and Topography
Floods and the Foundation of Rome
Primary Source Descriptions of Floods in Ancient Rome
Geographic Extent of Floods Based on Primary Sources
The Topography of Rome and Floods
Maps of Hypothetical Floods of Different Magnitudes
Chapter Two
Characteristics of Floods
Flood Types and Basic Hydrology
Hydrology of the Tiber and the Tiber Drainage Basin
Duration of Floods at Rome
Seasonality of Floods at Rome
Frequency of Floods at Rome
Magnitude of Floods at Rome
Conclusion
Chapter Three
Immediate Effects of Floods
Introduction and Methodology
Disruption of the Daily Life of the City
Destruction of Property
Collapse of Structures
Injuries and Drowning
Cleaning Up after a Flood: Water, Mud, Debris, Corpses
Chapter Four
Delayed Effects of Floods
Weakened Buildings
Food Spoilage and Famine
Disease
Psychological Trauma
Recovery and Reconstruction
Chapter Five
Methods of Flood Control
Drain: The Roman Sewers
Fill: Attempts to Raise Ground Level
Divert: Canals and Channel Modification Schemes
Contain: Roman Embankments
Administrative Oversight of the Tiber
Chapter Six
Roman Attitudes toward Floods
Floods and the Urban Fabric of Ancient Rome: Public Buildings
Floods and the Urban Fabric of Ancient Rome: Housing
Water and the Gods
Floods and the Gods: Portents and Divine Anger
Flood Reports: Context and Causation
Flood Prevention: Costs and Benefits
Conclusion: The Romans' Failure to Make Rome Safe from Floods
Appendix I: List of Major Floods at Rome, 414 BC–AD 2000
Appendix II: The Modern Tiber Embankments
Appendix III: A Note on Hydrological Sources
Notes
Bibliography
Index
