1. Pont du Gard

3. Hello Mr. Workbook… Location: France!
Roman Name: Gaul (under control of Rome from 120 BC)
Modern Name: Nîmes (what other piece of architecture have we studied from there?)
Architectural type: Functional, Aqueduct.
Purpose: Carried water from a spring near Uzes (50km away) to supply Nîmes with water
Dates of Construction: It is dated to the reign of Augustus
Reasons for Dating:
20-16BC (F.Sear and J.Campbell)
19BC – when commissioned by Marcus Agrippa (R.Hannah)
AD14 (M. Wheeler)
Dimensions: 1.45m x 1.22m across the gorge

4. Workbooks… When was it built? 20-16BC
What is it built with? uncemented masonry quarried locally, which was very accessible and cheap
Who probably constructed it? Slaves and Soldiers but was commissioned by Marcus Agrippa
Number of arches: top: 35 middle: 11 bottom: 6
Height of structure: 49m high
Length (of top level): 275m wide
The canal
lined with: waterproof cement. So that the water f____ smoothly & does n___ leak.
Located: Nimes
Covered with: stone bosses for repairs

5. Pont problems and Sensible solutions
The weight of the bridge
The weight of the structure is lessened as the depth of the arches decreases from bottom to top – 6.36m, 4.56m, 3.06m
The properties of the arch mean it is strong enough to cope with the weight of the structure & the water it carries
The force of winds on the bridge
The top row of arches is not so deep so that the force of the wind is minimized

6. Pont problems and Sensible solutions
The height of a bridge needed to cross the Gard
Repeated arches in a row mean they can span any length eg. One length at the bottom (142m) and another at top of the gorge (275m)
The flow of water against the bridge
The heavy deeper piers at the bottom can carry the weight above, and withstand the force of a river in flood
The foundations of the 2 wider central arches wider are built in rock, not the actual river bed
The pier heads in the bottom row are wedge shaped to cut the flood current and reduce turbulence

7. More details
The water was piped to the various areas of Nîmes eg. Private houses, public baths, public drinking fountains.
This part of the aqueduct crosses the gorge of the river Gardon, (which is why it is called the Pont du Gard – Bridge over the river Gardon).
It is located 21km from Nîmes
it is a utilitarian structure.

8. construction The blocks weighed up to 6 tonnes
Blocks were labelled before they were put together
Local limestone was used from the river valley
The cost of labour was reduced by using slaves & soldiers
No carved decoration
Projecting stones were used for scaffolding & were left to assist with repairs in future
The aqueduct was a cheaper method of transporting water instead of using lead pipes.

9. The arch is designed so it is strong enough to cope with the weight of the structure and the water it carries
The source of the water (Uzes) is higher than it’s destination (Nîmes) so gravity causes the water to flow downhill with reasonable pressure. The pont du gard has a slight drop of 11cm over 275m

10. “It’s Harmonious & beautiful!”
The arch on the bottom tier is the same width as 3 arches on the top tier
The arches of the 2 bottom tiers are the same width