The Romans
- Episode aired Mar 9, 2005
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
6
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We're Still Doing As They Did.
Adam Hart-Davis and his trusty engineer Marty take us through some of the technological aspects of Ancient Rome. Some of them are liable to be familiar, like the great aqueducts, but others not.
There is, for instance, the question of all these vast slabs of marble that were sliced into thin sheets only a centimeter or so apart. Now, how did the Romans do that? The results are much too precise to have been achieved by some guy with a hand saw. It must have been done by machine, but there is only one reference (in an obscure poem) to a water-driven machine that cuts marble, and no drawings at all.
This is where Marty, the young technician, tackles the problem. He builds a simple machine out of boards and a couple of oversized hacksaw blades and operates four saws at once, parallel to one another and about one centimeter apart. Hart-Davis, who often twits Marty, aptly calls this "experimental archaeology" because that's exactly what it is.
But all through this series, the sidekick builds miniature replicas of these engineering feats. How did the Romans manage to circulate hot water in the public baths? Marty will show you, using a jerry can, a hibatchi, and a bath tub.
It's an informative and entertaining series.
There is, for instance, the question of all these vast slabs of marble that were sliced into thin sheets only a centimeter or so apart. Now, how did the Romans do that? The results are much too precise to have been achieved by some guy with a hand saw. It must have been done by machine, but there is only one reference (in an obscure poem) to a water-driven machine that cuts marble, and no drawings at all.
This is where Marty, the young technician, tackles the problem. He builds a simple machine out of boards and a couple of oversized hacksaw blades and operates four saws at once, parallel to one another and about one centimeter apart. Hart-Davis, who often twits Marty, aptly calls this "experimental archaeology" because that's exactly what it is.
But all through this series, the sidekick builds miniature replicas of these engineering feats. How did the Romans manage to circulate hot water in the public baths? Marty will show you, using a jerry can, a hibatchi, and a bath tub.
It's an informative and entertaining series.
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- rmax304823
- Nov 14, 2015
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