Engineering in the Ancient World

This extraordinary book reveals the engineering know-how of the ancient Greeks and Romans, explores in fascinating detail how they developed and constructed their machines, and considers how the same principles are used in modern-day engineering.

The achievements of the Greeks and Romans in art, culture, philosophy and war are well known, but their prowess as engineers has been less well studied. They made many remarkable machines, which were not bettered until the Industrial Revolution. Using wind, water, animal and man power, they made crossbows and catapults for war; built water-mills and pumps, including fire-engines; designed cranes and hoists for building; built and sailed ships both for commerce and war; and constructed aqueducts to carry water for miles to feed their complex municipal plumbing systems.

In this new, revised edition, Dr Landels has added a chapter on how - to his astonishment and delight - it has proved possible to reconstruct and sail an exact replica of an Ancient Greek trireme.

J G Landels was a Senior Lecturer in Classics at Reading University whose work, in collaboration with the Engineering Department, involved making working replicas of ancient machines and testing them in the field.

This extraordinary book reveals the engineering know-how of the ancient Greeks and Romans, explores in fascinating detail how they developed and constructed their machines, and considers how the same principles are used in modern-day engineering. The achievements of the Greeks and Romans in art, culture, philosophy and war are well known, but their prowess as engineers has been less well studied. They made many remarkable machines, which were not bettered until the Industrial Revolution. Using wind, water, animal and man power, they made crossbows and catapults for war; built water-mills and pumps, including fire-engines; designed cranes and hoists for building; built and sailed ships both for commerce and war; and constructed aqueducts to carry water for miles to feed their complex municipal plumbing systems.In this new, revised edition, Dr Landels has added a chapter on how - to his astonishment and delight - it has proved possible to reconstruct and sail an exact replica of an Ancient Greek trireme.

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