Aqueduc du Gier - Mornant
Posted by: 
arby101ca
N 45° 37.279 E 004° 39.935
31T E 629846 N 5053324
The ancient Roman "Aqueduc du Gier" starts on the uplands of Mont Pilat and flows to Lyon. At Mornant it crosses Mornantet creek on a series of arches before flowing through a tunnel 20 m under the town of Mornant. It is a national historic monument.
Waymark Code: WMPFQ0
Location: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
Date Posted: 08/24/2015
Views: 10
The Aqueduc du Gier is a remarkable example of Roman engineering, built in the 1st century CE at the time of Emperor Hadrian. It is the longest and highest of the four aquaduct built to provide water for the Roman capital of the region, Lugdunum (Lyon). Rising high on the slopes of Mont Pilat it descends on a sinuous route about 85 km. The water flowed mostly in underground tunnels but the route has 25 bridges and 4 siphons crossing valleys en route to Lyon. At Mornant, the canal at the top of the arch is at an elevation of ~360 m and Fourviere, Lyon, ~75 km downstream is at ~294 m so the gradient is just under 1 m/km. The flow is reported to be 24,000 m3 per day on the plaque.
At this site you can see as in the pictures, a couple of surviving arches, the canal dug in the hill side and the start of the longest tunnel, 2000 m under the town of Mornant.
The Merimee DB lists "édifice / site Aqueduc gallo-romain du Gier dit aussi du Mont Pilat (également sur communes de Brignais, Chaponost, Lyon, Sainte-Foy-lès Lyon, Soucieu-en-Jarrest).
Dénomination de l'édifice (from Merimee DB): pont aqueduc ; site archéologique
Localisation (from Merimee DB): Rhône-Alpes ; Rhône ; Mornant
Siècle de la campagne principale de construction (from Merimee DB): Gallo-romain
Précision sur la protection de l'édifice (from Merimee DB):
1926/06/07 : inscrit MH
Les fragments de l'aqueduc sis dans la vallée du Mornantel : inscription par arrêté du 7 juin 1926
Date de versement de la notice (Merimee DB): 06/07/1926
Relevant Website: [Web Link]
Photo with MH logo pictured included?: no
Référence de la notice (from Merimee DB): Not listed
Adresse de l'édifice (from Merimee DB): Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:[EN] Include at minimum a complete sentence which reflects your experience visiting the site and upload a photo taken by you at the site.
[FR] Ecrivez au moins une phrase complète qui décrira votre expérience lors de la visite et téléchargez une photo du site prise par vous.