History of Civil Engineering

HISTORY OF CIVIL ENGINEERINNG Republic of the Philippines
President Ramon Magsaysay State University

(Formerly Ramon Magsaysay Technological University)
Iba, Zambales, Philippines
Tel/Fax No.: (047) 811-1683
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
COURSE CODE: CE 112

COURSE Title: Civil Engineering Orientation
1st Semester of S.Y. 2020-2021
Introduction
In this module, you will be introduced to the world of civil engineering through the discussion of ancient civil
engineering construction. At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
 Understand the significance of these constructions to the development of the field of civil engineering.
 Identify the materials, equipments and method of constructions used in building the structures.
 Know the purposes of each of the structures and their capacity in relation to their listed purposes.
 List some communications applications and careers in the communication industry
Intended Learning Outcomes
A. Have an ability to design, build, improve and install systems of processes which meet desired needs within realistic
constraints.
B. Have an understanding of the effects and impacts of civil engineering projects on nature and society.
C. Have specialized engineering knowledge in each applicable field and the ability to apply such knowledge to
provide solutions to actual poblems.
Activity
In this module there are 12 ancient civil engineering constructions presented but there are actually more. For
your activity search for more ancient consructions which had different purposes from the ones presented.
1. Write down other ancient constructions you have searched.

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Discussion
Ancient Civil Engineering Construction
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Prepared by: ENGR. MARIA THEREZA VICHO
HISTORY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING It is difficult to determine the history of the emergence and beginning of civil engineering, however, that the history of
civil engineering is a mirror of the history of human beings on this earth. Man used the old shelter caves to protect themselves of
weather and harsh environment, and used a tree trunk to cross the river, which being the demonstration of ancient age civil
engineering.
Civil engineering has been an aspect of life since the beginnings of human existence. The earliest practices of civil
engineering may have commenced between 4000 and 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (Ancient Iraq) when humans
started to abandon a nomadic existence, thus causing a need for the construction of shelter. During this time, transportation
became increasingly leading to the development of the wheel and sailing.
Until modern times there was no clear distinction between civil engineering and architecture, and the term engineer
and architect were mainly geographical variations referring to the same person, often used interchangeably. The construction of
pyramids in Egypt (circa 2700 – 2500 BC0 might be considered the first instance of large structure construction.
1. KING DJOSER’S PYRAMID: THE STEP PYRAMID OF EGYPT
The Pyramid of Djoser, also known as the Step Pyramid, is an archeological remain in the Saqqara necropolis,
Egypt, northwest of the city of Memphis. It was built in the 27 th century B.C. during the Third Dynasty for the
burial of Pharaoh Djoser by his vizier, Imhotep.
Imhotep was an Egyptian chancellor and was the probable architect of the Djoser’s step pyramid. For reasons
which remain unclear, Imhotep (c. 2667 BC) conceived of building a more impressive tomb for his king by
stacking mastabas on top of one another, progressively making them smaller, to form the shape now known as
the Step Pyramid.
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HISTORY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
The pyramid was constructed using 22.6 million cubic feet (330,400 cubic meters) of stone and clay. Its main
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HISTORY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING material is limestone. The tunnels beneath the pyramid form a labyrinth about 3.5 miles (5.5 kilometers) long.
The pyramid is at the center of a complex 37 acres (15 hectares) in size. The pyramid is 62 meters high which is
the tallest structure in its time. This pyramid is one of the most important archeological sites in all of Egypt.
While it may not be as impressive or as famous as the Giza Pyramids, this structure predates them, and it is vital
to archeologists’ understanding of the development of pyramid construction.
2. STUPAS
Stupas are among the most important and recognizable forms of Buddhist Architecture. They are mound-like
