Aqua Appia

The original branch of Aqua Appia probably had as its source a group of springs in a stretch of marshland collecting water from the slopes of Alban hills, situated in Lucullus' estate 780 paces (1,150 m (3,770 ft) from Via Praenestina[4]: 340-1 [5]: 25 .

In the 4th century BC the Etruscans had built underground drainage channels, cuniculi, carved in soft tufa rock[1]: 45 .

This is a similar construction found in the Anio Vetus aqueduct which could be evidence of renovations made in 144 BC[citation needed].

As with most aqueducts, the conduit was big enough to allow maintenance crews to walk inside to clean out any debris or make any repairs.

Regular cleaning up of debris was necessary since[citation needed], as Frontinus' records indicate, there was no settling tank in the route of the Aqua Appia[4]: 362-3 .

In 144 BC Quintus Marcius Rex restored the older aqueduct of Aqua Appia; however, it's not known how extensive the repairs were[5]: 24 .

After Marcius' repairs the aqueduct received no attention for over a century[5]: 24 , but in 33 BC restoration works attributed to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa took place Aqua Appia[5]: 24 .