Gül Sürmelihindi, Cees Passchier, Andrew Wilson, Christoph Spötl
{"title":"The Roman Water Management of Arles as Read in Aqueduct Carbonate Archives","authors":"Gül Sürmelihindi, Cees Passchier, Andrew Wilson, Christoph Spötl","doi":"10.1002/gea.70020","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article reconstructs the complex history of modifications made to the Roman aqueduct of <i>Arelate</i> (Arles), by studying carbonate incrustations in its channels. These deposits, precipitated by flowing water, have preserved an archive of the aqueduct's life-cycle in their stratigraphy, fabric and stable isotope composition. Two tributaries, from Caparon and Eygalières, converged in a basin before an arcade bridge, from which a single channel continued to Arles. Originally, the Caparon branch alone supplied Arles with water from the south side of the Alpilles hills, the basin acting as a header basin before the arcade. Later, the Eygalières branch from the north side of the Alpilles was joined to the basin. The Caparon branch was then diverted to power water-mills at Barbegal, changing the basin's function from convergence back to a header basin. After some decades, the Eygalières branch was also used to supply the mills, changing the basin into a distribution structure. From Arles, lead pipes laid across the bed of the Rhône also supplied water to the Trinquetaille quarter. Major cleaning of the aqueduct in the early fourth century is also identified. Anthropogenic carbonates can therefore provide crucial information on the provenance of water and alterations to ancient aqueducts.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"40 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/gea.70020","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gea.70020","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"ARCHAEOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This article reconstructs the complex history of modifications made to the Roman aqueduct of Arelate (Arles), by studying carbonate incrustations in its channels. These deposits, precipitated by flowing water, have preserved an archive of the aqueduct's life-cycle in their stratigraphy, fabric and stable isotope composition. Two tributaries, from Caparon and Eygalières, converged in a basin before an arcade bridge, from which a single channel continued to Arles. Originally, the Caparon branch alone supplied Arles with water from the south side of the Alpilles hills, the basin acting as a header basin before the arcade. Later, the Eygalières branch from the north side of the Alpilles was joined to the basin. The Caparon branch was then diverted to power water-mills at Barbegal, changing the basin's function from convergence back to a header basin. After some decades, the Eygalières branch was also used to supply the mills, changing the basin into a distribution structure. From Arles, lead pipes laid across the bed of the Rhône also supplied water to the Trinquetaille quarter. Major cleaning of the aqueduct in the early fourth century is also identified. Anthropogenic carbonates can therefore provide crucial information on the provenance of water and alterations to ancient aqueducts.
期刊介绍:
Geoarchaeology is an interdisciplinary journal published six times per year (in January, March, May, July, September and November). It presents the results of original research at the methodological and theoretical interface between archaeology and the geosciences and includes within its scope: interdisciplinary work focusing on understanding archaeological sites, their environmental context, and particularly site formation processes and how the analysis of sedimentary records can enhance our understanding of human activity in Quaternary environments. Manuscripts should examine the interrelationship between archaeology and the various disciplines within Quaternary science and the Earth Sciences more generally, including, for example: geology, geography, geomorphology, pedology, climatology, oceanography, geochemistry, geochronology, and geophysics. We also welcome papers that deal with the biological record of past human activity through the analysis of faunal and botanical remains and palaeoecological reconstructions that shed light on past human-environment interactions. The journal also welcomes manuscripts concerning the examination and geological context of human fossil remains as well as papers that employ analytical techniques to advance understanding of the composition and origin or material culture such as, for example, ceramics, metals, lithics, building stones, plasters, and cements. Such composition and provenance studies should be strongly grounded in their geological context through, for example, the systematic analysis of potential source materials.