Aqueduc du Gier - Mornant, France
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.
Waymark Code: WMPFPF
Location: France
Date Posted: 08/24/2015
Views: 6
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 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
Related website: [Web Link]
When was it built?: 01/01/1200
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Visit Instructions:
To log a waymark in this category visit it and share your thoughts about the visit. It would be nice to also see photos of the aqueduct.