Knowledge erosion: Floods and the regularisation of the river Tiber, 1870–1937

• Explores Roman society's hazard mitigation strategies for Tiber floods before engineering. • Shows on what body of knowledge preventive measures were taken. • Highlights the selective form of knowledge on which large embankment scheme was based. • Explains how the embankment resulted in an increase in ignorance regarding the behaviour of the Tiber. • Provides insights on the resulting increase in vulnerability along the Tiber Floodplains.