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Aqueduct of Segovia

Aqueduct of Segovia

Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Segovia, Spain
Client / Owner
Domitian
Year
Completed 98
Access
Public

The Aqueduct of Segovia is a Roman aqueduct of the 1st century AD. Géza Alföldy's reading of the dedication plaque indicates that Emperor Domitian ordered it, with 98 AD the likely year of completion. A 2016 study of archaeological evidence points to a somewhat later date, after 112 AD. The channel draws water from mountain springs about 11 miles (17 km) away.

There are 167 arches in two levels, rising up to 93 feet (28.5 m) including nearly 20 feet (6 m) of foundation. The blocks are granite, laid without mortar, and the water channel is a U-shaped hollow at the top. It served Segovia until 1973.

The Catholic Monarchs carried out the first reconstruction, led by Pedro Mesa, and rebuilt 36 arches that the Moors had destroyed in 1072. A niche that once held an image of Hercules now holds a Virgin. UNESCO listed the aqueduct in 1985, and it appears on the city's coat of arms.

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