Indagini speleologiche su opere idrauliche correlate a strutture rupestri

The flourishing of rupestrian communities is a phenomenon of great importance in many countries of the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East, Central Asia, and central and southern Italy (southern Tuscany, northern Latium, Campania, Molise, Basilicata, Apulia and Sicily). In this wide context, the ancient hydraulic works (collection, adduction, distribution and conservation) show the technical ability to create sophisticated underground systems, developing design tricks that are as simple as ingenious, in harmony with the environment, taking into account geological, morphological and hydrogeological factors, and the climatic conditions of the sites as well. Speleological investigations largely contributed to acquiring data of interest, both with regard to the presence of different types of rock structures in general (production plants, extraction works, reservoirs and channels, dwellings, places of worship, funeral areas, fortifications) and in the comparison of the techniques used in the construction of the various hydraulic works and their relative purposes. The paper presents a bibliographical summary of some studies conducted by speleologists and proposes a first encoding of hydraulic structures related to the rupestrian contexts, subdivided by type, construction technique and purpose of use