Acueducto de los Milagros
Acueducto de los Milagros | |
Location | Mérida (Badajoz), Spain |
---|---|
Coordinates | 38°55′28″N 6°20′48″W / 38.92444°N 6.34667°W |
Type | Roman aqueduct |
History | |
Material | Granite and red brick |
Europe and North America | |
Area | 0.1177 ha (0.291 acres) |
Buffer zone | 20.9 ha (52 acres) |
Official name | Acueducto Romano "los Milagros" |
Type | Non-movable |
Criteria | Monument |
Designated | 13 December 1912 |
Reference no. | RI-51-0000112 |
The Acueducto de los Milagros (English: Aqueduct of the Miracles) is a
Description
Only a relatively small stretch of the aqueduct still stands, consisting of 38 arched pillars standing 25 metres (82 ft) high along a course of some 830 metres (2,720 ft). It is constructed from opus mixtum – granite ashlar blocks interspersed with red brick – utilising a double arcade arrangement. The structure originally brought water to the city from a reservoir called the Proserpina Dam, fed by a stream called Las Pardillas, around 5 km (3.1 mi) to the north-west of Mérida.[1]
It is thought to have been constructed during the 1st century AD, with a second phase of building (or renovations) around 300 AD. In later centuries, the inhabitants of Mérida dubbed it the "Aqueduct of the Miracles" for the awe that it evoked.[2]
The aqueduct was one of three built at Mérida, the other two being the 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) long Aqua Augusta, fed by the
In the immediate vicinity, a small Roman bridge called Puente de Albarregas runs parallel to the arcades.
See also
- List of aqueducts in the Roman Empire
- List of Roman aqueducts by date
- Ancient Roman technology
- Roman engineering
References
- ISBN 0-19-285300-7
- ISBN 0-415-41272-2
- ISBN 0-415-02365-3
- ^ "Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida". UNESCO. 19 March 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
External links
Media related to Acueducto de los Milagros at Wikimedia Commons