Roman Tunnels Reading Answers, IELTS Passage

Roman Tunnels Reading Answers: The IELTS Reading passage "Roman Tunnels Reading Answers" explores the advanced tunnel construction techniques used by the Romans, including the qanat and counter-excavation methods. This passage features question types like Summary Completion, Matching Information, and Multiple-Choice Questions, helping you improve your skills in understanding details, identifying key points, and completing information. Here, we provide 13 questions related to "Roman Tunnels Reading Answers" to help you practice and boost your IELTS Reading band score.

Free IELTS Reading Practice Tests, Cambridge Sample Test PDF

Roman Tunnels Reading Answers Passage

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on the reading passage below.

Roman Tunnels Passage

Paragraph A: The Persians, who lived in present-day Iran, were one of the first civilizations to build tunnels that provided a reliable supply of water to human settlements in dry areas. In the early first millennium BCE, they introduced the qanat method of tunnel construction, which consisted of placing posts over a hill in a straight line, to ensure that the tunnel kept to its route, and then digging vertical shafts down into the ground at regular intervals. Underground, workers removed the earth from between the ends of the shafts, creating a tunnel. The excavated soil was taken up to the surface using the shafts, which also provided ventilation during the work. Once the tunnel was completed, it allowed water to flow from the top of a hillside down towards a canal, which supplied water for human use. Remarkably, some qanats built by the Persians 2,700 years ago are still in use today.

Paragraph B: They later passed on their knowledge to the Romans, who also used the qanat method to construct water-supply tunnels for agriculture. Roma qanat tunnels were constructed with vertical shafts dug at intervals of between 30 and 60 metres. The shafts were equipped with handholds and footholds to help those climbing in and out of them and were covered with a wooden or stone lid. To ensure that the shafts were vertical, Romans hung a plumb line from a rod placed across the top of each shaft and made sure that the weight at the end of it hung in the centre of the shaft. Plumb lines were also used to measure the depth of the shaft and to determine the slope of the tunnel. The 5.6-kilometer-long Claudius tunnel, built in 41 CE to drain the Fucine Lake in central Italy, had shafts that were up to 122 metres deep, took 11 years to build and involved approximately 30,000 workers.

Paragraph C: By the 6th century BCE, a second method of tunnel construction appeared called the counter-excavation method, in which the tunnel was constructed from both ends. It was used to cut through high mountains when the qanat method was not a practical alternative. This method required greater planning and advanced knowledge of surveying, mathematics and geometry as both ends of a tunnel had to meet correctly at the centre of the mountain. Adjustments to the direction of the tunnel also had to be made whenever builders encountered geological problems or when it deviated from its set path. They constantly checked the tunnel’s advancing direction, for example, by looking back at the light that penetrated through the tunnel mouth, and made corrections whenever necessary. Large deviations could happen, and they could result in one end of the tunnel not being usable. An inscription written on the side of a 428-metre tunnel, built by the Romans as part of the Saldae aqueduct system in modern-day Algeria, describes how the two teams of builders missed each other in the mountain and how the later construction of a lateral link between both corridors corrected the initial error.

Paragraph D: The Romans dug tunnels for their roads using the counter-excavation method, whenever they encountered obstacles such as hills or mountains that were too high for roads to pass over. An example is the 37-metre-long, 6-metre-high, Furlo Pass Tunnel built in Italy in 69-79 CE. Remarkably, a modern road still uses this tunnel today. Tunnels were also built for mineral extraction. Miners would locate a mineral vein and then pursue it with shafts and tunnels underground. Traces of such tunnels used to mine gold can still be found at the Dolaucothi mines in Wales. When the sole purpose of a tunnel was mineral extraction, construction required less planning, as the tunnel route was determined by the mineral vein.

Paragraph E: Roman tunnel projects were carefully planned and carried out. The length of time it took to construct a tunnel depended on the method being used and the type of rock being excavated. The qanat construction method was usually faster than the counter-excavation method as it was more straightforward. This was because the mountain could be excavated not only from the tunnel mouths but also from shafts. The type of rock could also influence construction times. When the rock was hard, the Romans employed a technique called fire quenching which consisted of heating the rock with fire, and then suddenly cooling it with cold water so that it would crack. Progress through hard rock could be very slow, and it was not uncommon for tunnels to take years, if not decades, to be built. Construction marks left on a Roman tunnel in Bologna show that the rate of advance through solid rock was 30 centimetres per day. In contrast, the rate of advance of the Claudius tunnel can be calculated at 1.4 metres per day. Most tunnels had inscriptions showing the names of patrons who ordered construction and sometimes the name of the architect. For example, the 1.4-kilometer Çevlik tunnel in Turkey, built to divert the floodwater threatening the harbour of the ancient city of Seleucia Pieria, had inscriptions on the entrance, still visible today, that also indicate that the tunnel was started in 69 CE and was completed in 81 CE.

Roman Tunnels Reading Answers Sample Questions

Questions 1-6

Complete the summary below.
Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the text for each answer.

The qanat method of tunnel construction, first developed by the 1. _______, was later adopted by the Romans. This method involved digging 2. _______ at regular distances to remove soil and ensure ventilation. Another method, called 3. _______, was introduced in the 6th century BCE and involved digging from both ends of a tunnel. This required careful planning, advanced 4. _______, and adjustments in direction when necessary. The Romans also used tunnel construction for different purposes, such as building 5. _______ through mountains and mining for valuable 6. _______ like gold.

