User:Rjdeadly/sandbox

The entrance was through a large doorway 2m wide into the large atrium-apodyterium of 70 m² which led in turn to the frigidarium, the largest room of the baths of 80 m², with two apses for pools. The two calidaria each had two rooms, one with an apse.

The Site

The villa was located near the shoreline on the Tyrrhenian Sea on what, in Imperial times, was a thin sandy strip between the sea and the lagoon. This position was favoured by the proximity to the Via Severiana , which led from Portus to Laurentum and Lavinium . The area occupied by the residence was quite large and was delimited by an almost continuous boundary wall except on the sea side, where the main entrance was probably located.

At the center of the site are the remains of a quadrangular peristyle dating back to the Julio-Claudian age , surrounded by various rooms arranged on the arms of the quadriporticus. To the east are located, in a slightly elevated position, the remains of what would appear to be a residential district, while to the south-west are the remains of a thermal plant. The latter presents a precious two-tone mosaic having the god Neptune as the subject and dated, on the basis of a comparison with the one present in ancient Ostia , to 139 . Note

The so-called Villa of Pliny , su sopraintendenzaroma.it . URL accessed January 15, 2021 . ^ Villa of Pliny , on turismoroma.it . URL accessed January 15, 2021 . ^ Pliny's Villa in Castel Fusano , on visitostia.tv , July 19, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2021 . ^ Stefano Lesti, The Villa of Pliny (Villa della Palombara) in Castelfusano , su ia-ostiaantica.org . URL accessed January 15, 2021 .

From the archaeological remains we have the vision of a villa above all of a maritime type, with large buildings distant from each other, certainly the land was not lacking, with a large peristyle of the Julio-Claudian age with a quadrangular plan in the center, with a boundary wall which from the remains seems uninterrupted except on the side facing the sea where the main entrance certainly opened. In fact, three main phases of its construction have been recognized: the first, in blocks of tuff, from the Julio-Claudian period, the second in which the villa was enlarged in bricks between the end of the I and the beginning of the II century. AD, and the third between the age of Hadrian (117-138) and Antoninus Pius (138-161), in the second century. A.D.. The surrounding wall is of the villa visible in a large clearing next to the remains of the early Christian basilica, which can be accessed by moving away from Via Severiana along the path at stake number 16. Unfortunately, the original structure, object of clandestine excavations and looting since the 1700s, very little remains. It should be remembered that the villa, which is now about 600 meters from the sea, at the time looked directly onto the beach with a fantastic view of the sea and woods. At the center of the estate there was a large peristyle, consisting of two rows of columns, which delimited a large garden with a partially restored basin in the center, and with different rooms arranged along the arms of the quadriportico. The latter is accessed through a brick arch still surviving. The residential area is located to the east on a wide platform elevated about two meters above the peristyle, where you can recognize the remains of reticulated walls and fragments of black and white mosaic floors. To the south of the quadriportico there is a thermal plant, with a beautiful mosaic with black and white tiles in which Neptune appears with a trident on a chariot pulled by two seahorses, among fish, crustaceans and sea horses, dated to 139 AD. Even further south a circular basin and to the east of the portico, on a higher ground, the remains of a high tower. Another mosaic, with white tiles on a black background, is located immediately after the brick arch at the entrance to the villa. The Municipal Superintendency in the 90s conducted excavations in the south-eastern area of ​​the quadriportico; research has recently been resumed, to define the plan of the villa, to know its construction phases, from the initial ones already confirmed, to the later ones up to the construction of an early Christian basilica 7/8 m north-east of the surrounding wall of the villa and for a more secure attribution of the whole complex

The palatium upstream

Another sample of Hadrian's inventiveness can be seen in the building further on mountain, raised around 138 d. C.2" The heart of this extremely refined composition is now occupied by a turf which, according to the De Angelis d'Ossat, would conceal a basin of water similar to the Canopic ti— burtino.

Again according to the same scholar, a mirror was reflected in the basin monumental fountain, a large niche still partially covered by a quarter-sphere vault and flanked by two cruciform rooms which I have a cross-shaped cover (fig. 6). Leaning against the hips there they go then other environments, other levels defined by an equally refined project.

