After the completion of the Valens line (373), it no newly built cisterns were recorded in the sources. However, between 406-459, five cisterns were built - two, the reservoirs of Aetius and Aspar, which survive until today. These five new cisterns appear to have sufficed for some forty years. The construction of these cisterns may reflect the city's growing population and the increased threat of barbarian attack (Crow et al., 2008, p. 15).

The Chronicon Paschale (7th century) reports that Aspar began building this cistern "near the old wall" (Constantinian wall) in 459, however, this date is contradicted by the archaeological dating of the bricks, whose brickstamps lead to 456/7.