The evolution of pumping systems through the early renaissance

The hydraulic ability of the Roman engineers is well known, and is clearly shown in their design of aqueducts and open flow canals to deliver water to the main cities of the expanding empire. However, the hydraulic skills of ancient engineers were highly challenged when confronted with the problem of raising large volumes of water and no progress whatsoever was made in this field. Water pumping was a typical problem of the mining industry, where underground work was limited by the infiltration of water and aquifer systems. Consequently, the earliest application of heavy duty steam engines in the 18th century was to drive mechanical pumps to drain water from coal mines in England, marking the beginning of the so-called Industrial Revolution. However, before this revolution came about, in fact almost two centuries earlier, it is possible to trace back and discover the history of other mechanical inventions in the field of pumping. These are illustrated and described in technical treatises of the period and they led to the development of numerous types of pumping systems, some of which survived through to the end of the 19th century. The paper is aimed at giving a short outline of the development of pumping devices up to the early Renaissance, and highlighting the contribution of 16 th century engineering to the design of mechanical inventions, which then paved the way to the industrial revolution of the centuries to come. © 2004 ASCE.