Maritime hydraulics in antiquity
Encyclopedia
With the issue of supplying water to a very large population, the Romans
developed hydraulic systems for multiple applications: public water supply, power using water mills, hydraulic mining
, fish tanks, irrigation, fire fighting, and of course aqueduct
(Stein 2004). Scientists such as Ctesibius
and Archemedes produced the first inventions involving hydraulic power (Oleson 1984).
was the bilge pump
, which functioned to siphon collected water out of a ship’s hull (Oleson 1984). The bilge pump was an improvement on the first hydraulic pumps used in antiquity: force pumps. Invented around the early 3rd century BCE, the most primitive design of a force pump consisted of a piston pushing water out of a tube, constructed by soldering individual bronze elements (Stein 246).
Written accounts from Phil of Byzantium (late 3rd century BCE), Vitruvius (c. 25 BCE), and Hero of Alexandria (c. CE 50) confirm archaeological evidence for the original simple design, and both Hero and Vitruvius specify that the pump was typically made of bronze (Stein 2004). Somewhere along the way a new design arose that involved cutting apertures into an individual wood block and then rendering the block pressure-proof with tightly fitting plugs and plates (Stein 2004).
Although cheaper and easier to manufacture, assemble, and repair, the wooden pumps manufactured from then on would most likely not have been durable enough for maritime use, which is why we usually find lead pipes associated with bilge pumps, bilge wells, and hydraulic devices of other function about ships. The amphora shipwreck discovered at Grado in Gorizia, Italy, which dates to around 200 CE, and contained what archaeologists hypothesized to be a ‘hydraulics’ system to change the water in live fish tanks, since other evidence indicates the ship’s involvement in the processed fish trade (Beltrame and Gaddi 2005).
This hypothesis has been disputed, since the wooden box protecting a lead pipe along the longitudinal axis of the hull found on the wreck suggest the existence of a bilge well (Oleson and Stein 2007). Previous ships involved in live fish tank transport, entitled navis vivariae, did not employ a hydraulic system, and for this reason the hypothesis proves especially questionable (Boetto 124). For example, one of the wrecks found in Claudius’s harbor at the modern Fiumicino Airport in Italy was a small fish craft dating somewhere around the 2nd century CE. Archaeologists discovered a fish-well in the middle of the ship that used the hole/plump system bored in the bottom of the boat to fill the tank (Boetto 2006). Other than the Grado wreck no other evidence exists of hydraulic systems being used in the fish industry.
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
developed hydraulic systems for multiple applications: public water supply, power using water mills, hydraulic mining
Hydraulic mining
Hydraulic mining, or hydraulicking, is a form of mining that uses high-pressure jets of water to dislodge rock material or move sediment. In the placer mining of gold or tin, the resulting water-sediment slurry is directed through sluice boxes to remove the gold.-Precursor - ground...
, fish tanks, irrigation, fire fighting, and of course aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
(Stein 2004). Scientists such as Ctesibius
Ctesibius
Ctesibius or Ktesibios or Tesibius was a Greek inventor and mathematician in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt. He wrote the first treatises on the science of compressed air and its uses in pumps...
and Archemedes produced the first inventions involving hydraulic power (Oleson 1984).
Specific technology
The most prevalent hydraulic pump used in maritime situations in ancient RomeAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
was the bilge pump
Bilge pump
A bilge pump is a water pump used to remove bilge water. Since fuel can be present in the bilge, electric bilge pumps are designed to not cause sparks. Electric bilge pumps are often fitted with float switches which turn on the pump when the bilge fills to a set level. Since bilge pumps can fail,...
, which functioned to siphon collected water out of a ship’s hull (Oleson 1984). The bilge pump was an improvement on the first hydraulic pumps used in antiquity: force pumps. Invented around the early 3rd century BCE, the most primitive design of a force pump consisted of a piston pushing water out of a tube, constructed by soldering individual bronze elements (Stein 246).
Written accounts from Phil of Byzantium (late 3rd century BCE), Vitruvius (c. 25 BCE), and Hero of Alexandria (c. CE 50) confirm archaeological evidence for the original simple design, and both Hero and Vitruvius specify that the pump was typically made of bronze (Stein 2004). Somewhere along the way a new design arose that involved cutting apertures into an individual wood block and then rendering the block pressure-proof with tightly fitting plugs and plates (Stein 2004).
Although cheaper and easier to manufacture, assemble, and repair, the wooden pumps manufactured from then on would most likely not have been durable enough for maritime use, which is why we usually find lead pipes associated with bilge pumps, bilge wells, and hydraulic devices of other function about ships. The amphora shipwreck discovered at Grado in Gorizia, Italy, which dates to around 200 CE, and contained what archaeologists hypothesized to be a ‘hydraulics’ system to change the water in live fish tanks, since other evidence indicates the ship’s involvement in the processed fish trade (Beltrame and Gaddi 2005).
This hypothesis has been disputed, since the wooden box protecting a lead pipe along the longitudinal axis of the hull found on the wreck suggest the existence of a bilge well (Oleson and Stein 2007). Previous ships involved in live fish tank transport, entitled navis vivariae, did not employ a hydraulic system, and for this reason the hypothesis proves especially questionable (Boetto 124). For example, one of the wrecks found in Claudius’s harbor at the modern Fiumicino Airport in Italy was a small fish craft dating somewhere around the 2nd century CE. Archaeologists discovered a fish-well in the middle of the ship that used the hole/plump system bored in the bottom of the boat to fill the tank (Boetto 2006). Other than the Grado wreck no other evidence exists of hydraulic systems being used in the fish industry.