Wright Paleohydrological Institute

A fascinating read on the impressive aqueduct Aqua Marcia in ancient Rome.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/lifestyle/travel/story/2024-06-02/tracing-the-long-winding-path-of-an-ancient-roman-aqueduct

Until recently, the South Ecuadoran town of Catacocha has been in a state of drought. That is, until the town resurrected an ~1,000-year-old water supply system using 250 artificial mountainside lagoons for storing rainwater. The revival of this long-lost water system used by ancestral Palta Indigenous people has supplied residents of this desert town with an abundance of water. The historian who discovered this water system is regarded as a hero in the community, as the lives of the Catacochan people have been greatly improved. Image by Alexis Serrano

https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/an-ancient-indigenous-lagoon-system-brings-water-back-to-a-dry-town-in-ecuador/

Today is the 54th anniversary of the 1970 landslide in Yungay, Peru. The landslide originated on the slopes of the mountain Huascaran. It was triggered by a large earthquake and moved so quickly that it buried the town of 70,000 people before anyone had a chance to flee. The area of the original town is now known as “campo santos” which translates roughly to field of saints. Ironically, the only part of the original town that survived was the cemetery. The Peruvian government has forbidden any construction on the site of the old town so a new town has been built immediately north of the original town.

Getting to Machu Picchu has always been a big part of the adventure. Visitors from Cuzco get to Agua Calientes via a five-hour train voyage. From there, they can catch a half-hour bus ride to the famous retreat or spend three to five days hiking there, depending on the route. However, a new road is being constructed that will reduce the drive from Cuzco to two hours! Travelers will still need to complete the final leg on foot or by bus.

The Boulder Town and Gown Society hosted a presentation by Wayne Lorenz and Catherine Trowbridge in late April at the Fraiser Retirement Community. Wayne and Catherine’s topic was their November Pompeii expedition and ongoing study.
Wayne and Catherine wowed the crowd with some of the recent Roman discoveries and Pompeii research performed by WWE and the Wright Paleohydrological Institute (WPI). They described one of the greatest aqueduct systems of the ancient world and the water features that have survived in Pompeii and around Naples Bay.
Wayne and Catherine showed and explained water features, mosaics, underground cisterns, newly discovered tunnels, and more, to a large, attentive audience. A focus was fish and various forms of aquatic life often found in the extraordinarily beautiful mosaic tiles in the fountains and houses of Pompeii.
Wayne and Catherine thank CU professor emeritus Dr. McKim (Kim) Malville, an archeoastronomy expert, and Frasier for the invitation and hospitality.

We are sorry to note the passing of architect Vince Lee, who was a world-renowned authority on Inca construction and site design. He collaborated with us and many of our fellow Andean researchers on several important studies and graciously invited Ken and Ruth Wright to participate in Andean seminars he organized.
Vince and his wife, Nancy, were known for their definitive survey and mapping of Espiritu Pampa in 1980. Their extensive investigation supported the idea that Espiritu Pampa, first visited by Machu Picchu discoverer Hiram Bingham in 1911, was the elusive “last refuge of the Inca,” abandoned in 1572.
Vince also collaborated with our colleague Richard Miksad at the Sacsaywaman site in Peru, documenting the methods used by the Inca to carve and move immense building stones, some weighing more than 200 tons. (Like the one Vince stands before in the photo.)
“Vince made important contributions to Andean research and will be greatly missed,” said Ken.

During their recent research trip, Catherine Trowbridge and Wayne Lorenz photographed this Roman mosaic near Pompeii, from about the 2nd Century, BCE, which shows locally available farmed fish. About this time, Romans began using freshwater pools (and in some cases, seawater pools) to raise their favorite delicacies. How many do you recognize?

Our Pompeii research team was allowed access to the Dye Shop during their last research field trip in Italy. The Dye Shop, formally known as the “Officina Tinctoria of Terentius,” featured two large cisterns in addition to the dye processing area.
Wayne Lorenz, Catherine Trowbridge, and their team collected dimensions of both the processing area basins (which feature large lead vats) and the cisterns, (which were estimated to hold about 11,000 gallons of water in total).
The photo shows a cistern that is part of the former Dye Shop in Pompeii.

Today the UN is celebrating World Water Day! On this day, WPI and WWE would like to celebrate the water towers of Pompeii, one of our research topics. The Aqua Augusta delivered water to Pompeii, channeling it into the Aquae Castellum, the city’s highest point and distribution hub. A hydraulic splitter box in the Aquae Castellum divided the water flow into one of three main lead pipes to be distributed throughout the city to different areas and pressure zones throughout the city. Through this lead piping, the water was conveyed to water towers, which provided flow equalization and water pressure control to the points of use. The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE preserved at least 15 water towers, which are quite rare in the ancient Roman archaeological record.

Today the UN is celebrating World Water Day! Water is our world and we are grateful to be a part of it! This photograph is the Princess Fountain at Ollantaytambo in Peru, where WPI studied Inca engineering. At the Incamisana archaeological site, a place built for and dedicated to the worship of water, the Princess Fountain is considered to be its most special one because of the carved details. All 14 excavated, completed, ceremonial fountains at Incamisana are perfectly hydraulically designed to jet water at the given flow rate.

