While the Romans didn’t have a lot of machines, they did use technology and had systems in place to make their lives better. Instead of motors and engines, they had slaves doing the heavy lifting.

Slaves brought water and added wood to the fires to keep the home warm. Floors were raised to allow air to flow underneath the floor. The air would be warmed by the fire, giving them heated floors to warm their rooms.

Although slaves could bring water from a local source, they couldn’t bring it from far. You’ve seen how Romans could build roads extremely well. They built roads for water; waterways, I guess you could say. They were called aqueducts.

Aqueducts were roads and bridges for water. They carried water from a lake or mountain spring down to the town. Water naturally moves downward, being pulled by gravity. They gave it a path to travel so that it ended up where they wanted it. Take a look at these pictures.

This is a modern picture as well, but you can see the aqueduct still stands. The Romans were the first to use arches in their bridges. You can the many, many arches in the picture of the aqueduct.

They built arches into their buildings, too, which also enabled them to build domes. Maybe the most famous was the first large domed building, the Pantheon, in Rome.

This temple may have been the most important building in Rome. It was dedicated to all the gods. It was a place that people gathered at. Where there are people, there is waste. Romans not only brought in clean water, but they got rid of their waste water as well. Towns had underground drains to take away dirty water, like from the public baths. It kept them healthier.

One other place technology was used was in war. Two Roman war machines are the catapult and the crossbow.

 

Picture Credit:

Public Domain