THE WATER SUPPLY OF CONSTANTINOPLE
Water Supply Menu

home page project acknowledgements Fieldwork Photo Album Project Bibliography Reports from 1994 onwards 3d visualisation of the water supply system Fieldwork Methodology Geology, Hydogeology and the Water Supply of Constantinople Channels and Aqueducts from the springs around Halkali Channels and Aqueducts in the Forest of Belgrade Water Supply and Distribution in Constantinople Major Water Bridges on the Aqueduct System The Longest Roman Aqueduct Go To Anastasian Wall Pages Intoduction to the Water Supply Project historical overview of the development Contantinople's water supply Dynamic Navigation Map


LONG DISTANCE AQUEDUCT
SECTION MENU

The Water Supply of Constantinople: Ballıgerme-Kalfaköy section

The Two Systems

Most of our fieldwork has been focused on the water system in the vicinity of Anastasian Wall where the existence of two substanial parallel channels has been discovered, separated by over 6m in altitude near Kurşunlugerme, but gradually converging further east. The low-level channel is generally 2.4m high and 1.6m wide. The high-level channel is a narrower guage, at 0.60m wide with a height of 1m. Both types of channel were constructed by 'cut and cover' techniques and were roofed with rough stone vaults. In places the hydraulic lime-mortar lining of the sides of the channels survive with later accretions of distinctive travertine or sinter deposits. Both the hydraulic mortar plastering and the channel masonry is usually made of metamorphic or limestone blocks.

From our investigations we believe that the 4th-century "Valens" system was more likely to be the "high-level" narrow channel. The low-level broad channel was therefore built as a massive supplement to the system, probably in the 5th or 6th centuries. At this time, new bridges were built in many valleys in order to carry the lower level channel. In some cases (Büyükgerme, Kumalıdere) the lower elevation enabled the new channel to adopt a different, shorter, route from the original channel. In other places (Kurşunlugerme) it is clear that the new aqueduct bridge carried both the low-level and high-level channel, while the original bridge was abandoned.

The main source for this high-level system has been located around Papuç and Danamandıra in the Mandara Dere, where a large cave and spring have been located and two separate supply channels survive along the side of the valley above the river. Further along the parallel lines in the Kurşunlugerme valley it is possible to observe the high-level channel running at about 6.45m above the lower main line and crossing the valley on a remarkably well preserved aqueduct, which was built across the top of the lower channel. The fragmentary remains of an earlier aqueduct for the lower channel still survive to the east. Evidence suggests that the Vize-Balligerme section was also originally a narrow channel, but based on our current working hypothesis, this seems to have been replaced by the later wider channel.