Authors:
- Describes the technical aspects and historical developments of mechanism design in antiquity
- Reconstructs lesser known inventions based on the classics, iconic references, and archaeological finds from (mainly but not only) Pompei, Ercolano and Stabia
- Augmented for this second edition with new material
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Part of the book series: History of Mechanism and Machine Science (HMMS, volume 33)
Buy it now
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Other ways to access
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.
Table of contents (22 chapters)
-
Front Matter
About this book
This book describes the inventions and designs of ancient engineers who are the precursors of the present. The period ranges mainly from 300 B.C. to 1600 A.D. with several exceptions. Many of the oldest inventions are documented by archaeological finds, often very little known, mainly from Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae and reveal a surprising modernity in their conception.
Most of the inventions presented in the first four parts of this book were conceived up to the late Roman Empire and may be considered as milestones, each in their respective field. The fifth part concentrates on more recent centuries. The sixth part deals with some building construction techniques.
Generally, for each of the presented inventions, three elements of research and reference are provided: written documents (the classics), iconic references (coins, bas-reliefs, etc.) and archaeological findings.
The authors did not write this book for engineers only; hence they describe allthe devices without assuming wide technical knowledge. The authors’ main aim is to try to communicate their enthusiasm for the inventions and the inventors of the past and to contribute to the fascinating study of the History of Engineering.
This second edition includes new topics and chapters that are of special interest to engineers.
Reviews
Authors and Affiliations
-
Dipt di Ingegneria Industriale, Università di Napoli "Federico II" Dipt di Ingegneria Industriale, Naples, Italy
Cesare Rossi
-
Torre del Greco, Italy
Flavio Russo
About the authors
Cesare Rossi received the Mechanical Engineer Degree cum Laude at the University of Napoli - "Federico II" in 1979; in the same year his doctoral thesis received the Asmeccanica (Italian Mechanical Engineering Association) award.
He participated in many International Conferences, often with invited lectures and as Chairman. His research activities where carried on mainly in the topics of Tribology, Rotor Dynamics, Mechanical Vibrations, Chaotic Motions of Mechanical Systems, Robot Mechanics, Video Applications for Robotics. Since several years he is interested in studies and researches on the History of Engineering and presently he cooperates with researchers (also on the field) mainly in which the Classic Age is concerned. He is a member of the A.I.S.I (Italian Society for the History of Engineering).
Flavio Russo holds a degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Rome.
Has been studying military architecture and military history in general for the past thirty years, focusing especially on military technology. For ten years he was member of Scientific Councils of the Italian Institute for the Castles and of National Committee for Studies of Fortified Architectures at the Italian Cultural Heritage Department.
Currently he is working at the reconstruction of a roman water wheel, starting from archaeological finds.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Ancient Engineers' Inventions
Book Subtitle: Precursors of the Present
Authors: Cesare Rossi, Flavio Russo
Series Title: History of Mechanism and Machine Science
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44476-5
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Engineering, Engineering (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-44475-8Published: 07 September 2016
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-83061-2Published: 22 April 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-44476-5Published: 26 August 2016
Series ISSN: 1875-3442
Series E-ISSN: 1875-3426
Edition Number: 2
Number of Pages: XVII, 420
Number of Illustrations: 184 b/w illustrations, 116 illustrations in colour
Topics: Engineering Design, Machinery and Machine Elements, History of Technology, Archaeology, History of Science