A few hints will suffice to suggest the overall picture of the pala- tium built around the rectangle of the central clearing. There is no trace of ruins to the south, as to the east side, largely hidden by modern ones dwellings, a peristyle surrounded by destroyed rooms is distinguished there where the current input opens. The north side overlooks the open space an exedra flanked by two rectangular rooms, interpreted as a summer triclinium and adorned with two pink marble columns placed a tripartite access. The western side is well preserved, an excellent example what the shortage of building spaces could produce.

, suggesting that each was a separate property. IIn Mari’s terminology, there are three basic types of villas in the countryside of Tivoli and the Anio valley: the humble villa rustica (or Catonian villa); the “large residential villa” (or “otium villa”), and a tertium quid, the “rustic-residential” type.37 The villa rustica consists of a small residence with utilitarian installations such as wine and olive presses, millstones, etc. The otium villa lacks such installations, has a large residential block, usually sited on an artificial terrace, and is adorned with high-quality decorations such as mosaics, marble wall revetment, frescoes, and sculpture. In the late first or second century A.D., otium villas often were improved with bath complexes.38 Such concern for refined luxury and a lack of investment in economic exploitation of the property also characterizes the grounds around the residence, where nymphaea are common, as are topiary gardens.

The third and fourth centuries saw a general collapse of the villa system in the Roman hinterland, and the Licenza valley was apparently no exception: Mari notes the rarity in surface finds of late African red slip ware, something also observed in the western part of Tiburtine territory.49 In the more densely built-up ager Tiburtinus, Tomei counted 27 villas of Republican date, 80 dating to the first century A.D., 72 to the second century, 32 to the third, 24 to the fourth and fifth, and just 12 to the sixth century or later.50 She characterizes the mid-fifth century as a time of “nearly complete abandonment of the countryside, owning to the danger of invasions and sacks by the barbarians.”

The aqueduct has been classified as a historic monument since 1886.

History

Construction began in the middle of the 1st century AD, although many modifications and additions took place later.

It remained in service for at least 300 years until destruction in the Barbarian invasions, and confirmed by the thickness of the internal concretions (carbonate deposits), which increase by about 1 mm per year.

It was partially renovated in the late 18th century for the water supply to Fréjus, and the first 5 to 7 km are still used today.

Route

When first built the aqueduct started at the Montauroux stream from the spring of La Foux, near Fontdurane, at 160m altitude and was 26 km long. About 20 years later the Siagnole stream at a further 13.5 km distance was added to its supply. Over its route it drops from 516 m to 34 m altitude with an average slope of 1.1%. The water takes about 17 hours to traverse the entire aqueduct, at an average speed of 2.4 km/h. The average flow is estimated at 34 litres/s.

The aqueduct crosses mainly rocky, hilly terrain and is mostly underground, but there is a large number of valleys over which bridges were often built. When approaching Fréjus it reaches the highest point above ground on great arches.

The mountain section: Roche-Taillée

The rocky hill of La Roche-Taillée represented a major obstacle near the start of the route. The first attempt with a a tunnel soon resulted in its collapse, but the Romans persisted and replaced it with a monumental cutting.

Descents from Pibresson and from the Callian plateau

After the mountain section, the aqueduct descends from Jas Neuf towards the plain in two zones of steep slopes first of 10% the "rapids of Pibresson" and then 24% from the Callian plateau into the valley of the Camiole stream where it follows the left bank. The route of the Callian descent is now well identified following public works and searches by private individuals. Surprisingly, its route is quite straight, with an average slope of 8%, without a fall pit or a slowing basin being identified.

The plain: Callian, Montauroux and Lake Saint-Cassien

The route in the plain of Callian and Montauroux was destroyed by farming or modern construction. It is a very straight path and has structural changes from different ages.

The crossing of the Biançon between the Foux de Montauroux and Fondurane

The branch of the aqueduct from the original source at Foux de Callian crossed the Biançon shortly after the Foux and joins the main branch in Gayet by the (known) bridge over the Carpénée, this branch being probably intended to compensate for the fragility of the two successive bridges of the main branch crossing the Biançon further downstream.

