Authors:	Sürmelihindi, Gül Passchier, Cees W. Rigal, Didier Wilson, Andrew Spätl, Christoph
Title:	Roman aqueduct maintenance in the water supply system of Divona, France
Online publication date:	24-Nov-2023
Year of first publication:	2023
Language:	english
Abstract:	Carbonate deposits formed in Roman aqueducts provide a window onto the environment and water management in antiquity. These laminated archives precipitated over a period of decades to centuries and are a potential high-resolution source of unwritten history. However, their use as environmental archives is hampered by local and partial removal during maintenance work in some aqueducts. This apparent problem, however, creates a unique opportunity to study Roman water management. We present the discovery of traces of regular maintenance in carbonate deposits of the Roman aqueduct of Divona (Cahors, France). The main objective of this study is to determine the periodicity of local carbonate removal and repairs in this aqueduct. Traces such as tool marks, calcite deformation twins, debris from cleaning and repairs are attested in the deposits as proof of periodic manual carbonate removal by Roman maintenance teams. The δ 18 O profile, recording at least 88 years of deposition, shows that maintenance work was done at intervals of 1–5 years. The undisturbed periodicity of the δ 18 O profile indicates that work was carried out rapidly and never in summer, consonant with the advice of the Roman author Frontinus about maintenance of the aqueducts of the city of Rome. Maintenance intervals lengthened and cleaning became less frequent close to the final years of the aqueduct. This change in maintenance policy gives insight into changing local population and socioeconomic dynamics in late antiquity.
DDC:	550 Geowissenschaften 550 Earth sciences 620 Ingenieurwissenschaften und Maschinenbau 620 Engineering and allied operations 660 Technische Chemie 660 Chemical engineering
Institution:	Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Department:	FB 09 Chemie, Pharmazie u. Geowissensch.
Place:	Mainz
ROR:	https://ror.org/023b0x485
DOI:	http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-9704
Version:	Published version
Publication type:	Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Document type specification:	Scientific article
License:	CC BY
Information on rights of use:	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Journal:	Scientific reports 13
Pages or article number:	12035
Publisher:	Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature
Publisher place:	London
Issue date:	2023
ISSN:	2045-2322
Publisher DOI:	10.1038/s41598-023-38655-z
Appears in collections:	DFG-491381577-G