WRIGHT
PALEOHYDROLOGICAL
INSTITUTE
Paleohydrology is “the study
of water use and handling
by ancient people.”
Wright Paleohydrological
Institute (WPI) is a nonprofit organization established in 1996 for the study
of ancient water use. WPI
is a public foundation with
a proud record of public
interest activities related to
ancient water management.
Wright Paleohydrological
Institute
To further the knowledge of past civilizations through the study of ancient water
management and practices.
Winter 2015
Square Tower Unit at Hovenweep National Monument
In September 2015, a team
of twelve people participated
in field work at Square
Tower and other units at
Hovenweep National
Monument in Utah. The
team performed
investigations of spring yield,
likely farming locations,
spring formation and
possible Ancestral Pueblo
reservoir sites. The team felt
lucky to have the support of
two National Park Service
archaeologists and felt
positive about the research
work.
We learned that the
Ancestral Pueblo people did
much with very little. The
yields of the springs were so
low that they had to be
measured in drips per
minute. Similarly, we know
that the potential reservoirs
would have filled only
intermittently and that the
quality of this water may not
have been as good as the
water from the springs.
The stone structures of the
Ancestral Pueblo people,
shown to the right, had to
be well designed and
constructed to stand up to
the erosive forces of wind
and rain in the Four Corners
region.
2015 Pompeii Field Work
Inside this issue:
Paper on Aqua
2
Augusta Published
Saqsayhuaman
Summer Work
2
Lectures!
2
Incamisana Book
Fourth in ASCE
Series
3
Machu Picchu and
Inca Trails
3
Great Inca Roads
Exhibit at
Smithsonian’s
NMAI
3
Donation Form
4
The WPI Pompeii team of
Wayne Lorenz, Gail Lorenz
and Peter Foster conducted
a week of research in the
area of Naples, Italy, in
March. The team also
included Giuseppe
Illiano, a local Naples Bay
researcher.
After the team used GPS to
locate several aqueduct
locations, they participated in
a workshop at the University
of Solerno in Fisciano to
refine the Augustus
Aqueduct alignment based on
research of WPI and other
colleagues. The workshop
was arranged by Professor
Giovanni DeFeo, a Civil
Engineer at the University.
For the second research trip
in a row, the team
discovered a new section of
the aqueduct. This is a
unique section that was
tunneled directly into the
tufa rock. As shown in the
photo, the calcium
carbonate scaling in this
section was significant, up to
18 inches thick.
Your Support in 2015 Really Matters!
WPI continues to study how
ancient people dealt with
water. Your generosity
helps make this happen.
You can still support our
public education efforts in
2015 with donations from
$5 to $200.
Ruth and Ken Wright match
contributions at two to one.
Page 2
Wright Paleohydrological Institute
Machu Picchu Map
After 15 years and a second
printing, the Archaeological
Map of Machu Picchu
continues to be in demand.
When WPI staff members
first created the map in
2000, an Andean expert,
The map is available by
calling Deana at
(303) 480-1700 or at
wrightpaleo.com.
anthropology professor
John Rowe of the University
of California–Berkeley,
judged the map to be
accurate.
For the second edition
printed in 2008, WPI
cartographer Kurt Loptien
improved some colors and
incorporated findings from
new research.
Many visitors to Machu
Picchu have called the map
“invaluable.”
Paper on Aqua Augusta Published
An article, “Route and
Tunnels of the Aqua
Augusta for the Water
Supply of Pompeii,” was
published in 2015 in the
International Journal of Global
Environmental Issues. Wayne
Lorenz coauthored the
paper with Giovanni DeFeo
of the Department of
Industrial Engineering at the
University of Salerno in
Italy. The paper describes
the tunneling aspects of the
aqueduct that brought
water to Pompeii in the
first century. The aqueduct
was tunneled for a great
portion of the distance
from the spring water
source to Pompeii.
Saqsayhuaman Summer Work
At Saqsayhuaman,
Professor Miksad’s head is
dwarfed by the massive
stones below.
In July, a team from the
University of Virginia (UVa)
conducted research related
to the preservation of Inca
walls at Saqsayhuaman for
the fifth summer running.
The UVa team was joined
by six Peruvian graduate
students―three from the
Universidad Nacional de
Ingeniería (UNI) and three
from Ricardo Palma
University, both based in
Lima. A high school intern
from Colorado, Jack
Roswell, also participated.
The research was
performed by three teams
focused on seismic
refraction studies, total
station measurements and
ground penetrating radar.
The work was led by
Professor Richard Miksad of
UVa with his student Gina
O’Neil coordinating the
work and translating for the
teams.
Fermin Díaz and Fernando
Caller were instrumental in
helping obtain permits from
the Peruvian government.
Lectures!
Ken Wright was a plenary
speaker on Ancestral Pueblo
Water Use at the annual
meeting of the American
Water Resources
Association in Denver.
The researchers of WPI
believe that providing
presentations on our work
is an important part of our
public education mission.
WPI staff members have
provided more than 30
lectures on our work in
2015, with more planned for
2016.
Lecture topics include:

The Water Supply of
Pompeii

Inca Engineering
(including roads)

