L'Aqueduc Romain de Gorze a Metz
N 49° 03.904 E 006° 04.876
32U E 286807 N 5438792
The Roman aqueduct extending from Gorze to Metz was constructed in the 2nd century A.D.. It supplied the city of Divodurum (Metz). The water served for multiple purposes : drinking water, cleaning, and public bathing.
Waymark Code: WM2NQD
Location: Grand-Est, France
Date Posted: 11/27/2007
Views: 103
At Jouy-les-Arches and Ars-sur-Moselle the aqueduct emerges from underground and crosses the Moselle across an arched bridge. Remnants of this remain on both side of the Moselle. On the Jouy side, the arches were recently renovated.
The huge 1.1 km-long bridge is difficult to imagine. It had about 110 arches and the highest ones were about 32 m high. The slant was at least twice as steep as it was along the rest of the aqueduc.
The bridge carried two pipes. Several hypotheses were put forward to account for this feature:
one of the pipes could be cleaned or repaired without stopping water supply
water pressure could be lowered and therefore the strain on low walls could be reduced
winter frost could be avoided by concentrating the flow in one pipe only.
The entire aqueduct was 22 km in length and is thought to have been used for almost two centuries.
The spring which was exploited by the Romans is called the Source des Bouillons and is situated at 208 m in altitude.
A decantation basin is located at Ars-sur-Moselle which served to remove impurities from the water.
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