The city of Ephesus was one of the most important cities in the ancient world, and a complex system of aqueducts was developed to meet its water needs. The aqueducts of the city go back to the Greek and Roman eras. A large part of this system which is visible today was built during the Byzantine period and supplied the city with water for centuries.
Features of the Ephesian Aqueducts
The aqueducts started from the Şirince Gorge and extended to the city of Ephesus. Various materials such as stone and brick were used to build the arches. The arches were built on an inclined plane to ensure the steady flow of water. Some parts of the arches passed underground, while other parts were built on high bridges or hills
Source and Use of Water
The water carried by the aqueducts was obtained from the Selçuk and Belevi water springs. The water was first transported to Ayasuluk Hill which is today where Saint Jonn’s Church is located. It was then distributed to other parts of the city via pipes and channels. Water was used for various purposes such as drinking, irrigation, and of course baths.
Pollio Aqueduct of Ephesus
The Pollio Aqueduct is the water line which Gaius Sextilius Pollio, a rich benefactor of Ephesus, added to the old water system of the city between AD 4 and 14, in the time of Emperor Augustus. Its two-story bridge still stands in a valley a few kilometers southeast of Ephesus Ancient City.
Pollio found a spring on the eastern side of the Marnas Valley and carried its water over a bridge to the older clay pipes, which had brought water to the city since the 2nd century BC. His bridge had three arches below and six arches above. It stood beside road from Ephesus to Magnesia, so travelers could see its decorations and its building inscription from both sides.
Pollio was remembered inside the city too. His stepson built a monument for him, and in AD 92 or 93 a fountain was added to its south side. You see it at Domitian Square when you walk down from the Upper Gate, where most Ephesus tours start.
Değirmendere Aqueduct, the Longest Aqueduct of Ephesus
The Değirmendere Aqueduct was the longest of all the aqueducts of Ephesus, built under Emperor Hadrian in the 120s AD to carry fresh water about 37.5 kilometers from the south, over at least 24 bridges and through four tunnels.
By the way, değirmen means mill and dere means stream in Turkish, so the name simply means “mill stream”. The line passed east of Kuşadası. Its first part, from the spring to the north end of the town, ran under the ground. Sadly most of this part was destroyed in the last decades, while Kuşadası grew from a small fishing village into a big holiday town.
In AD 159 an earthquake broke the channel. At a fault line the ground sank about 3 meters and the water could not reach Ephesus any more. The Ephesians built an almost new channel with a bigger size, and they added also the stronger Keltepe springs too. The new line brought about four times more water into the city, and it worked till the second half of the 4th century AD.
In May 2021 a 2,000-year-old water channel came out of the ground at a building site in Kuşadası, during the drilling work before the foundations. It once carried water to Ephesus, so it is probably a piece of this long line from the south.
Historical Significance of the Aqueducts
The aqueducts of Ephesus provide important information about the city’s history and engineering skills. The strength and grandeur of the arches reflect the power and wealth of the Roman and Byzantine Empires. The arches are an important part of the Ephesus Ancient City, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Current Status of the Aqueducts
Some parts of the aqueducts have survived to this day intact. These sections are popular tourist attractions. unfortunately, other parts of the arches have been destroyed or recycled over time. Today recycling or destroying any part of the aqueducts is strictly forbidden and punishable by prison time.
Three Interesting Facts About The Aqueducts Of Ephesus
- Marble Marvel: The Byzantine engineers of Ephesus weren’t afraid to recycle! Parts of their aqueducts were constructed using leftover marble blocks from the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Imagine walking past an aqueduct knowing it held pieces of a legendary wonder!
- Waste Not, Want Not: Ephesians were resourceful with their water usage. After flowing through city fountains, leftover water wasn’t simply wasted. It was channeled into elaborate networks for irrigation, powering mills, and even flushing public toilets – a testament to their commitment to efficient water management.
- Nose Knows: The Ephesians weren’t just good at engineering, they were also concerned about water quality! They added lead to some aqueducts to kill bacteria, but over time, this could leach into the water supply.
Byzantine Water Mills and the Marble Saw of Ephesus
In the late 6th and the 7th century AD, a row of Byzantine water mills worked in the area of Terrace House 2 in Ephesus, and the lowest of them drove a water-powered saw which cut marble blocks into slabs.
A water wheel of about 2.8 meters turned a shaft with a crank on each end. Wooden connecting rods changed the turning into a back and forth movement and pulled two saw frames, each with two long blades. Water and hard sand did the real cutting. The saw could cut two blocks at the same time, and the largest one was 2.6 meters long.
Machines with a crank and a connecting rod are very rare from ancient times. The oldest one we know is carved on the 3rd century AD sarcophagus of a miller in Hierapolis, and a saw like the one in Ephesus was found in Gerasa in Jordan. The mills of Ephesus came out during the excavations of Terrace House 2 between 1969 and 1985, and the saw room was found in 1983.
Hire An Ephesian Tour Guide For Visiting Aqueducts Of Ephesus
Aqueducts of Ephesus will be easy to visit in our Ephesus tour and have no extra visiting fee. Contact me to hire a professional English-speaking tour guide in Ephesus, Turkey. See you soon, Hasan Gülday.
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