WORKSHOP ‘Roman aqueduct carbonates: Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions and water management’
Convened by Gül Sürmelihindi (Marie Skłodowska-Curie AQUEA – School of Archaeology, Oxford), Julien Curie (CNRS, ArTeHis & ArScAn), Andrew Wilson (Institute of Archaeology / All Souls College), with Olivier Delouis (CNRS, MFO coordinator).
Ancient aqueducts and related structures can in a sense be brought back to life through study of the carbonate incrustations that formed during their periods of use. These laminated deposits precipitated over decades or centuries, and reflect periodic changes in temperature, discharge, and water composition. From them we can reconstruct usage chronologies, and breaks in the sequence of deposition may record events such as channel cleaning, or earthquake damage. Aqueduct carbonates are thus archives from which we can learn about past environmental conditions and water-management activities including responses to drought and earthquake. Carbonate deposits are therefore of interest to a wider community to understand resilience and persistence in ancient societies.
The goal of this workshop is to bring together different studies, disciplines, ideas, and perspectives to assess the state of the field in research on carbonates in ancient hydraulic structures; to explore the limits of the possible in this area, and develop a research agenda for the future. It aims also to increase wider awareness of aqueduct carbonate studies and their applicability to historical questions of ancient water management and human response to environmental change.
PROGRAMME (available for download here, and including abstracts here)
February 16th 2023
09:45 Welcome & Introduction
Olivier Delouis, CNRS – Maison française d’Oxford
Andrew Wilson, Institute of Archaeology / All Souls College, Oxford
10:00 Keynote 1
Jim Crow, University of Edinburgh
Carbonates and other proxies: refining the narrative of the water supply of Constantinople
11:00 coffee and tea
11:30 Paper 1
Sophie Bouffier, Aix Marseille Université – Centre Camille Jullian
From HYDROSYRA to WaterTraces. Why combine archaeology and environmental sciences?
12:15 Paper 2
Klaus Grewe, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
Sinter deposits in the Eifel aqueduct, Cologne
13:00 lunch at MFO (speakers)
14:00 Paper 3
Edwige Pons-Branchu, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin (UVSQ) – Laboratoire des sciences du climat et de l'environnement (UMR CEA/CNRS/UVSQ)
Urban water quality through time in Paris, France: what can be learned from CaCO3 deposits found in historical aqueducts
14:45 Paper 4
Christelle Claude, Aix-Marseille Université – Centre Européen de Recherche et d’Enseignement des Géosciences de l’Environnement
High-resolution paleoenvironmental record from carbonate deposits in the roman aqueduct of Traconnade, Aix-en-Provence, France
15:30 coffee and tea
16:00 Paper 5
Tiziano Latini, Sapienza University of Rome – Ministry of Culture, Italy
Geological evidence of exhausted hydrothermal venting in Veii Campetti Southwest archaeological site (Rome, Italy)
16:45 Paper 6
Julien Curie, CNRS, ArTeHis & ArScAn
A geoarchaeological approach to carbonate deposits from Roman sanctuary and thermal baths in Jebel Oust (Tunisia)
17:30 Discussion
18:00 wine & cheese at MFO (speakers and public)
February 17th 2023
10:00 Keynote 2
Cees Passchier, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
Gül Sürmelihindi, Marie Skłodowska-Curie AQUEA – School of Archaeology, Oxford
Through a glass, darkly: the use of aqueduct carbonate to understand the Roman world
11:00 coffee and tea
11:30 Paper 7
Gül Sürmelihindi, Marie Skłodowska-Curie AQUEA – School of Archaeology, Oxford
Reconstructing chronologies of usage, maintenance, and abandonment in Roman aqueducts from carbonate deposits: the aqueduct of Divona (Cahors)
12:15 Paper 8
Duncan Keenan-Jones, University of Manchester – School of Arts, Languages and Cultures
Edwige Pons-Branchu, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin (UVSQ) – Laboratoire des sciences du climat et de l'environnement (UMR CEA/CNRS/UVSQ)
Organic Compounds in Anio Novus carbonates (Rome)
13:00 lunch at Kellogg College (speakers)
14:30 Paper 9
Duncan Keenan-Jones, University of Manchester – School of Arts, Languages and Cultures
Trace element analyses and Pompeii’s water supply
15:15 Paper 10
Julie Carlut, CNRS – Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris
The Pompeii water supply system and the Aqua Augusta: a (rather) complex story
16:00 coffee and tea break
16:30 Paper 11
Philippe Leveau, Aix-Marseille Université – Centre Camille Jullian (in absentia)
Apport des dépôts carbonatés au fonctionnement des aqueducs romains d'Arles
17:15 Summing up and closing discussion
Andrew Wilson, Institute of Archaeology, All Souls College, Oxford
To attend this event online, please register here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_G2Xs2J5xTQipzcRPY_kOpg
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
