The water cycle in Reccopolis

Javier Martínez Jiménez ^[1] ; Joaquín Checa Herráiz ^[2]
1. [1] Universidad de Granada
  
  Universidad de Granada
  
  Granada, España
2. [2] Estudios de Patrimonio e Investigación Científico-Arqueológica
Localización: Journal of Roman archaeology, ISSN 1047-7594, Vol. 36, Nº. 1, 2023, págs. 157-185
Idioma: inglés
Enlaces
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Resumen
- Reccopolis was a new city built in Visigothic Spain in the late 6th c. CE. Even rarer than this example of an ex novo urban foundation in the post-Roman West is the fact that the city was equipped with a brand-new aqueduct. The aqueduct has, until now, only been partially studied, but in this paper we update and re-assess the original, preliminary results. We consider the city's whole water cycle, including usage and drainage, employing new engineering calculations and GIS analyses. The results show that the aqueduct was an integral part of the city. Finally, we set our conclusions within their wider context, looking not only at the roles of aqueducts in the ideal of a city at this time, but also at urban water culture in the Late Antique West.