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SUMMARY:A Roman engineer’s tales - Serafina Cuomo (Birkbeck\, University
  of London)
DTSTART:20080612T153000Z
DTEND:20080612T170000Z
UID:TALK9565@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Lauren Kassell
DESCRIPTION:I will look at one object\, a broken column found in Algeria a
 nd dating from the second century AD\, from three different points of view
 \, with the aim of exploring the various ways in which we can write the hi
 story of ancient technology today. The column is inscribed on its three si
 des\, and tells the story of Nonius Datus\, a military engineer who design
 ed and\, over the years\, guided the completion of an aqueduct in the anci
 ent Roman town of Saldae\, on the Algerian coast. Firstly\, I will look at
  how the column can be\, and has been\, used to derive ‘straightforward
 ’ information about aqueducts\, tunnels and water supply administration 
 in Roman times. Next\, I will explore the ways in which technology can be 
 considered an instrument of empire\, and reveal the afterlife of Nonius Da
 tus’ column in the nineteenth century\, when the French army engineers d
 ecided to provide Saldae (by then Bougie) with a new aqueduct. Finally\, I
  will focus on Nonius Datus as an individual\, and on what he (emphasise h
 e) may have thought he was doing by leaving a ‘technological’ monument
  behind.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, History and Philosophy of Science\, Department o
 f
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