The Timeless Arches of the Roman Gier Aqueduct
Few tourists bother to follow the routings of the Gier Aqueduct during their travels to Lyon, France. Yet the ruins remain among the most remarkable within the country, surviving inclement weather, war, Revolution and the destruction of vandals. Water became the ultimate source of life and sustenance in the Roman provinces and the inhabitants of Lyon, then called Lugdunum was fed by four unique sources of fresh water.
The longest and best preserved is the Aqueduct of the Gier that sourced its waters from the Gier River, a right bank tributary of the much larger Rhone River. The Gier flows in a northeastern direction through the present French Loire and Rhone departments. The Gier valley would later become heavy industrialized with coal and iron mines and factories.
The Gier Aqueduct was constructed during the 1st and 2nd Centuries AD. In 1887, a stone with an inscription mentioning Roman Emperor Hadrian’s name was discovered near Chaponost. This discovery has become a basis for dating the origins of the construction. Hadrian served as emperor for nineteen years from 117 to 136 AD. His substantial legacy included construction projects throughout the Roman Empire and a wall named after him located in northern Britain.
The aqueduct was originally sourced on Mount Pilat, the largest peak of three located in a range outside of St. Etienne, to the southwest of Lyon. Legend attributes that the body of Roman Governor Pontius Pilate was buried there. The commune of Saint-Chamond in the Loire department of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alps is the credited commencement point for the aqueduct water flow.
A settlement would become developed on both sides of the Gier River. Throughout the 53 miles that the aqueduct follows, the routing traces the bends and serpentine conditions of the topography. Stretches would be literally designed around villages to take advantage of the straightest and flattest landscape. Roman engineers took advantage of gravity whenever possible to forward the water flow. The pace of the flow became critical.
The aqueduct sloped downwards from lakes and springs regulating the speed. If the water moved too quickly, the effect would wear down the stones. If the water moved too slowly, it would become stagnate and impotable. Much of their design involved redirecting water to sloping lands even if it required a diversion miles away from its ultimate destination. Layered arched bridges filled deep valleys and water flowed atop in the open air. The ruins have often receded organically into countryside of grazing cattle and farmland.
In the ancient village of Chabaniere, the path continued its circuitous routing until reaching the center of Mornant. The arches blend seamlessly into modern buildings. The hillsides surrounding the community offer traces of the system’s tunneling and canal network. The landscape has altered little over the centuries with remnants of arches still intact.
The archways are a spectacular specimen of history and viewable up close. Part of their recent longevity is reparation efforts conducted regularly to clean the exterior surface. We marvel today at our urban constructions of stone, glass and steel. Their lifespan is currently indeterminable. One has to pause and reflect when viewing these magnificent arches…will our own current architectural creations last over two thousand years?