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PONT DU GARD

PONT DU GARD. Bottled water the Roman way. The Pont du Gard is in Nimes. INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT NIMES YOU NEVER KNEW…. population of 50,000 in the south of Gaul. flourished as a colony under Augustus. the town had a natural spring inside its walls but needed an aqueduct too.

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PONT DU GARD

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  1. PONT DU GARD Bottled water the Roman way

  2. The Pont du Gard is in Nimes

  3. INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT NIMES YOU NEVER KNEW… • population of 50,000 in the south of Gaul. • flourished as a colony under Augustus. • the town had a natural spring inside its walls but needed an aqueduct too.

  4. The Pont du Gard

  5. BASIC FACTS • built between 20BC-14BC. • brought water from a spring 50km away . • supplied the town with 20,000 tons of water a day. • much of the aqueduct is subterranean. • the aqueduct was carefully built with a gradual slope using simple gravitational flow instead of expensive pressure systems to channel the water over obstacles. • one obstacle was the river Gardon (Gard), 21km north of Nimes.

  6. BUILDING THE AQUEDUCT • arches were placed next to each other creating vaults • blocks are held together by pressure NOT cement, concrete, or iron clamps. • blocks were labelled to speed up construction. • slaves and soldiers used to lower labour costs . • there is no carved decoration.

  7. ARCHES • placed in such a way as to make the structure look beautiful . • 35 on the top level. • 11 on the second. • 6 arches on the lowest level. • the arches are made from locally quarried stone was to save on transport costs.

  8. the top level consist of one arch giving gives a narrow face to minimise wind stress. • the second level has vaults made of three arches. • the bottom level has 4 arches, built to withstand the rivers currents.

  9. 3 of the top tiers arches equals the length of 1 arch in the bottom row. • BUT the central arch in the bottom tier equals 4 small arches in the top row. • this central arch is wider so it can withstand the force of the river in flood. The arch above is also the same width. • the bottom rows wedge shaped to “cut” through a floods current. • the weight of structure lessened by decreasing arch depths from top to bottom.

  10. GETTING THE WATER ACROSS…MORE WATER • a channel to carry the water runs along the top. • this channel was lined with a hard, waterproof cement so the water flows smoothly and does not leak.

  11. AND LOOK !!! YOU CAN STAND IN IT… …IF THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT TO DO.

  12. EXTRAS… • the bridge on the side is not Roman.

  13. bosses were left on structure to provide a setting for timber framework to be built upon when repairs were needed.

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