structures containing Buddhist relics, typically, the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as place of worship.
Stupas are circular tumuli made of unburnt sun-dried mud bricks and stones.
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The Mahaparinirvana Sutra (an ancient Buddhist text describing the last days of the Buddha claims that after the
Buddha passed away, his followers divided his cremated remains into eight portions. Each of the eight kingdoms
in which the Buddha had lived received one portion of the relics, and a stupa was erected in each kingdom in
order to house the remains.
Buddhist sources claim that during the 3 rd century BC, the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka the Great ordered these
eight stupas to be opened, further distributed the relics of the Buddha into 84,000 portions, and had stupas built
over them all over the expanding Buddhist world. Stupas vary in size and design. There are five types of stupas,
which are Relic stupa, Object stupa, Commemorative stupa, Symbolic stupa, and Votive stupa.
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HISTORY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING 3. QANAT WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
A qanat or kariz is a gently sloping underground channel to transport water from an aquifer to the surface for
irrigation and drinking. There have existed some 37,000 active qanats running all over Iran, discharging about 7
billion cubic meter groundwater a year. The qanat water system was developed by Persian people sometime in
the early 1st millennium BC. It is said that the inventor of this water management system was king Sargon II,
during the 7th century BC.
This is called a windlass, it is set to collect the spoils and haul them to the top. The shaft
can be anywhere from 50 feet deep to hundreds of feet deep depending on the depth
of the groundwater.
Constructing a qanat does not require that much material. Ancient Persian people only used traditional digging
or excavation tools such as shovel and pickaxe to make long (up to 100km) tunnels.
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The main purpose of the qanat water management system is to deliver water into a town or village where it can
be used to support biological needs, grow crops, and even used as power source to turn mills.
4. SENNACHERIB’S AQUEDUCT
An aqueduct is a manmade channel created to transport water, typically in the form of a bridge across valleys or
some other gap. Sennacherib’s aqueduct’s construction was spearheaded by the Assyrian king Sennacherib.
Designed by Assyrian engineers and built by Sennacherib’s workers comprised mostly of laborers from Arab
villages.
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This aqueduct is 50 miles long which leads water to Sennacherib’s extensive garden and cities, has a 30 feet high
wall and a 90 feet long bridge connecting the water canals. It has a total of 18 water canals connected to Nineveh
from the Tebitu reservoir. It is built in limestone blocks that weighted 250 kilograms each, numbering in a total
of two million brick used. They were held together using waterproof cement.
The aqueduct is currently located in Jerwan, a site north of Mosul in the Nineveh province of present-day Iraq. It
is estimated that the aqueduct was built around 703 BC to 690 BC and was estimated to be built from start to
finish for around 15 years.
5. THE APPIAN WAY
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The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: Via Appia) is one of the earliest and strategically most important roman
roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its
common name recorded by Statius: Appia Longarum… regina viarum or “The Appian Way the queen of the
long roads”.
The Appian Way was a crucial road for the Roman Empire. It connected Rome to some of its most distant
settlements. Originally built by Appius Claudius Caecus, then-censor of Rome, the road connected Rome to
Capua near Naples. Eventually, it extended more than 300 miles to Brindisi, Puglia on the Adriatic Coast,
making it the widest and longest road in existence at the time. Its construction was truly momentous, especially
considering it was built in 312 BC.
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The greatest systematic road builders of the ancient world were the Romans, who were very conscious of the
military, economic, and administrative advantages of a good road system. The Romans their expertise mainly
from the Etruscans – particularly in cement technology and street paving – though they probably also learned
skills from the Greeks (masonry). Cretans, Carthaginians (pavement structure), Phoenicians, and Egyptians
(surveying). Concrete made from cement was a major development that permitted many of Rome’s construction
