Original scientific paper
The impact of lead pipes on the sustainability of the Roman water supply system
Jure Margeta
orcid.org/0000-0002-9237-0169
; Sveučilište u Splitu Fakultet građevinarstva, arhitekture i geodezije
Abstract
This paper analyses the impact of lead pipes on human's health and the livelihood sustainability in Roman cities. Lead began to be used 7000 years before Christ, and it reached its peak in the Roman period and again around 1950. In the Roman Empire lead pipes were mostly used to build water supply networks. Lead is poisonous to humans, which was known to the Romans. Today, some authors assume that the use of lead was one of the causes of the weakening and fall of the Roman Empire. It turns out that one of the causes could be lead pipes. In order to gain a more complete insight into the positive and negative impacts of the use of lead pipes, the paper analyses the lifetime pipe impacts on water supply network, water quality and the environment. A pressure test of a lead pipe excavated in Salona was organized. The obtained results indicate that Roman lead pipes are safe, reliable, and provide appropriate leak tightness in Roman water pressure systems. This is the result of the open and low pressure natural concept of water supply in which water constantly flows through a pipe system and had serpentine paths similar to rivers. However, lead has had negative effects on human health and the environment during production and processing and on soil and water by disposal and installation. The lead pipes and Roman water supply network had a lifespan of several centuries and ensured a safe supply of healthy water. In the example of Salona, it was more than 600 years.
Keywords
Roman water supply system; lead pipes; sustainability of water supply; water service heritage; Salona
Hrčak ID:
313338
URI
Publication date:
18.12.2023.
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