Amazing Engineering

In the past six months or so I've watched a bunch of videos on the Roman Empire as I've explored the context for first-century Ephesus. By far the best has been the 2007 History Channel documentary, "Rome: Engineering an Empire."

If you want to sit with your mouth agape, check this one out. It highlights ancient Rome's engineering feats, and in many cases uses computer animation to show viewers what the aqueducts, the Baths of Caracalla, Hadrian's Wall, Caesar's Bridge, the Coliseum and the Pantheon looked like in all their glory. How Rome built this stuff without modern scaffolding, cranes, or equipment amazes. The frescos, jewels on the ceilings, gold on the columns--stunning stuff. Did you know middle- and upper-class families in Rome had running water in their homes?