advances.
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The Romans began their road-making task in 334 BC and by the peak of the empire had built nearly 53,000
miles of road connecting their capital with the frontiers of their far-flung empire. Twenty-nine great military
roads, the via militares, radiated from Rome. The most famous was the Appian Way. Begun in 312 BC, this road
eventually followed the Mediterranean coast south to Capua and then turned eastward to Beneventum, where it
divided into two branches, both reaching Brundisium (Brindisi). From Brundisium, the Appian Way traversed
the Adriatic coast to Hydruntum, a total of 410 miles from Rome. The whole distance of the original road was
365 miles which will take 13 days to complete the journey. The road width was 14 roman feet (4.15 meters).
Wide enough to allow two chariots to pass in an opposite direction.
6. THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA
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The Great Wall of China is an ancient series of walls and fortifications. Totaling more than 13,000 miles in
length, located in northern China. Perhaps the most recognizable symbol of China and its long and vivid history,
The Great Wall was originally conceived by Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the third century BC as a means of
preventing incursions from barbarian nomads.
The best-known and best-preserved section of the Great Wall was built in the 14 th through 17th centuries AD,
during the Ming dynasty. Though the Great Wall never effectively prevented invaders from entering China, it
came to function as a powerful symbol of Chinese civilization’s enduring strength. The original Wall of China
was constructed from the 7th Century BC by the Chu state and lasted until 1878 in the Qing Dynasty. The most
remaining we see today was built in the Ming Dynasty about 600 years ago.
The construction materials of the Great Wall were mainly earth, stone, brick, lime, and wood. The materials used
depended on the local resources available. When building the Great Wall on mountains, stones were used from
the mountains; when building it across the plains, the materials used were earth, bricks, and lime. Even Branches
of willow tress were used with sand
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HISTORY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING when the Great Wall was built across the deserts.
If all the fortified walls that were built by the different dynasties and kingdoms around northern China are
included, the total length would exceed 20,000 kilometers (12,000 miles). All these walls together were
completed over a period of 22 centuries. It is probably impossible to calculate the number of people who built
the Great wall, or the man hours expended. The original wall was constructed by laborers comprising soldiers,
common people and criminals.
7. JULIUS CAESAR’S BRIDGE
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Julius Caesar was a populist Roman dictator, politician, military general, and historian who played a critical role
in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. Born on 13 th of
July, 100 BC, he is famous for the conquest of Gaul (modern France and Belgium) and his subsequent coup d’
etat. He changed the Roman Republic into the monarchy and laid the foundations of a truly Mediterranean
Empire. In the spring of 55 BC, Julius Caesar’s soldiers attacked a large group of Germanic refugees during an
armistice. Many people, belonging to the tribes of the Usipetes and Tencteri, were massacred. The Roman
Senate discussed this shameful behavior, and Caesar decided to divert the Senate’s attention.
The Germans were too ready to cross into Gaul, and Caesar wanted them to have reasons for their anxiety when
they realized that an army of Roman people could and would cross the Rhine. Julius thought that crossing the
Rhine in boats would be too risky and would not be fitting of his own prestige and that of Rome. So, he thought
of something.
And so, even though building a bridge involved enormous difficulties, because of the breadth and depth of the
river and it’s strong current, this is what he thought he must attempt, or else give any thoughts of taking up the
army across. They used tackle to lower the poles into the river, where they were fixed in the bed and driven
home with piledrivers, not vertically, as piles usually are, but obliquely, leaning in the direction of the current.
Opposite pole, 40 feet lower down the river, two more piles were fixed, joined in the same way, though this time
against the force of the current.
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The poles that are leaning towards the current are protected by bridge shields. They had that idea because Julius
