Acueducto de los Milagros (Mérida)

Acueducto de los Milagros
	Aqueduct of Mérida
use	aqueduct
Convicted	Río Albarregas
place	Mérida (Spain)
overall length	830 m
completion	1st century AD
	location
Above sea level	220 m

38.924444444444 -6.3480555555556 220Coordinates: 38 ° 55 '28 " N , 6 ° 20' 53" W.

The Acueducto de los Milagros was part of a Roman aqueduct that supplied the city of Mérida ( Emerita Augusta ) in what is now the Spanish province of Extremadura with fresh water for centuries.

location

The aqueduct, fed by a reservoir ( Lago de Proserpina ), which was built in the 5½ kilometers away at the Las Pardillas stream in Roman times, crosses the river valley of the Río Albarregas in the north-west of the city of Mérida over a length of approx. 830 meters . It is only about two kilometers (as the crow flies) from the center of the city.

history

The aqueduct was probably built in the 1st century AD; Repairs were carried out in the 3rd century, but the water pipe fell into disrepair after the Romans left. In the Middle Ages - perhaps even earlier - the building was given the name Acueducto de los Milagros ("Aqueduct of Miracles") because of its daring and elegant architecture .

Building

Stone material and masonry technology

The supporting pillars of the aqueduct were built in a kind of casting technique with rubble stones and mortar ( opus caementitium ), which were poured into a wall shell made of precisely hewn gray granite stones ( opus implectum ), between which there are layers of burnt bricks , which are located clearly stand out due to their reddish color. The arches between pillars are also made of granite; however, they were mostly faced with bricks. The granite stones have already been cut in the quarry in accordance with the standards and delivered ready for installation.

architecture

The structure originally consisted of over 100 pillars, which were stabilized on the outside by slightly angled buttresses. Between the maximum 25 meters high main pillars, arches were stretched at largely the same height, which rested on slightly protruding cornices and also only served for static stabilization. The actual aqueduct was located above the highest arches and had a gradient of less than one percent, which was achieved through a perfect surveying technique and the use of small - also irregularly shaped - stones as a base for the approximately one meter wide and larger ones Granite or sandstones were used, but nothing has survived.

meaning

In contrast to most aqueducts in the Roman Empire , where the horizontal always dominated, the vertical pillars of the aqueduct of Mérida determine the extremely light and elegant overall appearance. This idiosyncratic building concept was probably imitated centuries later by the Arab master builders of the Mezquita de Córdoba .

Other aqueducts in Mérida

In Roman times, Mérida had three aqueducts, one of which - the Aqua Augusta - has completely disappeared. The remains of two other aqueducts can be found in the district of San Lázaro: The three preserved pillars of the approximately 15 meter high Acueducto de Rabo de Buey also date from Roman times and their architectural structure is largely based on the Acueducto de los Milagros . However, the aqueduct had a horizontal ground floor; only above do the granite and brick pillars begin. The Acueducto de San Lázaro right next to it is a somewhat elegant new building from the 16th century.