Valley Crossings and Flood Management for Ancient Roman Aqueduct Bridges
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 137, Issue 12
Abstract
Calculation of stormwater flow passage underneath two ancient Roman bridges supporting an aqueduct in southern France provides insight into the Roman engineers’ design of aqueduct bridges. The bridges are quite different although the watersheds they cross have similar characteristics. At a height of 5.4 m (18 ft), the Simian Bridge has four arches while the Charmassone Bridge [height of 2 m (7 ft)] has a culvert to pass stormwater flows. The Simian Bridge was designed to maintain the needed elevation across the valley by use of arches, and it easily passes flood flows. In contrast, the Charmassone Bridge may have been designed to manage flood flows as evidenced by the sizing of its culvert and use of buttressing to support upstream hydrostatic pressures due to stormwater retention behind the bridge.
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Acknowledgments
The study of the Barbegal Mill and Aqueduct System has been possible through assistance from Wright Paleohydrological Institute and Wright Water Engineers, Denver, Colorado.
The writers thank Ken Wright, P.E., for his review and support of this study.
The writers gratefully acknowledge the Department of Defense (DoD) through the National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship Program for Phillip Wolfram’s revision of this manuscript while studying for a Ph.D. in the Environmental Fluid Mechanics Laboratory at Stanford University with Professor Oliver Fringer.
References
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 137 • Issue 12 • December 2011
Pages: 816 - 819
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 15, 2009
Accepted: Feb 9, 2011
Published online: Feb 11, 2011
Published in print: Dec 1, 2011
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