Caesar said “How do you protect a fighting man? With a shield. How might you protect a bridge? With a shield.
We could put wedge-shaped fences in front of the piles.” Ten days after the collection of timbers, the work was
completed, and the army led across. The length of the bridge has been estimated to be 140 to 400 meters or 460
to 1,300 feet, and its width 7 to 9 meters or 23 to 30 feet. The river’s depth is up to 9.1 meters or 30 feet deep. It
was built in 55 BC and was located between Italy and Gaul where the Rubicon river can be seen. Most likely it
was built at the Rubicon river.
8. PONT-DU-GARD (BRIDGE OF THE GARD)
Built by the Roman Empire in Southern France at the city of Nimes with 800-1000 laborers, Pont Du Gard
was constructed to supply the city of Nimes, formerly known as Nemausus, with water across the river. It also
served as pedestrian bridge and eventually became a tourist spot. It was probably constructed in the middle of
the First Century AD. Its construction is said to have occurred around 19 BC and is credited to Marcus
Vipsanius Agrippa, he was son in law and lieutenant of the famous emperor Augustus.
It was constructed to supply the city of Nimes with water across the river.
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It was 20 km long from its source of water and 50 km from the bridge to the city of Nimes. The completion of
this bridge is believed to have taken about 10 to 15 years. It contains an estimated 50,400 tons of limestone with
a volume of some 21,000 meter cube. The bridge is constructed out of soft yellow limestone blocks, taken from
a nearby quarry that borders the river. Like many of the best roman constructions Pont Du Gard was built
without the use of Mortar.
The floor below has 6 arches and measured 142.35 m long, 6.36m thick and 21.87m high. The floor central has
11 arches and measured 242.55m long, 4.56m thick, 19.50m high. The upper deck contains 35 arches and
measured 275m long, 3.06m thick, and 7.40m high while the main arch measured 24.52m wide and contains 4
small arches. The bridge has a capacity of over 2 million liters (200,000 cubic meters) of water pass through
each day supplying the growing city of Nimes. It took around 27 hours for the water to flow from its source to
the city. The Nimes aqueduct was built to channel water from the spring of the Fontaine d’Eure near Uzes to
Catellum divisorum, an open circular basin of diameter 5.5m and depth 1m from the basin it was distributed to
fountains, baths and private home of the city of Nimes.
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9. EXTENSIVE WATER SYSTEM OF THE HOHOKAM INDIANS
Hohokams are the native American who was a society located in southwest of North America, now part of
Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. The Hohokam people lived in the Mesa area for nearly 1,500 years. Hohokam,
first appeared around 1 AD. initially growing beans, squash, corn and cotton serving a very small population of
less than one thousand. Around 600 AD, the Hohokam population grew too large for sustainable living. As the
population grew further from the river, the Hohokam began to construct canals for irrigation. The culture
flourished for more than 1,000 years. The Hohokam people dug a sophisticated network of canals in the Salt
River Valley as a foundation for a flourishing civilization. With a population estimated to be as many as 80,000
individuals at unforgiving Sonoran desert before disappearing in about 1450 AD.
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To maximize potential of water to exit river into canals, the Hohokam developed several techniques. A weir, or
partial dam, forced water into the head gate of the canal, creating maximum force, and more efficiently carrying
water to the local farms. The head gates were made of wood and giant rocks, withstanding the rivers immense
strength. The Hohokam canal stretched nearly 500 miles and would serve up to 50,000 natives at any given time.
There is no universally accepted evidence on why they disappeared, only speculation. The most viable reason
was outgrowing their capacity to sustain life in the desert. Especially during periods of environmental stress, all
but vanished by 1450 AD.
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HISTORY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Building these canals required a substantial investment of human labor. The soil was removed by hand, probably
using large wedge-shaped pieces of stone called “stone hoes,” and wooden digging sticks to loosen the soil. It’s
an inverse isosceles trapezoid with an upper base length of 26m, a lower base length of 18m and a height of
6.1m. The culture is customarily divided into four developmental periods: Pioneer (200 AD-775 AD), Colonial
