Les Ferreres Aqueduct

The Ferreres Aqueduct (Catalan: Aqüeducte de les Ferreres [əkwəˈðuktə ðə ləs fəˈrɛɾəs]), also known as the Pont del Diable ([ˈpɔn(d) dəl diˈabːlə]; English: "Devil's Bridge"), is an ancient bridge, part of one of the Roman aqueducts that supplied water to the ancient city of Tarraco, today Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain. The bridge is located 4 km north of the city and is part of the Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco (listed as a UNESCO's World Heritage Site since 2000).

Les Ferreres Aqueduct

Aqüeducte de les Ferreres
Aqüeducte de les Ferreres in Tarragona, Spain
Coordinates41°8′48″N 1°14′37″E
CarriesAqueduct to Tarraco
LocaleTarragona, Catalonia, Spain
Characteristics
Total length249 m
Height27 m (without gallery)
No. of spans25 (upper arcade)
History
Construction endProbably reign of Augustus (27 BC–14 AD)
Elevation
Part ofArchaeological Ensemble of Tárraco
CriteriaCultural: (ii), (iii)
Reference875-009
Inscription2000 (24th Session)
Area0.4 ha (43,000 sq ft)
Buffer zone71.5 ha (0.276 sq mi)
Location

Description

The Tarraco aqueduct took water from the Francolí river, 15 km north of Tarragona. It probably dates from the time of the emperor Augustus.

Les Ferreres Aqueduct is composed of two levels of arches: the upper section has 25 arches, and the lower one has 11. All arches have the same diameter of 20 Roman feet (5.9m) with a variation of 15 cm. The distance between centres of the pillars is 26 Roman feet (7.95m).[1][2] It has a maximum height of 27 metres (89 ft) and a length of 249 metres (817 ft), including the ends where the specus (water channel) runs atop a wall.

  • Detail of the aqueduct
    Detail of the aqueduct
  • Specus of the aqueduct
    Specus of the aqueduct
  • Detail of the aqueduct arches
    Detail of the aqueduct arches
  • At night
    At night

See also

References
  1. Aqueduct of las Ferreras (Tarraco) at spanisharts.com
  2. Tarragona (Spain) at romanaqueducts.info

Media related to Aqüeducte de les Ferreres at Wikimedia Commons

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