The roman hydraulic system of Frigento (Campania, southern Italy)

Abstract

Cretaceous Flysch galestrino with the least degree of relative permeability, lying -below a surface level of pyroclastic sandy soil up to 5 m thick with a medium degree of relative permeability. The volume of water that the soil could have absorbed in one year over the 26,000 m2 surface enclosed in the contour line 900 m a.s.l. ranges between 5,616 and 6,256 m3. This should be considered as a conservative estimate, since it does not include the quantity derived from melted snow, which cannot currently be computed due to lack of specifi c statistical data. The water thus accumulated in the cisterns formed a reserve available throughout the year.