(775 AD-975 AD), Sedentary (975 AD - 150 AD), and classical (from approximately 1150 AD to sometime
between 1350 AD and 1450 AD). 800,000 cubic meters of soil may have been removed for the construction of
the main canals in Canal System 2 during both the Colonial and Classic periods, and in excess of 400,000 cubic
meters during the Sedentary period (A.D. 900-1100).
The Hohokam engineers were keenly aware of the local topography, the dips and slopes, drainages and soils.
They developed a sophisticated knowledge of the flow of water through channels and developed a series of
techniques for delivering water to the surface of the fields. Each technique was appropriate for a specific
topographic setting such as steep slopes and flat river terraces. The canal systems were designed with respect to
the needs and characteristics of the environment.
10. THE PARTHENON
The Parthenon is a former temple on Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Goddess Athena, whom the
people of Athens considered their patron. Dedicated to Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom, it was very
important temple to the Greeks. They worshipped all of their Gods by building temples for them and giving
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HISTORY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING sacrifices. Because the Parthenon was dedicated to Athena, it has sometimes been referred to as the Temple of
Minerva, the Roman name for Athena, particularly during the 19 th century.
The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece, Athenian democracy and Western
Civilization, and one of the world’s greatest cultural monuments. To the Athenians who built it, the Parthenon
and other Periclean monuments of the Acropolis were seen fundamentally as a celebration of Hellenic victory
over the Persian invaders and as a thanksgiving to the gods for that victory.
Construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the peak of its power. It was completed in 438
BC, although decoration of the building continued until 432 BC It was built to replace two earlier temples of
Athena on the Acropolis. One of these, of which almost no trace remains today, stood south of the Parthenon
(between the Parthenon and the Erechtheum). The other, which was still being built at the time of the Persian
sack in 480, was on the same spot as the Parthenon. We know the names of the architects (Ictinus and
Callicrates) and also of the sculptor (Phidias) who made the massive chryselephantine cult statue of the goddess.
The temple’s great size and lavish use of white marble was intended to show off the city’s power and wealth at
the height of its empire, under the statesman Pericles. It was the centerpiece of an ambitious building program
centered on the Acropolis.
The Parthenon is a Doric peripheral temple, which means that it consists of a rectangular floor plan with a series
of low steps on every side, and a colonnade (8 x 17) of Dorice columns extending around the periphery of the
entire structure. Each entrance has an additional six columns in front of it. The larger of the two interior rooms,
the naps, housed the cult statue. The smaller room (the opisthodomos) was used as a treasury.
P a g e 20 | 26
After Greece gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, efforts were made to restore the building, but the
campaign headed by engineer Nikolaos Balanos proved to have caused more damage, and in 1975 a multi-
decade restoration began. Each salvageable piece of marble was returned to its original position, while gaps were
filled with new marble from the same quarry the ancient Athenians had used. The time-consuming project lasted
over 40 years.
11. MACHU PICCHU
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Machu Picchu is an Incan citadel set high in the Andes Mountains in Peru, above the Urubamba River valley.
Built in the 15th century and later abandoned, it’s renowned for its sophisticated dry-stone walls that fuse huge
blocks without the use of mortar, intriguing buildings that play on astronomical alignments and panoramic
views. It is located on a ridge between the Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu mountains. It sits 7,970 feet (2,430
meters) above sea level on the eastern slope of the Andes.
Machu Picchu was believed to have been built by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, the ninth ruler of the Inca in the
mid-1400s. An empire builder, Pachacuti initiated a series of conquests that would eventually see the Inca grow
into a South American realm that stretched from Ecuador to Chile. About 5,000 people must have worked to
build Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu was built starting 1450-1460. There is a consensus among archaeologist that Pachacutec ordered
