Cuniculus (water channel)
This article is about diversionary water channels. For Cuniculus, the zoological genus, see Paca.
Fosso dei Costaroni, remains of an Etruscan cuniculus at Formello.
A cuniculus, plural cuniculi, is a diversionary water channel, used by ancient civilizations on the Italian Peninsula. As the general ancient Italian use derives from the Etruscan use, the term has a special significance of Etruscan cuniculi. The city of Veii was noted for them. The Italian community of Formello to the north of Veii was named after the numerous cuniculi there.[1]
Cuniculi could take any form from trenches to a complex system of tunnels. The uses were multiple: irrigation, drainage, diversion, supply, and so on. The Romans used the cuniculi of Veii to mine into the citadel.
References
- ↑ Everitt, A (2012), The Rise of Rome, page 122.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 4/9/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.