Water Supply System of

Constantinople (ISTANBUL)
ROMAN WATER ENGINEERING

MID-5th TO THE EARLY 13th CENTURY

BY : M REHAN NAEEM - 006

Mimar Sinan’s water supply system :
• An extensive system of aqueducts was built to help supply water to the growing population of
Constantinople. This system also included a large number of cisterns that stored waters supplied
by aqueducts.

• The most impressive Ottoman water system was the Kırkçeşme water supply system that was
restored and expanded by Mimar Sinan between 1554 and 1563. Mimar Sinan’s system collected
water from the branches of the Stream in the Belgrade Forest, partly using the old Roman water
channels as a guide. This huge water supply system had 55 kilometers of channels and 33
aqueducts, five of which were monumental with several tiers of arches. It also included water
distribution basins and a city distribution network with 300 public fountains. It has been
estimated that it supplied the city with 12,000-17,000 cubic meters of water per day, depending
in part on the season.
AQUADECT’S
Basilica Cistern (UNDERGROUND WATER TANKS)
Roman Water Engineering
1. Roman aqueducts were gravity-based systems of channels, bridges and tunnels designed to bring water
from a city’s hinterland. The aqueduct system required a clean water source. Aqueducts were first supplied
water with intake systems that brought water to a collecting basin. Sizable impurities could be removed by
settling tanks, where sand and dirt would collect at the bottom of the tank. An aqueduct system was
periodically closed so the sediments needed to be removed from the settling tanks.
2. While bridges of arches are the most famous feature of aqueduct systems, most of the water ran in
underground channels. Aqueduct systems mainly consisted of underground channels that typically
measured around 1 meter high and 2 meters tall. These channels could either be in the form of a bored
tunnel or a covered trench. Underground channels were cheaper, easier to repair, and required less building
material. The channel had shafts at varying intervals allowing for deposits to be periodically removed.
3. The channel used gravity by having a channel drop around 1 meter for every 1000 meters. While a solid wall
could be used for minor depressions, arches were used for major depressions and valleys. Arches used less
material and also were less disruptive for drainage and traffic.
4. Once water reached the city limits, it would enter a castellum (water tank) to distribute water to various
points of the city. The main castella were at high points of the city, so they could distribute water to
secondary castella that provided water for fountains, baths, and private residences. Castella held a large
amount of water, which converted water to a pressurized pipe system. The water system also could include
sophisticated drainage systems. For example, latrines were often connected to baths and seemed to use
bath water to flush them with a constant stream.
Illustration of a Roman aqueduct system by Aicher
APPLICATION OF Water Supply System of
AQUADECTS

TO NCA
MESO
1. WATER COLLECTED AT RAWALDAM VIA
STREAMS OF MARGALLA AND FROM
RESERVOIR, TRANSPORTED VIA
AQUADECTS TOWARDS RAWALPINDI.
2. SHAFTS CREATED AT SHAKAR PARIYAN
FOR INSPECTION AND ALSO SETTLING
TANK INSTALLED.
3. THROUGH TUNNELS AND WITH THE HELP
OF GRAVITY, WATER GETS TRANSPORTED
TO SITE.
4. AQUADECT BRIDGE OVER NALA LAI AND
THAN TOWARDS CISTERN TANK FROM
WHERE WATER GETS DISTRIBUTED TO
THE CITY.
5. CERMAIC PIPES TRANSPORT WATER
FROM TANK TO NCA.
6. WHERE STOPCOCK FURTHER
DISTRIBUTES WATER TO INSIDE SERVICES.
MACRO

1. CISTERN WATER TANK

COLLECTS WATER
FROM AQUADECTS.
2. FROM WHERE WATER
GETS DISTRIBUTED TO
CITIES.
3. CERMAIC PIPES
TRANSPORT WATER
FROM TANK TO NCA.
4. WHERE STOPCOCK
FURTHER DISTRIBUTES
WATER TO INSIDE
SERVICES.
MICRO
1. CERMAIC PIPES TRANSPORT
WATER FROM TANK TO NCA.
2. WHERE STOPCOCK IS THE MAIN
ENTRY POINT OF THE WATER.
3. THAN THE WATER GETS
TRANSPORTED TO MULTIPLE
INDIVIDUAL WATER TANKS OF
EACH BUILDING.
4. INDIVIDUAL TANK IS
RESPONSIBLE FOR EACH
BUILDINGS WATER
REQUIREMENT.
5. OVERFLOW FILLS THE SPARE
WATER TANK TO RESTORE
WATER OR FURTHER
DISTRIBUTION.