Agri Kultuur August / Augustus 2018 | Page 23

Khanapur Mandal. The anicut was built in two arms separated by a high mound in-between and consists of a masonry structure 2m high with a length of 437.4m on the left flank and 23.8m on the right flank. Italy’s one historical irrigation and drainage systems is the Aqua Augusta and Piscina Mirabilis. The Aqua Augusta Cistern: Piscina Mirabilis was built in 33-12 BC and is a complex system AgriKultuur |AgriCulture of aqueducts, 145 km long including secondary canals, conceived under the rule of the Roman Emperor Augusto. The destination of this sophisticated system of canals, underground conducts and bridges, built to supply water to the vast population of the area, was a reservoir known as the “Piscina Mirabilis” (or Magnificent Pool), with a storage capacity of more than 12 000 m 3 . This cistern can store water for the more than 30 000 people living in the naval base of Misenum and serving the Roman fleet, at that time. 23