It was a pretty little group. The boy wore a conical hat adorned with a feather, a red jacket, and sandals which were bound upon his feet with red cords that were interlaced up the legs as far as the knees. His mother and sister wore bright red skirts and green aprons, and they all smiled at Edith as she tossed them some coins for posing.
Ruins of the Claudian Aqueduct
The arches were built to support the Aqueduct which is at the top.
"You will find such models all over the city," said Professor Gates.
"Like all-over embroidery," said Edith with a merry laugh; but no one saw her little joke, so she asked more seriously, "How did the water flow through the arches?"
"It did not flow through the arches, but through the aqueduct which you see at the top," the guide explained. "If you remember your Latin you will know that this word is formed from two others which mean 'water' and 'to lead.' In some places the aqueduct was laid upon the ground, but here there was a valley to be crossed, as you see, and the arches formed a bridge over which the pipe was laid."
From the aqueduct they drove to the old Appian Way.
"The Appian Way was named after Appius Claudius, who built a part of it," Professor Gates explained. "It is three hundred miles long, and crosses Italy to Brindisi, a seaport on the south-eastern coast."
"I thought you said that Appius Claudius built the aqueduct," said Mrs. Sprague.