Conde Nast included Ollantaytambo, one of our research sites, as a top 23 place to visit in 2023. Ollantaytambo is one of the stops the train makes between Cusco and Machu Picchu. We agree it is very special!
https://www.cntraveler.com/story/best-places-to-go-in-2023

Happy 2023 from WPI's intrepid researchers!

Making year-end donations? WPI, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, continues to study how ancient people dealt with water and how modern water can affect ancient structures. Your generosity helps make this happen.
Please consider supporting our research and public education efforts in 2023 with donations from $5 to $200.

https://www.wrightpaleo.com/make-a-donation

The new article that WPI contributed to is also on the ASCE Source website.
https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/civil-engineering-magazine/issues/magazine-issue/article/2022/11/how-did-ancient-engineers-of-mesa-verde-harness-water?utm_medium=email&utm_source=rasa_io&utm_campaign=newsletter

WWE sends best wishes for a peaceful, joyous Christmas to all our friends who are celebrating around the world!

WPI saw first hand the high quality water infrastructure designed and constructed by early people in Peru. Ken Wright says that the Andeans were masterful civil engineers who knew what they were doing. That's why modern Pervuians are restoring and reestablishing this previous work.
https://wapo.st/3FOe3CQ

Happy Hanukkah to all who are celebrating!

Today is Colorado Gives Day! Check out our latest newsletter and please consider supporting your favorite paleohydrological institute!

https://www.wrightpaleo.com/newsletter
https://www.wrightpaleo.com/make-a-donation

Wayne Lorenz and Catherine Trowbridge gave a great presentation on the Pompeii water supply and water features last night at the Denver Athletic Club!

When Andrew Earles was in Babylon, he took this photograph of one of the repeated bas-reliefs of a mušḫuššu on the walls of the Ishtar Gate. The mušḫuššu was the sacred animal of Marduk and his son Nabu during the Neo-Babylonian Empire. It was depicted as having the torso of a fish, the tail of a snake, the forepaws of a lion, and the hind legs of an eagle. Some think the character, Mushu, in the Disney cartoon "Mulan" was inspired by this mythical beast.

WPI's work in Babylon was to manage moisture in this area to prevent further deterioration of the glazed bricks that form the Ishtar Gate.

During our paleohydrological studies of Incamisana, we have fond memories of stopping by Chinchero, an archaeological site in Peru between Cusco and Urubamba. This restored Inca ruin is also a typical Andean village with a colonial church, wonderful mountain views, and a colorful Sunday market.

Rome's amazing network of about 50,000 miles of roads were built for the military, but of course, they also were beneficial to Rome's economy. The flow of goods from the roads in the Roman empire sustained a thriving, prosperous society. A new paper by the University of Gothenburg suggests that 2,000-year-old Roman Roads still have an impact on the economy!
https://www.gu.se/en/news/roman-roads-laid-the-foundation-for-modern-day-prosperity

Every day was "Turkey Day" for the Ancestral Pueblo people. Research
by adjunct assistant professor Cyler Conrad from the Department of Anthropology at The University of New Mexico explores the role of turkeys in the Four Corners area. Turkeys were important for food, blankets, decoration, and myriad other uses. Photo: National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution (N32775, NMAI.AC.001.034)

https://news.unm.edu/news/research-delves-into-role-of-turkeys-to-ancestral-pueblo-peoples

We recommend a new article in Civil Engineering magazine on water harvesting at Mesa Verde. The Ancestral Pueblo people survived in the area for centuries despite very limited resources. WPI was interviewed for the article and provided photographs.
https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/civil-engineering-magazine/issues/magazine-issue/article/2022/11/how-did-ancient-engineers-of-mesa-verde-harness-water

Ken Wright notes that the Great Drought of AD 1135 to 1170 included Mesa Verde and extended all the way to what is now the Central United States. Although it is hard to fathom, sand dunes across the Central United States actively migrated due to topsoil blown during the 12th century drought.

The Ancestral Pueblo people of the Four Corners area learned to be resourceful during this period. As crops withered, they reverted from domesticating turkeys and farming maize, beans, and squash to hunting and gathering. The 12th century drought resulted in famine, reduced reproduction rate, war, and migration.
A subsequent drought in the 13th century is believed by anthropologists to have been the “final straw” that caused the Ancestral Pueblo people to abandon the Four Corners area.

Wayne Lorenz gave a presentation last evening to 120 attendees of a University of Colorado College of Engineering fundraising event in Cherry Creek. Wayne provided insightful lessons learned from climate change issues faced by the Roman Empire. The attendees included Jon Jones, Brooke Marten, and Claire Vavrus.

The 2023 Machu Picchu calendar is now available! It can be purchased at: https://www.wrightpaleo.com/store-1.

WPI's Wayne Lorenz and Catherine Trowbridge presented to Mountain Song Community School’s 6th grade class in October, providing the students and staff with an overview of the water cycle, the Roman aqueduct, and water use and supply within Pompeii. WPI appreciates Jennifer Riley-Chetwynd, Co-Director of One World One Water (OWOW) Center for introducing WPI to Mountain Song Community School and thanks Matt Thomas and Adam Wright for welcoming us to their classroom! WPI looks forward to continuing our collaboration with both OWOW and schools within our community.

We are big boosters of water, but we guess Posca sounds sorta ok.
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/my-favorite-beverage-is-a-2-000-year-old-energy-drink-from-ancient-rome?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Ken Wright was pleased to proved a presentation last week on Machu Picchu to a group of geotechnical engineers.