Questions 7-10

The Reading Passage has FIVE paragraphs, A-E.
Which section contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-E, in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.

7. A description of a Roman tunnel that had inscriptions providing details of its construction.

8. A method used by Romans to break hard rock more efficiently.

9. A tunnel that had to be modified because construction teams did not meet in the correct place.

10. The way Romans ensured vertical shafts were straight when digging tunnels.

Questions 11-13

Choose THREE letters, A-G.
Write your answer in the boxes, 11-13 on your answer sheet.
Which THREE of the statements are true about Roman tunnels?

A. The qanat method allowed water to flow naturally from higher to lower ground.
B. The counter-excavation method was faster to complete than the qanat method.
C. Plumb lines were used by Romans to measure tunnel slopes.
D. Fire quenching was used to make tunneling through hard rock easier.
E. The Furlo Pass Tunnel was built for water supply.
F. Roman miners followed mineral veins when digging tunnels for extraction.
G. The Claudius tunnel was constructed in less than five years.

Roman Tunnels Reading Answers with Explanations 

Ans 1: Persians

• Location: Paragraph A
• Reference: "The Persians, who lived in present-day Iran, were one of the first civilizations to build tunnels that provided a reliable supply of water..."
• Explanation: The passage states that the Persians developed the qanat method of tunnel construction, which was later adopted by the Romans.

Ans 2: Shafts

• Location: Paragraph A
• Reference: "...placing posts over a hill in a straight line, to ensure that the tunnel kept to its route, and then digging vertical shafts down into the ground at regular intervals."
• Explanation: The qanat method involved digging shafts at intervals to help with soil removal and ventilation.

Ans 3: Counter-excavation

• Location: Paragraph C
• Reference: "By the 6th century BCE, a second method of tunnel construction appeared called the counter-excavation method, in which the tunnel was constructed from both ends."
• Explanation: This second method was introduced later and involved digging from both sides to meet in the middle.

Ans 4: Surveying

• Location: Paragraph C
• Reference: "This method required greater planning and advanced knowledge of surveying, mathematics, and geometry..."
• Explanation: Since tunnels were dug from two ends, surveying was essential to ensure both ends met correctly.

Ans 5: Roads

• Location: Paragraph D
• Reference: "The Romans dug tunnels for their roads using the counter-excavation method, whenever they encountered obstacles such as hills or mountains that were too high for roads to pass over."
• Explanation: Romans used tunnels to build roads when they encountered natural barriers.

Ans 6: Minerals

• Location: Paragraph D
• Reference: "Tunnels were also built for mineral extraction. Miners would locate a mineral vein and then pursue it with shafts and tunnels underground."
• Explanation: Romans built tunnels for mining minerals, particularly gold, as mentioned in the passage.

Ans 7: E

• Location: Paragraph E
• Reference: "Most tunnels had inscriptions showing the names of patrons who ordered construction and sometimes the name of the architect."
• Explanation: Roman tunnels often had inscriptions documenting who ordered them and when they were built.

Ans 8: E

• Location: Paragraph E
• Reference: "When the rock was hard, the Romans employed a technique called fire quenching which consisted of heating the rock with fire, and then suddenly cooling it with cold water so that it would crack."
• Explanation: Romans used fire quenching to break hard rocks more efficiently.

Ans 9: C

• Location: Paragraph C
• Reference: "An inscription written on the side of a 428-metre tunnel, built by the Romans as part of the Saldae aqueduct system in modern-day Algeria, describes how the two teams of builders missed each other in the mountain and how the later construction of a lateral link between both corridors corrected the initial error."
• Explanation: The Saldae aqueduct tunnel had to be modified because the two teams missed each other during construction.

Ans 10: B

• Location: Paragraph B
• Reference: "To ensure that the shafts were vertical, Romans hung a plumb line from a rod placed across the top of each shaft and made sure that the weight at the end of it hung in the centre of the shaft."
• Explanation: Romans used plumb lines to ensure that shafts were vertical and properly aligned.

Ans 11: A

• Location: Paragraph A
• Reference: "Once the tunnel was completed, it allowed water to flow from the top of a hillside down towards a canal, which supplied water for human use."
• Explanation: The qanat method allowed water to flow naturally from high to low areas.

Ans 12: C

• Location: Paragraph B
• Reference: "Plumb lines were also used to measure the depth of the shaft and to determine the slope of the tunnel."
• Explanation: Romans used plumb lines to measure tunnel slopes, ensuring proper water flow.

Ans 13: D

• Location: Paragraph E
• Reference: "When the rock was hard, the Romans employed a technique called fire quenching which consisted of heating the rock with fire, and then suddenly cooling it with cold water so that it would crack."
• Explanation: Romans heated rocks with fire and then cooled them rapidly to break hard rock more easily.

Also Read:

• Should You Use All Capital Letters in the IELTS Listening and Reading Tests
• IELTS Reading Mistakes
• How to Improve IELTS Reading Score
• How to Manage Time in IELTS Reading

Guidance of PW IELTS

Physics Wallah offers multiple online IELTS courses for all students. Follow the IELTS pages to better prepare for the exam.