Hydrotechnical structures of Tanais II-III centuries A.D

• Published in: Исторический журнал: научные исследования no. 3; pp. 89 - 99
• Main Author: Prokofev, Ivan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.03.2025
• ISSN: 2454-0609; 2454-0609
• DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2025.3.74583

As a result of archaeological research in Tanais, hydraulic structures from the 2nd to 3rd centuries AD have been identified in all parts of the main quadrangle of the settlement, either fragmentarily or completely. These include drainage systems, water collection cisterns, and a captured spring, which are the subjects of this study. Water collection cisterns, with rare exceptions, were located in the courtyards of urban estates and served to collect rainwater. Drainage systems could be located both on the estates, adjacent to the cisterns and directing water into them, and on the streets, diverting water beyond the city walls. One captured spring has been identified – it is structure 6 in the southern part of the settlement, which supplied most of the city with water until the mid-2nd century AD. The article provides a description of their construction and location within the city, and for the first time attempts to represent the separate structures as a unified system of drainage and water supply that functioned in the city during the analyzed period. Both systems were interconnected, as a significant volume of rainwater was directed into the water collection cisterns via the first system, providing the city with technical water necessary for economic activities, fire extinguishing, and various domestic needs. Water drainage was ensured through the construction of drainage systems both in public areas – within the streets leading to the discharge of water outside the city, and on the territory of urban estates – from the streets to the water collection cisterns. Residents drew drinking water from sources located within the city walls: until the mid-2nd century AD, this was structure 6 in the southern part of the main quadrangle of the settlement. After its burial and until the destruction of the city in the mid-3rd century AD, this role was to be fulfilled by some other source that remains unexplored to this day.