Gutenberg Open Science: Roman aqueduct maintenance in the water supply system of Divona, France

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-9704

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DC Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Sürmelihindi, Gül	-
dc.contributor.author	Passchier, Cees W.	-
dc.contributor.author	Rigal, Didier	-
dc.contributor.author	Wilson, Andrew	-
dc.contributor.author	Spätl, Christoph	-
dc.date.accessioned	2023-11-24T14:16:40Z	-
dc.date.available	2023-11-24T14:16:40Z	-
dc.date.issued	2023	-
dc.identifier.uri	https://openscience.ub.uni-mainz.de/handle/20.500.12030/9722	-
dc.description.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.	en_GB
dc.language.iso	eng	de
dc.rights	CC BY	*
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/	*
dc.subject.ddc	550 Geowissenschaften	de_DE
dc.subject.ddc	550 Earth sciences	en_GB
dc.subject.ddc	620 Ingenieurwissenschaften und Maschinenbau	de_DE
dc.subject.ddc	620 Engineering and allied operations	en_GB
dc.subject.ddc	660 Technische Chemie	de_DE
dc.subject.ddc	660 Chemical engineering	en_GB
dc.title	Roman aqueduct maintenance in the water supply system of Divona, France	en_GB
dc.type	Zeitschriftenaufsatz	de
dc.identifier.doi	http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-9704	-
jgu.type.contenttype	Scientific article	de
jgu.type.dinitype	article	en_GB
jgu.type.version	Published version	de
jgu.type.resource	Text	de
jgu.organisation.department	FB 09 Chemie, Pharmazie u. Geowissensch.	de
jgu.organisation.number	7950	-
jgu.organisation.name	Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz	-
jgu.rights.accessrights	openAccess	-
jgu.journal.title	Scientific reports	de
jgu.journal.volume	13	de
jgu.pages.alternative	12035	de
jgu.publisher.year	2023	-
jgu.publisher.name	Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature	de
jgu.publisher.place	London	de
jgu.publisher.issn	2045-2322	de
jgu.organisation.place	Mainz	-
jgu.subject.ddccode	550	de
jgu.subject.ddccode	620	de
jgu.subject.ddccode	660	de
jgu.publisher.doi	10.1038/s41598-023-38655-z	de
jgu.organisation.ror	https://ror.org/023b0x485	-
jgu.subject.dfg	Naturwissenschaften	de
Appears in collections:	DFG-491381577-G

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