The aquaducts of Rome are a representation of the organisational ability and technological mastery of the Roman Civilization. Frontinus, Director of the Rome Metropolitan Waterworks in 97 AD realized what Rome had achieved from his quote " it the only city in the ancient world with an almost endless supply of water". By 97 AD Rome had nine aqueducts.

The Romans weren't the first civilization to create aqueducts to channel water over great distances. The Greeks, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and Egyptians had all built aqueducts before the Romans. The number of aqueducts built by the Romans that ended up in Rome is the impressive feat. The final count was eleven by 266 AD.

The construction of the aqueducts had two zones: above ground or below ground. Materials used in the construction of the above ground archway aqueduct were concrete, brick, and cement. Some were large enough to allow for foot travel on the first tier of the aqueduct. The movement of water down the aqueduct was all done by gravity. The source of the water needed to be at a high altitude in order for the water to arrive its destination. High arches were built in order to maintain a constant level of the aqueduct allowing the water to flow at a constant rate. With height, came instability. The Romans found ways such as multiple levels of arches to combat the problems of stability due to pressure from weight. The aqueducts were fed by mountain springs. The fact that only 10 percent of the aqueducts ran above ground is surprising. The rest of the aqueducts ran either at ground level or usually below ground. The parts of the aqueduct that were below ground were usually below 1 meter. Inspection manholes were scattered along the aqueduct to allow for repairs and inspection.

The operation of a Roman aqueduct has its interesting facts. Originally, the main reason the Romans built the aqueducts was to fill their baths. Later, it was decided for them to be used for drinking water when Rome's population increased. Frontinus`s account of the history of the aqueducts built for Rome go in detail of the location, distances, who built them, and descriptions of Rome's eleven aqueducts. His personal observations of finding leaking sections of aqueduct, illegal usage of water, and other problems. He got his name by reforming the problems that prone the operation of the aqueducts.

Each aqueduct was named usually after the person who headed up the construction of it. Every aqueduct was known for its particular quality of water. As we have today in different parts of the country, different "flavours" of water, some hard and some soft. The aquaduct Marcia was known for it's fresh and cool water. The Tepula was lukewarm. Another was known for its abundance, but sandy and impure water. One was mainly used for watering gardens and flooding the arena for marine gladiatorial fights because of its poor quality. Sometimes aquaducts would break down and water had to be redirected in order to get water to other parts of the city. This usually meant the different quality of waters mixing with each other. Since there were no modern day filters in ancient Rome other means were used to try and purify the water. Settling tanks were used to let any mud and other sediments settle on the bottom letting the water continue to flow.

Rome's aqueducts insured its people an unlimited supply of water for their needs. By 226 AD Rome's aqueducts were discharging about 297,795,871 gallons every day. If all of Rome's aqueducts were lined together the total distance would be around 313 miles. These statistics show how productive and lengthy the aqueducts were. The Romans took pride in their creations. Many of the aqueducts of ancient Rome still stand today as monuments of the Roman civilization.