Ministry of Culture

Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania

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Cisterns

Archaeological Site of Aptera

THE CISTERNS

Documenting the Roman Cisterns of Aptera

deksamenh_sxhmatos Τhe large plateau of the city does not appear to have had any springs, leading to the construction of large water cisterns as early as the Hellenistic period. The rock-hewn, vaulted cisterns, one three-aisled and the other L-shaped, have a built upper part. They are reinforced with exterior buttresses to counteract the water pressure. They were originally roofed with brick vaults, which collapsed in antiquity. The preserved stone vaults of the three-aisled cistern are of much later date, contemporary with the medieval monastery. The cisterns fed the large bath complexes located lower down the slope to the north, while also meeting, together with the domestic cisterns, the increased water needs of the city in Roman times. Impressive for their size, capacity, construction, and preservation, the cisterns were among the great public works of the Roman period, the largest and most imposing monuments of Aptera.

The rectangular three-aisled cistern lies south of the Roman bath which it supplied. Its row of sturdy piers appears to belong to the earlier Hellenistic phase. The interior measures 17 x 25 m, with a capacity of 2,900 m 3 . The long arm of the L-shaped cistern is 55.80 m long and the short arm measures 34.20 m, with an overall width of 9 m and a capacity of 3,050 m 3 . During cleaning and consolidation work, a sedimentation shaft and a closed outlet pipe of narrow diameter, with what may be a cleaning system, were identified.

The cisterns are made of opus caementicium (Roman concrete), a widespread construction method from the mid-1st century (150 BC) onwards, although the cisterns were built a century earlier. Their walls were coated with waterproof hydraulic mortar. The vault of the L- shaped cistern, now lost, would have been constructed of whole bricks, as we see from its springers. The preserved vaults of the three-aisled cistern are made of rough-hewn stones, perhaps indicating that they were of similarly construction in their original Hellenistic phase.

The cisterns were self-standing rather than being incorporated in building complexes, houses or villas, and served public needs. They may well have collected rainwater, as their roofs are on the same level as the floor of many public buildings. No traces of an aqueduct have been found in the surrounding area, while the closest springs, at Stylos and Kalami, lie at least 150 m lower down, supporting the hypothesis that the city was supplied by cisterns as early as the Hellenistic period. Surface conduits are also visible; these were connected to smaller cisterns. A small rectangular Hellenistic cistern lies between the L-shaped cistern and the bath to the north. The interdependence of the cisterns and the two bath complexes indicate that they were designed jointly, to ensure that the baths were supplied with the large quantities of water necessary for their daily operation. Similar cisterns are found to the west of the city, at the sanctuary of Diktynna on Cape Spatha. Parallels are also found in Naples in Italy and in North Africa.
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Monday: 08:30 - 15:30
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday-Sunday: 08:30 - 15:30

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Megala Chorafia, Souda, Crete | 730 03 GR
2825033425 & 2821044418

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