The aqueduct slope is gentle here again, about 0.7%. The aqueduct passes to the east of the La Foux spring , and crosses the Biançon river at the tip of the present St-Cassien reservoir, then turns sharply east to follow the right bank of the Biançon and crosses the Carpenée valley by a bridge. It crosses the Saoutet bridge which now drowned in the St-Cassien reservoir. At the S tip op the St-Cassien reservoir, where the aqueduct reaches the Vaux creek which joins the Biançon from the south, the aqueduct turns SW UPstream to the watershed with the Reyran creek. T

The crossing of the Biançon at Fondurane (Gayet)

This crossing is of recent discovery. It was described in several archival documents and even on the Napoleonic register, but no one had researched them. Its location had long been confused with the outlet of the Fondurane mill and sawmill. The importance of the Biançon watershed offers a significant explanation for the existence of two successive states as well as the southern supply route (passing through Plaine Neuve). This sensitive passage, belatedly known, seems to have caused more problems than that of La Roche-Taillée. Journey immersed in the lake of Saint-Cassien

In crossing the lake, the Roman aqueduct was reused in 1892 to install a 40 cm asbestos-cement pipe there to supply the towns of Fréjus and Saint-Raphaël . This work was the subject of a particularly detailed preliminary study by engineers from Ponts-et-Chaussée Perrier and Périer. The aqueduct could be fully observed in september 2006 due to the severe drought which unusually lowered the lake of Saint-Cassien [ 7 ] .

   in red the layout of the Roman aqueduct
   in black = tunnels
   in light green = 'Jourdan' canal (1892)
   in dark green = channel E2S from 1965 

   West branch of the lake

   South branch of the lake 

Bridges and culverts crossing many valleys

One of its remarkable features is the numerous valleys along the route of the Fréjus aqueduct. They were crossed using bridges, not bypassing them (as for the Aix-La Traconnade aqueduct). These often very steep valleys represent the weak point of the aqueduct:

   their scaling weighed them down considerably,
   this scaling was accentuated by exposure to the sun, a localized source of warming
   Mediterranean storms have often destroyed them, and several times: in many cases, there are two successive states, if not three (Jaumin).
   the use of tunnel passages has been rare. 

The Roman Gallery of Vaux

Crossing the Col des Vaux (watershed) required the drilling of a gallery 852 meters long. Due to its altitude, the gallery has never been visible since the formation of Lake Saint-Cassien. It is one of the weak points of the lake, which also poses sealing problems which required the installation of a drain.

   Light from the aqueduct at the exit of the Roman gallery at the Col des Vaux 

Reyran Valley: journey formerly immersed in the Malpasset reservoir (1959)

The Reyran valley was flooded when the impoundment of the Malpasset dam was impounded, which broke dramatically in 1959. The construction in 1962 of the Saint-Cassien gravity dam once again flooded the aqueduct by creating the reservoir of Lake Saint-Cassien. It is a hilly area, initially with a steep slope, where there are only few traces of the aqueduct.

Final section

From the A8 motorway, the Roman canal is enclosed by private property. We find some ruins in the north of the city, at Sainte-Croix, and at Clos de la Tour. In the city, urbanization has destroyed its end as well as the thermal baths of Villeneuve Construction Architecture Ornamentation

The product is very rustic, with no noticeable added decoration element. Only a bust at the arches of the Bottle symbolizes Roman power. Very damaged, in low relief, it illustrates all the sobriety of the aqueduct. (Site n ° 26) Bridges, tunnels, dams, walls

The route from the Mons aqueduct to Fréjus is characterized by a preferential use of bridges or trenches, but rarely of tunnels. The main tunnels are those of San-Peyre, Pibresson, l'Esquine, and mainly the Galerie des Vaux (852 m ), the others are much less important: Gayet, Boson Escoffier, Moutte. There are no traces of the dam crossing the Biançon at Plaine-Neuve described by Perrier in 1892. Several crossings on the walls were used: Malpasset-aval, Bosquets, Sainte-Brigitte, Gorgo-Vent The siphon technique doesn’t was not used, except for the pipes of 1892, with each visit in a siphon a manhole upstream and a suction cup (air purge) downstream. For the so-called engineering pipeline, the siphons were made using metal tubes, with manholes upstream and downstream.

   Valley crossing wall upstream of Malpasset 

Looks

There are only a few original looks, except for a short series before and after the Gargalon: it is therefore impossible to assess the average spacing.

