Floods of the Tiber in Ancient Rome

Gregory S. Aldrete. (2007). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

‘The city of Ancient Rome was a fabulous artificial landscape erected by human beings, but the Romans chose to build it squarely in an area that nature had designated as a floodplain’ (p.4). This quotation neatly sums up the central focus of this volume: a powerful natural force and how people attempted to control it. The narrative of the book flows from the evidence and characteristics of the Tiber’s floods (Chapters 1 & 2) to short- and long-term effects (Chapters 3 & 4) and then an examination of flood control methods (Chapter 5) and how the Roans viewed the floods (Chapter 6). This final chapter is particularly interesting for its careful consideration of where various types of building were constructed in relation to how likely they were to be affected by flooding; for example, bathhouses were overwhelmingly constructed in elevated positions where their intricate plumbing systems were much less likely to be clogged up with sediment from a flood. Likewise, expensive domus style houses were far more likely to built on hillsides than on areas of flat land than the less expensive tenements (insulae). Aldrete’s approach of relating town-planning with areas more or less likely to flood reveals a society intimately aware of the environment in which they lived and the ways in which they worked with environmental forces to prioritise and protect their infrastructure.

Example quotation

While it would be an overstatement to say that the great metropolis of ancient Rome lived in harmony with the Tiber, there existed at the very least an uneasy truce; unlike today, when unruly rivers are viewed solely as objects to be tamed, the Romans were willing to cede a measure of independence to Father Tiber. Despite its very real potential for destruction, the Romans maintained toward the river in their midst an attitude of acceptance of its transgressions as well as respect for its power.

(pp.238-239)