the construction of the royal estate for himself, most likely after a successful military campaign. Though Machu
Picchu is considered to be a “royal” estate, surprisingly, it would not have been passed down in the line of
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HISTORY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING succession. Rather, it was used for 80 years before being abandoned.
12. El Camino Real
El Camino Real (Spanish: literally “The Royal Road”, often translated as “The King’s Highway”), sometimes
associated with Calle Real (within the U.S. state of California. It is the longest and oldest historical trail in the
Western Hemisphere. It is a transportation lifeline composed of Indian footpaths and buffalo trails. Began at
Mexico City in 1540 and was developed over the next half century. Earlier El Camino Real was extended from
Mexico to Santa Fe, and large portions of the early routes across Texas were based on Indian Trails. It first
entered Texas in the late 17 th century. It was built to confront and counter French intrusion and for the
evangelization of Native Indians.
P a g e 23 | 26
The royal road was in fact a modest dirt footpath that could only accommodate people and horses. But as time
flew pass them, it grew wide a bit that it could also accommodate carts and wagons. The mission in California
was built approximately 30 miles apart and its end to point distance was approximately 600 miles.
P a g e 24 | 26
California mission walkers was the term that referred to a group of people who have walked (or plan to walk) El
Camino Real – the route connecting 21 missions. Saint Junipero Serra was a Franciscan priest who founded the
first mission in 1769 – the San Diego De Alcala Mission ordained as Missionary saint last September, 2015.
Assessment
The link to the quiz will be announced in our group chat (facebook messenger)
Reflection
After knowing all the 12 ancient civil engineering construction do you have a picture now of how grand
civil engineering is? I want you to reflect on your reasons of choosing this field. Do you picture yourself as a
civil engineer someday and what kind of a civil engineer will you be?
Resources and Additional Resources
 https://www.ancient.eu/article/862/the-step-pyramid-of-djoser/
 livescience.com/23050-step-pyramid-djoser.html
 https://www.britannica.com/topic/stupa
 https://www.lionsroar.com/what-is-a-stupa/
 https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1506/
 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40068-015-0039-9
 https://www.peabody.harvard.edu/node/2151
 http://engineeringrome.org/the-engineering-behind-the-via-appia/
 https://www.britannica.com/topic/Appian-Way
 https://www.nesgt.com/blog/2017/02/how-did-they-build-the-great-wall-of-china
 https://www.engineering.com/Blogs/tabid/3207/ArticleID/80/The-Great-Wall-of-
China.aspx
 http://wiki.chssigma.com/index.php?title=Julius_Caesar%27s_Rhine_Bridges
 https://www.jstor.org/stable/694298
 https://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/introducing-
engineering/content-section-1.2.1
 https://www.pontdugard.fr/en/ancient-work-art
 https://www.asce.org/project/hohokam-canal-system/
 http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/hohokam2/
 https://greece.greekreporter.com/2019/10/02/the-engineering-secrets-that-enabled-
the-parthenon-to-survive-time-nature-and-man-video/
 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/unlocking-mysteries-of-the-parthenon-
16621015/
 https://www.asce.org/project/machu-picchu/#:~:text=Machu%20Picchu
P a g e 25 | 26
HISTORY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING %20represents%20the%20culmination,years%20of%20Andean%20community
%20development.&text=Machu%20Picchu%20demonstrates%20the
%20ingenuity,language%2C%20iron%2C%20or%20steel.
 https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2010/02/02/machu-picchus-engineering-marvels/
 https://www.asce.org/project/el-camino-real---the-royal-road/
 https://texasalmanac.com/topics/history/origins-camino-real-texas
P a g e 26 | 26

History of Civil Engineering

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HISTORY OF CIVIL ENGINEERINNG Republic of the Philippines

President Ramon Magsaysay State University

COURSE CODE: CE 112

 List some communications applications and careers in the communication industry

Intended Learning Outcomes

1. Write down other ancient constructions you have searched.

1. KING DJOSER’S PYRAMID: THE STEP PYRAMID OF EGYPT

5. THE APPIAN WAY

6. THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

7. JULIUS CAESAR’S BRIDGE

8. PONT-DU-GARD (BRIDGE OF THE GARD)

9. EXTENSIVE WATER SYSTEM OF THE HOHOKAM INDIANS

10. THE PARTHENON

11. MACHU PICCHU

12. El Camino Real

Resources and Additional Resources

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