   Interior view of a typical section. 

Materials

The Romans used more particularly two types of materials: lime mortar with centimeter aggregates, now called "Roman concrete", and (especially for waterproofing) tile mortar , still lime-based, but implemented with crushed debris infra -centimeters of common objects in red brick: tiles ( tegula and imbrex ), amphorae… By necessity they easily used local materials on a geologically very varied path: karst, sedimentary, metamorphic, imbritic, which explains the many local variants : there are thus several quarries and lime kilns on the way.

   Roman lime mortar and large aggregates.

   Section of tile mortar (red) topped with coarse tuff (leaks) 

Technical details

   Traces of mud in the Roche-Taillée stone.

   Remains of holes in the rock to cut it with wet wooden corners.

   Arch formwork support.

   Aix-Traconnade Aqueduct : oil lamp stall. 

The enemy of aqueducts in the karst region: "calcairosclerosis"

The aqueducts had many enemies: man in the first place, by actions of destruction. The heat aggravated the concretions and the cold dilated the structures, the drought also had a harmful action. Invasive roots from neighboring trees could damage them. Ground instability (solifluxion) and torrential floods destroyed the aqueducts. The animals sought to take advantage of the water or the shelter.

In the karst region, the internal carbonate concretions required regular cleaning [ 8 ] .

Mediterranean aqueducts are most often found in the karst region (limestone), they are then exposed to carbonate deposits deposited by water saturated with calcium carbonate: for the aqueduct from Mons to Fréjus, it is estimated that the thickness of the deposits was 1 millimeter per year, or 10 centimeters per century. The result of this "calcairosclerosis" was manifested by a reduction in the speed of flow which required regular cleaning and, at the level of aqueducts, by an overweight which often became fatal for them and required the reconstruction of a bridge. This fragility was aggravated by the violence of the Mediterranean floods descending the short but very steep valleys and without resistant base (in particular when the aqueduct has passed karst regions). Obesity and calcairosclerosis were already two scourges of a part of the Roman world. The internal deposits are fine-grained like that of travertines , they have a periodic striation made of doublets (one clear, one darker) statistically reflecting a year of deposits. We sometimes notice, in addition, cleavage plans usually attributed to periods of drought. The study of these striations makes it possible to make a retrospective approach to the surrounding climate [ 8 ] . The external deposits are coarse-grained and often dirty, like the tuff formations visible at the emergence of caves in the karst region.

In comparison, the Lyonnais aqueducts did not suffer from this cancer . Their problems were at the level of crossing the valleys by means of siphons in lead pipes (rare, expensive and sometimes resistant to considerable pressure).

On microscopic examination, the dark streaks of the periodic doublets have a very different crystallization than that of the light streaks: this could be explained by different crystallization temperatures. These dark streaks themselves appear to be able to be broken down into several internal doublets (2 to 3). The coloring of these streaks appears in connection with impurities. However, you have to be very careful: cutting and polishing techniques are very destructive and bring degradation materials. Roman aqueduct: modern use and reuse

We do not know precisely the date of end of global operation of the aqueduct from Mons to Fréjus: the last known date corresponds to the siege of Fréjus in 1590 (religious war against the Carcists (local name of the Huguenots) by Bernard de Valletta which caused the aqueduct to be put out of use to cause the end of the siege, and immediately go to make the siege of Mons. The aqueduct is still in service on its upper quarter: this must be the heritage of the house of Villeneuve which had to maintain it for the supply of its strongholds of Beauregard, San-Peyre, Pibresson, Cananilles, Font-Bouillen, Velnasque and Tourrettes [ 9 ] . It was locally redeveloped to be used for the irrigation of the rich plain of Fonduranne as well as the functioning of its mill and its sawmill.It was also partially reused in 1892 to install an asbestos-cement pipe 40 cm in diameter to supply water Fréjus and Saint-Raphaël : See also

On other Wikimedia projects:

   Aqueduct from Mons to Fréjus , on Wikimedia Commons 

   Mons: the origin of the aqueduct
   Route from the Roman aqueduct from Mons to Fréjus immersed in the lake of Saint Cassien
   List of historic monuments in Var
   the Biançon
   the Saint-Cassien lake 

