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Evolution of Urban Water Treatment Focusing on Hellenic World
Abstract
Sophisticated, well organized and operated urban water supply systems existed in Greece since the Bronze Age. Groundwater from springs has been the first source of water supply since the dawn of human history. The first settlements of towns in ancient Greece were built on hills close to springs, which cover the water demands for domestic use. The strong hydraulic works developed during the Minoan Era (ca. 3200-1100 BC) has been the base of the advanced technological progress for urban water treatment of the centuries that followed. The technological stagnancy during the Dark Ages (ca. 1100-600 BC) was followed by significant progress in the historical times (ca. 630 BC-330 AD). During that period, the city-states were formed and first urbanization occurred and water supply treatment was seriously considered. In the present review the history of potable water treatment focusing on Hellenic world through the centuries is examined.
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This article outlines the history of water treatment, starting with the use of alum to remove suspended solids in Egypt and by the Mayan civilization. It moves down through the centuries, highlighting different treatment practices used and developed through the ages.
In this paper, we model the function of rainwater harvesting cisterns in ancient Greece. The model calculates on a monthly basis: (1) the collected and stored volume of water; (2) the amount of water extracted for individual use; and (3) the potential accumulated surplus available by the end of a month. The potential of the model is explored through two case studies based on material from Olynthos in Thessaly and Dystos on ancient Euboia by running 26 consecutive annual cycles utilizing modern precipitation data from meteorological stations as a proxy for ancient precipitation and precipitation variability. Our results show that cisterns can provide ample amounts of freshwater to households and function as buffers for water stress in shorter (monthly), and longer terms (seasonally, yearly and between years). The two cisterns in this paper yield between 10.7 and 86.6 m3 per annum with a strong variability in collected water volumes within and between years. Yet, this variability is, largely predictable and thus the use of cisterns in ancient Greece should be viewed in the light of predictable variability that required active participation from members of the household to be efficient.
Thessaloniki city, in the east core of Thermaic gulf, has been continuously inhabited for about 2330 years. The choice of its founding at this specific location is very much attributed to the high availability of water in the wider region. However, the development of Thessaloniki in a big city and the simultaneous increasing population, created an increased need for water, which could not be covered by the water of the wells. Until the 19th century, water needs were met with cisterns, water channels, fountains and water towers in combination with the wells. Moreover, the city was also equipped with large scale and of high expertise water supply projects, which were exploiting the region's water resources in four different places and were transferring water inside the walls. These water transfer works were associated with water distribution systems, with pipes located beneath roads or following the contour lines. Also, people who lived in the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and newer Hellenic periods gave their own perspective in the problems related to water supply in the city. A review of all these techniques through centuries is presented and commented in this paper.
The evolution of urban water management in ancient Greece begins in Crete during the early Minoan period of the island and takes full control of the Greek territory originally and then to the European continent. A great variety of remarkable developments have been marked in several stages of the Minoan civilization, such as the practices used to supply the cities with clean water even from distant sources. Water for human consumption has had a long and interesting history. It is closely related to the development of human civilizations and thus a great deal of related events occurred in all over the world. All great civilizations had a large chapter written for water transportation, treatment and management of the urban water. In this paper some of the important steps of water history relevant to the water treatment technologies and hygiene of potable water chronologically, since the Minoan era, are presented and discussed. Prolegomena Historically, drinking water has been cindered the clear water. Considering the scientific knowledge of that era, this simplification was totally justified. Without the tools of chemistry and microbiology, even today, clarity (and probably taste) is the main criterion for classifying water as fit for human consumption. Therefore, the first treatment attempts were aiming at the improvement of the aesthetic conditions of water. An ancient Hindu source presents, probably, the first water standard, dating 4000 years ago. It dictates that the dirty water should be exposed to sun and then a hot cupper bar to be inserted 7 times in it. Then filtration, cooling and storage in clay jar. The availability of drinking water was always an prerequisite and necessary circumstance throughout the development of human civilization. For thousands of years this factor has been critical for the choice of location for the development of the cities. The first great civilizations were developed close to rivers both for the availability of water suitable for human needs as well as transportation purposes. Initially the water purification was very limited. It is only the last 200 years that water processing has been developed aiming at the improvement of the hygiene and aesthetic conditions. The scope of this article is not the exhaustive presentation of what is known today about water treatment, related technologies and their uses in water supply since the Minoan era. It presents he main achievements in selected fields of potable water management chronologically extend from early Minoan to the present. Emphasis is given to the periods of great achievements.
The status of urban sewerage and stormwater drainage systems in ancient Greece is reviewed, based on the results of archaeological studies of the 20th century. Emphasis is given to the construction, operation, and management of sewerage and stormwater drainage systems during the Minoan period (2nd millennium B.C.). The achievements of this period in dealing with the hygienic and the functional requirements of palaces and cities, were so advanced that they can only be compared to modern urban water systems, developed in Europe and North America in the second half of the 19th century A.D. The advanced Minoan technologies were exported to all parts of Greece in later periods of the Greek civilization, i.e. in Mycenaean, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods.
This chapter presents an overview of water and wastewater management practices in the ancient Minoan, Greek, and Roman civilizations. The main topics considered are: aqueducts; cisterns and reservoirs; water distribution systems and fountains; and drainage, sewerage systems, and toilets. The ancient technologies were surprisingly modern. The Minoan civilization gave an extraordinary contribution to the development of water and wastewater management practices. Also, most Greek houses had a cistern supplied by rainwater for several purposes (bathing, cleaning, houseplants, domestic animals, etc.) according to the sustainable development paradigm. The construction of an ancient Roman aqueduct was similar in principle to the present day.
For millennia the search for 'pure' water has been pursued by humans. Criteria for purity have become more complex, more rigid, and more quantitative over time; however, the principles, methods, and material for purifying water have remained remarkably similar from the earliest recorded information of 2000 BC. The scope of this paper is to present a brief history of water filtration and sedimentation practices for potable water management extending from the ancient times to the 19th century. It is not an exhaustive presentation, but instead presents some of the most important advances in water supply since the beginning of human's quest for pure water. M. N. Baker and M. J. Taras in 1981 presented an excellent overview of this quest, especially during the 17th to the 20th century.
A well-known passage in Homer’s Odyssey, probably based on an ancient ritual myth, tells the story of Demeter, the Greek corn-goddess and Iasion, the son of Zeus by Electra, daughter of Atlas. The latter was the guardian of the pillars of heaven (Odyssey, 1.53), the Titan who holds the sky up (Hesiod, Theogony, 517) and is, thereby, identified with water and rainfall.
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