The Ancient World's Longest Underground Aqueduct (2009)

When I was in Afghanistan I was fascinated by the long lines of circular dirt mounts that dotted the landscape[0]. I knew of qanats from reading the Dune series by Frank Herbert, but had never seen an example. It wasn't until a few years after I was in Afghanistan that I realized what the long lines of what I thought were ancient battlements were--the access shafts for the qanats that provided water to the people in that high desert. Sadly I hear that the art of constructing and maintaining the qanats is being lost, and the qanats have been destroyed (or damaged beyond repair) in some cases by the expansion of the bases of occupying forces.

0: https://arcg.is/0m8ujr

I think that we are fascinated with Rome because it resembles our own modern cities. The aqueduct provided water to peoples' private homes, to businesses, to bath houses that had steam rooms and heated pools, to public fountains.