Notes and references

" Historical Monuments - Ancient Aqueduct (remains of the) " , on culture.gouv.fr (accessed February 3, 2011 ) " General inventory of cultural heritage - Aqueduct. » , On culture.gouv.fr (accessed February 3, 2011 ) The Roman aqueduct from Mons to Fréjus, its description, its history and its environment, Gébara Ch., Michel T.-M. et al., RAN supp. 33, Asso. rev. Archeo. de Narbonnaise Ed., Montpellier, 2002 ( ISBN 2-84269-517-8 ) The sources of the Siagnole de Mons, Étienne M., Thèse Doct. 3rd cycle, 1987, Univ. Sc. And Tech. du Languedoc, Montpellier Observation of the route of the Roman aqueduct of Fréjus in the usually submerged part of the EDF reservoir of Saint-Cassien (municipalities of Montauroux, Callian and Les Adrets-de-l'Estérel, Var.) Royon M., Anne and Jean-Pierre Joncheray , Cahiers d'Archéologie Subaquatique, XVI, 2007 p. 5-86. Roman aqueduct from Mons to Fréjus immersed in the lake for 7 km Roman aqueduct from Mon to Fréjus Observation of the route of the Roman aqueduct of Fréjus in the usually submerged part of the EDF reservoir of Saint-Cassien (municipalities of Montauroux, Callian and Les Adrets-de-l'Estérel, Var.) Royon M., Joncheray Anne et J.-P., Cahiers d'Archéologie Subaquatique, XVI, 2007 P.5-86. Dubar M.: Climatic approach to the Roman period in the east of the Var: research and analysis of periodic components on a centenary concretion ( 1st - 2nd century AD) of the aqueduct of Frejus. ArchéoSciences 30 -2006, p. 163-171. read online Juigné De Lassigny E.,: History of the house of Villeneuve in Provence, genealogy and table from 1200 to 1900, reprint, 1990.

Tumulus details

The tomb complex is surrounded by an almost circular wall of 158 m of diameter and 3 m height made of limestone covered with marble from the island of Thassos, 60 km from Amphipolis. The state of preservation of the wall and the cornice covering the building is in part very good. The burial mound is about 30 m high and 250,000 m³ of sand were needed to fill it. Parts of the wall were removed during the Roman period and single ashlars were found in the base of the Lion of Amphipolis.

The tomb

The tomb consists of three chambers. The ceiling throughout is a barrel vault. Access is via a 13-step staircase, the masonry of the entrance area is plastered. Originally, the access to the tomb as well as the access from the first to the second chamber were closed with massive blocks of stone. The tomb was largely filled with sand or earth.

First chamber

There are also wall paintings and some figures are clearly recognisable.

The burial chamber

The burial chamber is 4.5x4.5 meters and is separated from the second chamber by a double marble door carved to imitate wooden doors with false fittings and nails. Insets in the doors indicate that metal rings were originally attached to them. The external dimensions of the tomb are 3.23 m in length, 1.56 m in width and about 1 m deep. The tomb is constructed of massive stone blocks.

The head of one of the two sphinxes and parts of the wings were found in the burial chamber with parts of the broken marble door. The box-shaped tomb is embedded in the floor which is paved with ashlars. According to a report by the Greek Ministry of Culture, nails from a wooden coffin and decorative elements made of bone and glass remained from the burial in the otherwise robbed grave.

Remains of five people were found here. The deceased were a 60-year-old woman, two men aged 35 to 45, an infant and another person who was cremated.

Read

"We owned, in fact, a considerable property in which there were baths magnificence anything else in the world; on one side, in fact, there was the sea, on the other a forest with trees of all kinds, populated by wild boar, deer, fallow deer and other hunting beasts; those who plunged into the pool could see boats sailing on one side and hunting beasts in the woods on the other. The devil, therefore, finding also in this property an opportune reason (of temptation, n.d.t.), submitted to me the diversity of the marbles contained in it and the unspeakable revenues of the same; the property [also] included sixty large houses, each of them with four hundred agricultural slaves."

There are several interpretations given over the years on the location of this villa, one of which has been identified in the remains found in 1991 in the area of ​​Pistunina, a hamlet of Messina.