Version 1
: Received: 31 January 2024 / Approved: 1 February 2024 / Online: 2 February 2024 (06:03:27 CET)
How to cite:
Doolittle, W.E. Roman and Medieval Aqueduct Bridges on the Landscape of Spain: Issues of Construction. Preprints2024, 2024020082. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202402.0082.v1
Doolittle, W.E. Roman and Medieval Aqueduct Bridges on the Landscape of Spain: Issues of Construction. Preprints 2024, 2024020082. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202402.0082.v1
Doolittle, W.E. Roman and Medieval Aqueduct Bridges on the Landscape of Spain: Issues of Construction. Preprints2024, 2024020082. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202402.0082.v1
APA Style
Doolittle, W.E. (2024). Roman and Medieval Aqueduct Bridges on the Landscape of Spain: Issues of Construction. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202402.0082.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Doolittle, W.E. 2024 "Roman and Medieval Aqueduct Bridges on the Landscape of Spain: Issues of Construction" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202402.0082.v1
Abstract
Transporting water from one side of a valley or gorge to the other requires construction of an aqueduct bridge or elevated aqueduct. These features are striking elements on cultural landscapes. Unlike previous research that emphasized architecture or design and relied on documentary sources and published works, this study focuses on details of construction and first-hand observation. Roman and Medieval elevated aqueducts in Spain were subjected to rigorous field examination. Marked variations were found to exist between structures of each age. No two aqueduct bridges are alike indicating the absence of standard designs. Locally available materials were used. Construction seems to have been overseen and carried out by individuals who possessed inconsistent degrees of skill. Roman treatises discussed aqueduct bridges, but not how to build them. Many palaces were clearly designed and built by highly skilled personnel during Medieval times, but more mundane public works projects such as aqueducts appear to have been carried out by less-skilled individuals. These findings have implications regarding the construction of elevated aqueducts by Spaniards in the Americas during the 16th century.
Keywords
Elevated aqueducts; aqueduct bridges; arcades; construction; ancient Rome; Medieval; Spain; cultural landscapes
Subject
Social Sciences, Geography, Planning and Development
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
