Floods of the Tiber in Ancient Rome

Gregory S. Aldrete is a professor of history and humanistic studies at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and author of Gestures and Acclamations in Ancient Rome, also published by Johns Hopkins.

• List of Figures and TablesAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Floods and HistoryChapter OneFloods in Ancient Rome: Sources and TopographyFloods and the Foundation of RomePrimary Source Descriptions of Floods in Ancient RomeGeographic Extent of Floods Based on Primary SourcesThe Topography of Rome and FloodsMaps of Hypothetical Floods of Different MagnitudesChapter TwoCharacteristics of FloodsFlood Types and Basic HydrologyHydrology of the Tiber and the Tiber Drainage BasinDuration of Floods at RomeSeasonality of Floods at RomeFrequency of Floods at RomeMagnitude of Floods at RomeConclusionChapter ThreeImmediate Effects of FloodsIntroduction and MethodologyDisruption of the Daily Life of the CityDestruction of PropertyCollapse of StructuresInjuries and DrowningCleaning Up after a Flood: Water, Mud, Debris, CorpsesChapter FourDelayed Effects of FloodsWeakened BuildingsFood Spoilage and FamineDiseasePsychological TraumaRecovery and ReconstructionChapter FiveMethods of Flood ControlDrain: The Roman SewersFill: Attempts to Raise Ground LevelDivert: Canals and Channel Modification SchemesContain: Roman EmbankmentsAdministrative Oversight of the TiberChapter SixRoman Attitudes toward FloodsFloods and the Urban Fabric of Ancient Rome: Public BuildingsFloods and the Urban Fabric of Ancient Rome: HousingWater and the GodsFloods and the Gods: Portents and Divine AngerFlood Reports: Context and CausationFlood Prevention: Costs and BenefitsConclusion: The Romans' Failure to Make Rome Safe from FloodsAppendix I: List of Major Floods at Rome, 414 BC–AD 2000Appendix II: The Modern Tiber EmbankmentsAppendix III: A Note on Hydrological SourcesNotesBibliographyIndex

A comprehensive, insightful and lucid book-length study on a topic of great importance. -- Eric Kondratieff Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2007 Floods of the Tiber in Ancient Rome is that rare thing in scholarship, a work that genuinely fills a gap in the scholarly literature. Professor Aldrete has brilliantly illuminated an aspect of ancient Rome that was ever present to the city's inhabitants but almost invisible to modern historians. -- Stanley Burstein History Teacher 2007 Thoughtful study. -- Dennis E. Trout American Historical Review 2007 A noble attempt to bring interdisciplinary evidence from outside classical sources to bear on a long-standing problem of Roman history and archaeology. -- James C. Anderson, Jr. Journal of Interdisciplinary History 2008 A meticulously researched, well-written, and thoroughly referenced study of a little known aspect of Rome's history. -- Brian Fagan Historian 2009