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Ancient and modern engineering and the Isthmian canal
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In: History - Ancient·Engineering & Technology
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #75910.
About this book
The work is a scholarly compilation of six lectures delivered by William H. Burr, a professor of civil engineering at Columbia University, in early 1902. Presented as a single volume, the book is organized into four major parts that trace the development of civil engineering from antiquity to the modern era, with a particular focus on the Panama and Nicaragua canal projects. The opening pages explain that the text expands the original lectures, incorporates half‑tone illustrations drawn from photographs taken by members of the Isthmian Canal Commission, and relies on a detailed table of contents in lieu of a conventional index. The contents list reveals a systematic treatment of ancient hydraulic works, Roman construction techniques, bridge theory, water‑supply systems, and railroad engineering, culminating in technical discussions of the Isthmian canal routes.
Burr’s voice is that of an early‑20th‑century academic, combining exhaustive technical detail with a didactic tone suited to university students and professional engineers of his day. The prose is dense, heavily annotated, and rooted in the engineering terminology and measurement standards of the period. Readers with an interest in the history of civil engineering, the technical evolution of large‑scale infrastructure, or the engineering challenges surrounding the Panama Canal will find the book rewarding, while those seeking a narrative-driven account should look elsewhere.
The opening · free to read
This book is the outcome of a course of six lectures delivered at the Cooper Union in the city of New York in February and March, 1902, under the auspices of Columbia University. It seemed desirable by the President of the University that the subject-matter of the lectures should be prepared for ultimate publication. The six Parts of the book, therefore, comprise the substance of the six lectures, suitably expanded for the purposes of publication.
It may be interesting to state that the half-tone illustrations have, with scarcely an exception, been prepared from photographs of the actual subjects illustrated. All such illustrations in Parts V and VI devoted to the Nicaragua and Panama Canal routes are made from photographs at the various locations by members of the force of the Isthmian Canal Commission; they are, therefore, absolutely true representations of the actual localities to which they apply.
For other illustrations the author wishes to express his indebtedness to Messrs. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, Messrs. Turneaure and Russell, John Wiley & Sons, The Morrison-Jewell Filtration Company, Mr. H. M. Sperry, Signal Engineer, The Engineering News, The Railroad Gazette, The American Society of Civil Engineers, The Standard Switch and Signal Company, The Baldwin Locomotive Works, the American Locomotive Works, Mr. Clemens Herschel, and the International Pump Company, and to others from whom the author has received courtesies which he deeply appreciates.
The classification or division of the matter of the text, and the table of contents, have been made so complete, with a view to convenience even of the desultory reader in seeking any particular subject or paragraph, that no index has been prepared, as it is believed that the table of contents, as arranged, practically supplies the information ordinarily given by a comprehensive index.
Complete and detailed treatments of the purely technical matters covered by Part II will be found in the author’s “Elasticity and Resistance of Materials” and in his “Stresses in Bridge and Roof Trusses, Arched Ribs and Suspension Bridges.”
W. H. B.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, October 24, 1902.
CONTENTS.
PART I. ANCIENT CIVIL-ENGINEERING WORKS.
CHAPTER I. ART. PAGE 1. Introductory 1 2. Hydraulic Works of Chaldea and Egypt 2 3. Structural Works in Chaldea and Egypt 4 4. Ancient Maritime Commerce 7 5. The Change of the Nile Channel at Memphis 8 6. The Pyramids 8 7. Obelisks, Labyrinths, and Temples 12 8. Nile Irrigation 13 9. Prehistoric Bridge-building 14 10. Ancient Brick-making 15 11. Ancient Arches 16
CHAPTER II. 12. The Beginnings of Engineering Works of Record 19 13. The Appian Way and other Roman Roads 20 14. Natural Advantages of Rome in Structural Stones 22 15. Pozzuolana Hydraulic Cement 24 16. Roman Bricks and Masonry 25 17. Roman Building Laws 27 18. Old Roman Walls 27 19. The Servian Wall 28 20. Old Roman Sewers 29 21. Early Roman Bridges 31 22. Bridge of Alcantara 35 23. Military Bridges of the Romans 35 24. The Roman Arch 36
CHAPTER III. 25. The Roman Water-supply 37 26. The Roman Aqueducts 38 27. Anio Vetus 39 28. Tepula 40 29. Virgo 40 30. Alsietina 40 31. Claudia 41 32. Anio Novus 42 33. Lengths and Dates of Aqueducts 42 34. Intakes and Settling-basins 43 35. Delivery-tanks 44 36. Leakage and Lining of Aqueducts 44 37. Grade of Aqueduct Channels 45 38. Qualities of Roman Waters 46 39. Combined Aqueducts 46 40. Property Rights in Roman Waters 46 41. Ajutages and Unit of Measurement 47 42. The Stealing of Water 49 43. Aqueduct Alignment and Design of Siphons 49
CHAPTER IV. 44. Antiquity of Masonry Aqueducts 52 45. Pont du Gard 52 46. Aqueducts at Segovia, Metz, and other Places 53 47. Tunnels 54 48. Ostia, the Harbor of Rome 56 49. Harbors of Claudius and Trajan 58
CHAPTER V. 50. Ancient Engineering Science 60 51. Ancient Views of the Physical Properties of Materials 61 52. Roman Civil Engineers Searching for Water 62 53. Locating and Designing Conduits 63 54. Siphons 64 55. Healthful Sites for Cities 65 56. Foundations of Structures 65 57. Pozzuolana and Sand 66 58. Lime Mortar 66 59. Roman Bricks according to Vitruvius 66 60. Roman Timber 67 61. The Rules of Vitruvius for Harbors 67 62. The Thrusts of Arches and Earth; Retaining-walls and Pavements 68 63. The Professional Spirit of Vitruvius 68 64. Mechanical Appliances of the Ancients 69 65. Unlimited Forces and Time 69
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