Muel Dam
| Muel Dam | |||||
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| Coordinates | 41 ° 27 '56 " N , 1 ° 4' 54" W | ||||
| Data on the structure | |||||
| Lock type: | Gravity dam | ||||
| Construction time: | 1st century AD | ||||
| Height of the barrier structure : | 13 m | ||||
| Crown length: | 60 m | ||||
| Base width: | 7 m? | ||||
The Muel Dam was a Roman dam in the Spanish municipality of Muel, Saragossa province , in Aragon . The barrier structure built in the 1st century was constructed as a gravity dam .
The approximately 13-meter-high and at least 60-meter-long wall was built from neatly laid layers of limestone blocks, using runners and girders , with girders only being placed irregularly. The layers were about 50 centimeters high on average. The wall thickness at the base is estimated to be 7 meters. The lake dammed by the wall has been silted up completely over the centuries up to the top of the wall. Excavations in this area have uncovered burials from the 14th to 17th centuries. In the 18th century, the Virgen de las Fuentes church was built above the dam, the frescoes of which were painted by Francisco de Goya .
The Muel Dam, which is fed by the Huerva, was built by legionnaires of the Legio IV Macedonica in the 1st century , according to identification of markings on the bricks , and served to supply water to the Colonia Caesaraugusta , which is now Saragossa , which had recently been founded .
literature
- Miguel Arenillas, Juan C. Castillo: "Dams from the Roman Era in Spain. Analysis of Design Forms (with appendix)" , in: Santiago Huerta (Ed.): Proceedings of the First International Congress on Construction History: Madrid, 20th– 24th January 2003 , Instituto Juan de Herrera, Madrid 2003, ISBN 84-9728-070-9