PONT DU GARD

Kayaking under the Pont du Gard

Arch with rectangular holes for beams to support scaffolding if repairs were needed

European Union portrayed Pont du Gard as unifying symbol on 5 Euro note

 

Were the Romans engineering geniuses? Seems so by visiting the Pont du Gard. 

To settle and maintain their civilization in Nimes, a free flow of fresh water was needed – for the Roman baths, drinking water, and sanitation. In just ten years, Romans directed the construction of a 50 km (31 mile) long aqueduct from the fresh, flowing springs in Uzes, a Roman military camp, to the Roman settlement in Nimes. Local slaves and prisoners provided the construction manpower.

What were the essentials in the design project?

Though the distance from spring to settlement was only 15 km, the aqueduct needed to wend through 31 km in order to maintain a gentle slope in the channel that carried the water.  This very precise downward slope took advantage of the fact that the drop in height from the spring to Nimes was only 11 meters, or approximately 10 inches per mile!

100 gallons per second traveled through the aqueduct from end to end. The water channel was covered to prevent evaporation of this precious resource.

Local limestone blocks were used to construct bridges – dry construction with no mortar. However, the Romans knew that limestone is porous and could not carry water. So, brilliantly they covered the channel with an impervious plaster made of broken tile, lard and other materials.

To cross streams and rivers, 20 arched bridges were built -- the greatest of which was the Pont du Gard with its three tiers of arches, standing 160 feet high.