Abstract
Kavala, initially founded as Neapolis in the seventh century BC, and later called Christoupolis, has flourished as an important urban center and port in Eastern Macedonia, Greece, during many historical periods. In this paper, we study the remnants of its historical aqueduct, which carried water to the city from mountainous springs at a distance of 6500 m from the city walls. Our study includes: (a) archeological evidence regarding its construction period, which shows that it was initially constructed during the late Roman era and was heavily reconstructed by the Ottomans, in the first part of the sixteenth century ad, and (b) new topographical measurements and hydraulic calculations, aiming at drawing conclusions, mainly on its carrying capacity. Taking into account the preserved parts of the aqueduct’s channel only, we have estimated that its carrying capacity was quite large, with regard to the population that it was supposed to serve. Moreover, we have delineated the city area that the aqueduct could not serve directly, due to ground elevation differences.
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The authors are indebted to Mr. Prodromos Moutsokapas, for conducting additional topographical measurements.
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Dermentzoglou, D., Dadaki, S., Avgoloupis, I. et al. Technical study of the historical aqueduct of Kavala, Greece. Water Hist 11, 233–252 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12685-019-00238-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12685-019-00238-z