'The Roman Water Pump'
In the Roman world pumps were used for many purposes, including raising water and, very importantly, fighting fires. Roman mechanical engineers cleverly refashioned the Greek bronze design to make a cheaper and better pump in wood. Ten pumps of bronze, and eighteen of wood, are known. There are remains of twenty three; one probably shows the progression from the earlier design to the later one.

This presentation will describe the location and dating of the known pumps, and discuss their uneven distribution through the empire. It will explain how pumps worked and were driven, and the rationale for, and process of, change. It will describe their output, how they were used, and what they were used for.

Rome used many types of machine, but few remains exist. The pump gives us an indication of the major contribution that machines made to the Roman world.