Drover Berg Tunnel
The Drover Hill tunnel , with a length of 1660 meters, the longest Roman tunnel structure north of the Alps . Its purpose was in all probability to lead the water of a spring , today called " Heiliger Pütz ", across a mountain, the Drover Heide , to the other side to a Roman villa. The spring pours around 480 m³ of water a day, which emerges at a geological fault line at the end of a clod that has tilted to the northeast (→ Geology of the Lower Rhine Bay ). The tunnel starts south of Drove and ends south of Soller .
Construction engineering
The type of construction technique, called qanate , was adopted by the Romans from the Persians , who built large water supply systems to supply their oases . Vertical shafts were sunk at short intervals from the earth's surface in order to be able to work in both directions below. Spread over the entire route, that will have been over 100. The shafts reached a depth of around 26 m at the highest point of the Drover Heide. In order to be able to build something cheaper, the building was not built straight, but in slight arches in order to be able to use the advantages of the terrain through indentations on the surface. After the construction work was completed, the vertical shafts were filled up to the top with clay so that rainwater could not seep in. Over time, the backfill sagged and formed conical hollows on the surface . The course can still be seen today. The water-conducting part of the tunnel consists of a U-shaped channel made of Roman cast concrete ( opus caementitium ) with a wall thickness between 20 and 24 cm. The inside width is between 20 and 24 cm with a height of 26 cm. The inside was plastered with 0.5 m thick waterproof plaster. The top of the gutter was covered with 4 cm thick Roman roof tiles ( imbrices ). To prevent foreign water from entering, a layer of clay was added over the bricks.
archeology
The tunnel was probably built in the 2nd century AD. It has been known since the end of the 19th century. From the early excavations nothing more than amateur hand sketches have survived. In 1982 Klaus Grewe started excavations , in 2007 another excavation took place. The beginning of the aqueduct is known today, but not the end. The water pipe can still be seen up to Soller, after which nothing can be proven. A villa rustica in Vettweiß - Froitzheim could be considered as a destination .
tourism
Klaus Grewe and the Konejung Foundation: Culture have designed a guide to the Drover-Berg-Tunnel-Wanderweg.
literature
- Klaus Grewe : Aqueducts. Water for Rome's cities. Regionalia, Rheinbach 2014, ISBN 978-3-95540-127-6 , pp. 218, 245–252 and others (accompanying volume to the exhibition of the same name in the Museum of Bathing Culture ; pp. 130–135)
- Klaus Grewe: The aqueduct tunnel through the Drover Berg near Vettweiß-Soller, Düren district . Exp. Rheinland 81/8, 1983, pp. 159-163
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 43 ′ 31 ″ N , 6 ° 31 ′ 52 ″ E