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 An exceptional Aqueduct
 Roman engineering skills
 Signs of the times
 Technicals aspects



The 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. were when the aqueduct flourished. The city of Nîmes built sumptuous spas and pleasure with water became part of the art of living.


» Life and death of the aqueduct

 4th century  - due to lack of resources, the aqueduct was no longer regularly maintained.
Vegetation grew along the channels and the flow slowed considerably. Farmers in the countryside also made branches for their own purposes.

 6th century - Towards the begining of the century, the aqueduct was abandoned definitively. At this point in time the Francs and Wisgoths shared the lands through which the channels ran. The stones along the aqueduct were taken and used for other purposes.




 
» Protection and restoration
 18th century  - At the request of the Languedoc State council, Henri Pitot, a hydraulic engineer from the Gard, built a road bridge against the top of the Roman bridge to provide a passage across the river Gardon while protecting the antique architecture.

 19th century - in 1840 Prosper Mérimée registered the Pont du Gard on the first list of key monuments drawn up by the Historic Monuments Committee.

 

19th and 20th centuries - A number of major and urgent restoration projects were carried out on the Pont du Gard.



» A Unesco World Heritage site

In 1985 the Pont du Gard was registered as a World Heritage site by Unseco.

As part of the thematic action arising from this, research teams from the CNRS carried out a methodical analysis of the water ducts from Uzès to Nîmes to shed light on the unknown areas of the work.

In parallel, the Gard departement council launched a feasibility study for developing a visitor centre on this site which welcomes over 1 million visitors.

In spite of its international reputation the site did not have a coherent management structure, had no reception facilities or even practical public services (maintenance, public toilets).


» Development and protection

A large scale analysis was carried out to pinpoint visitors' expectations regarding the
protection of the site; the study also highlighted criticism of the disorganised appearance of street traders and poor road layouts that were in fact polluting the monument and its natural environment.

There was a desire for the creation of areas where the public could find information and
discover how the aqueduct was built and used. 

The Pont du Gard historic and ecologic site protection and development operation was
officially launched in 1996. This was an ambitious project which was completed some four years later following a combination of institutional, scientific and cultural input.

The chosen theme was "man, water and stone in a Mediterranean environment".


The dawn of a new history...