Anasazi Water Supply

Drainage and Flood
Control for the
Preservation of Cultural
and Historical Sites

Roman Engineering
If your group wants to
schedule a presentation, give
us a call!
Page 3
Incamisana Book Fourth in ASCE Series
The book, Incamisana:
Engineering an Inca Water
Temple, will be available in
December 2015 or January
2016! It will be the fourth
in Ken Wright’s ASCE Press
series on ancient
engineering at Inca sites.
The previous three books
were on Machu Picchu,
Tipon and Moray. Ken’s
coauthors for Incamisana
were archaeologist
Arminda Gibaja,
archaeologist Gordon
McEwan, University of
Virginia engineering
professor Richard Miksad
and historian Ruth Wright.
The Incamisana site is
special to us because
coauthor Gibaja excavated
the site in 1982–84. The
Inca carved the rock cliff
above the Water Temple in
a beautiful, painstaking and
enigmatic manner.
Water was very important
in Inca religion. This idea is
evident in the standard of
care the Inca used at this
water temple.
The cover features one of
the dual fountains that are
part of the grand entrance
to the Water Temple.
Machu Picchu and Inca Trails
Our 2016 WPI calendar was
inspired by the new
Smithsonian exhibit, “The
Great Inca Road:
Engineering an Empire,”
described below.
The 2016 Machu Picchu and
Inca Trails calendars are now
on sale for $10 each.
Photographs are by WPI
directors Ruth and Ken
Wright and team members
Grosvenor Merle-Smith,
Scott Marshall and Sally
Kribs. The calendar was
designed by Todd Clary
Creative and produced by
C & C Offset Printing.
The calendar can be
ordered at wrightpaleo.com
or by calling Deana at
(303) 480-1700.
Designers at WPI are
already working on the
2017 calendar. It will be a
collection of paleohydrological sites, including but not
limited to, Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu and Inca
Trails may be our best
calendar yet!
Great Inca Roads Exhibit at Smithsonian’s NMAI
The Smithsonian’s landmark
exhibition at the National
Museum of the American
Indian (NMAI) in
Washington, D.C., opened
on June 27. It is “The Great
Inca Road: Engineering an
Empire.”
The exhibition tells the
story of how ancient
engineering was able to help
link together diverse
ancient peoples stretching
from Chile to Ecuador. The
road systems were used
to move economically
important goods, to help in
the administration of the
far-flung Inca empire and to
provide mobility for the
military.
Modern highway engineers
can be proud of their longago predecessors who built
and maintained a 24,000mile-long road system about
the time that Columbus
sailed for America. A lot of
the Inca road has endured,
with some segments still
used locally by present-day
people.
Personnel from WPI
participated in three days of
events leading up to the
opening of the exhibit.
Ruth and Ken Wright
attended a symposium on
Inca Roads, presented a
lecture at the Symposium
and attended other
festivities related to the
opening.
They are pleased with the
quality of the interactive
exhibit and were honored
to note that about eight of
their photos were used.
The Inca Road exhibit is a
must-see experience for
anyone visiting the
Washington, D.C., area
over the next year!
Craftsmen descended from
the Inca demonstrated
how to make rope out of
grass that is strong enough
to be used in suspension
bridges.
To further the knowledge of past civilizations through the study of ancient water management and practices.
A COPY FOR YOUR RECORDS:
WRIGHT
PALEOHYDROLOGICAL
INSTITUTE
BOULDER
1440 High St.
Boulder, CO 80304
This is a record of my contribu on to the Wright Paleohydrological Ins tute to further publicly oriented scien fic research of water management and use of water by ancient people
along with associated public educa onal efforts. All contribu ons are fully tax-deduc ble.
______
$5.00
DENVER
2490 W. 26th Ave., Ste. 100A
Denver, CO 80211
Phone: (303) 480-1700
Fax: (303) 480-1020
E-mail: [email protected]
Visit us at
wrightpaleo.com
_______
$10.00
_______
$25.00
_______
$50.00
_______
$100.00
_______
$200.00
______
Other
AGAIN, WPI THANKS YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
Wright Paleohydrological InsƟtute•2490 West 26th Avenue, Suite 100A•Denver, CO 80211
_______________________________________________________________
(CUT HERE)
PLEASE REMIT YOUR DONATION TO:
Wright Paleohydrological InsƟtute
2490 W. 26th Ave., Suite 100A
Denver, CO 80211
DIRECTORS
Kenneth R. Wright, President
Ruth M. Wright, Vice President
Gwen Dooley, Secretary/Treasurer
Gordon F. McEwan, Public Member
Richard W. Miksad, Public Member
Here is my contribu on to the Wright Paleohydrological Ins tute to further publicly oriented
scien fic research of water management and use of water by ancient people along with
associated public educa onal efforts. All contribu ons are fully tax deduc ble.
______
$5.00
_______
$10.00
_______
$25.00
_______
$50.00
_______
$100.00
_______
$200.00
______
Other
RESEARCH ASSOCIATES
T. Andrew Earles
Patricia K. Flood
Sally Kribs
Wayne F. Lorenz
Phillip Wolfram
Shaw Yu
CORRESPONDING MEMBERS
Mario Fernando Caller Salas
Fermín Gilberto Díaz Angulo
Maria Susana Landaveri Porturas
____________________________________________
Name
____________
Date
__________________________________________________________
Address
__________________________________________________________
Address
__________________________________________________________
Telephone/Fax
__________________________________________________________
Email