Trouvé sur / Found at :: http://www.domitia-france.fr/article/articleprint/49/-1/6/
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In the footsteps of the Romans (2)
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The “Via Domitia” begins in Beaucaire near the Rhône and ends in the Pyrénnées. We will discover the “Pont du Gard” wich leaded the Water to Nîmes and will visit the "oppidum" of Ambrossium with a well preserved part of the Via.
The Pont du Gard
It is a part of the famous Roman aqueduct remains, was built under the emperor Claude, around 50 AD.
At this time, Nîmes (or Nemausus, its roman name) was an important provincial town and had been so for nearly a century. First, Caesar, then Augustus contributed to Nîmes development by endowing it with various city walls and monuments.
However the fountain, which had certainly contributed to settlements from the sixth century B.C onwards, was no longer adequate for the town’s expansion and its water needs. So the Nîmes authorities decided to create a water conveyance but they had to find a sufficiently plentiful source of water that would have both a regular flow and good quality water. The streams, rivers and waterways, including the river Gardon, were ruled out due to the irregularity of their flows. The source in Eure fulfilled the conditions. Therefore the Romans built the aqueduct from Uzès to Nîmes.
The first leaks appeared as soon as water ran through the aqueduct and reducing the slope between Vers-Pont-du-Gard and Remoulins caused the reservoir to overflow. The height of the canal was raised for almost six kilometres and the bridge structures in this area were reinforced, except for the Pont du Gard’s. It seems that drinkable water was transported through the aqueduct until the first half of the third century A.D ensuing a period of illegal extractions for countryside irrigation.
Therefore the aqueduct would have been carrying water only fit for agricultural or industrial use. As soon as it’s initial purpose had been abandoned (between the fifth and seventh century), the aqueduct fell victim to unrestrained pillaging as it represented an important source of building material. The sections that were spared correspond to the areas that were difficult for the pillagers to access. Nor was the bridge itself treated sparingly- its original twelve arches and the canal wall, which came before it, have all disappeared.
During the Middle Ages, a new function was given to the structure a roadway, which was furthermore subjected to a toll, as witnessed by the transfer of this duty by Philippe le Bel, the Lord of Uzès.
It was at the beginning of the eighteenth century (1699-1704) when the first genuine restoration project was undertaken, financed by the Languedoc states, aimed at repairing the arches on the second level by removing the dangerous stones. A little while later, (1743–1747), the engineer Pitot was responsible for building a road-bridge next to the downstream side of the office. This crossing the river Gardon was preserved without endangering the historical site.
In the nineteenth century numerous architects applied themselves to restoring the Pont du Gard; among them were Questel- to whom we owe the stairway on the right bank and Jean-Claude Laisné who led a huge construction project requiring 2500 cubic meters of stone.
The Pont du Gard was finally returning to its original appearance and beauty. Among the unbelievable an ambitious projects aiming to restore the aqueduct, some even saw the beginnings of fulfilment. This is how the tunnel, which opens up on the right bank of the Pont du Gard, was dug in 1863.
In 1914 the historical buildings and monuments legislation was set up and naturally included the Pont du Gard, and in 1986 the UNESCO classified it as world heritage.
Le pont romain
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