Hydraulic Analysis of a Self-Cleaning Drainage Outlet at the Hellenistic City of Priene

At the distal western end of a main drainage canal running along West Gate Street in the Hellenistic city of Priene, an unusual masonry outlet structure has been found. The housed structure contains a doubly curvilinear, contracting rectangular cross-section flow passageway that allows drainage water flow through the city perimeter wall. A computer model of the complexly-shaped drainage structure has been hydraulically analysed in order to determine the function of the curvilinear passageway. Results indicate that the internal shaping of the structure hydraulically conditions the flow to create multiple circulatory mixing flows that agitate and entrain debris in the outflow stream sufficient to “self-clean” the outlet, thus preventing clogging. Further calculations of flow free surface shapes at different flow rates indicate the maximum flow capacity that can be processed by the drainage system without overspillage to provide a lower-bound estimate of the steady-state water supply to the city. The design of a self-cleaning, continuous flow urban wastewater system implies that Greek city planners maintained a high level of awareness about the hygienic conditions needed to maintain the health of the populace. The Greek attitude toward technical refinements necessary to improve the quality of urban life could therefore not be better represented than in attention to detail related to water supply and waste water drainage systems as a key to improved life standards.