One of the most popular ways to view the Acqua Marcia is by bicycle, rented from the Appia Antica Regional Park.

History of Acqua Marcia

For around 90 years, the aqueducts Aqua Appia and the Anio Vetus satisfied Rome’s population. However, military success against Carthage and Macedonia meant that Rome’s population was growing, and combined with the aqueducts leaking and many citizens stealing water for their own use and thereby depriving the city of its supply, it became clear that another water supply was urgently needed.

The Aqua Marcia was constructed by and named after Quintus Marcius Rex (an ancestor of Julius Caesar) from 144 to 140 BC. It was largely paid for by the spoils from recent Roman conquests of Corinth and the end of the Third Punic War, both in 146 BC.

Acqua Marcia – which was noted for its cold and pure waters – followed the ancient road via Tiburtina into Rome, and entered the city in its eastern boundary at the Porta Tiburtina of the Aurelian Wall.

It was repaired by Marcus Agrippa in 33 BC, and then again later by Augustus, who augmented the supply by linking it to other sources.

By the time Emperor Nero was in power, the supply had dwindled to a trickle due to citizens siphoning it off for their own personal use. However, later emperors increased the supply, transforming it into the second greatest supply of the city’s water.

Acqua Marcia Today

Today, only ruins of Acqua Marcia remain, though are extensive. One of the main ways to visit some ruins of Acqua Marcia are via the Acqueduct Park, which contains the ruins of the more recent and complete Acqua Felice (1500s), as well as the ruins of Acqua Marcia and Acqua Claudia. There is also a park among the ruins which is often used for recreation by locals and visitors alike.

The ruins are also prominent at the Appia Antica Regional Park, with full details available on our website here.

Getting to Acqua Marcia

Ruins of Acqua Marcia at the Aqueduct Park are easily reachable by the Metro, with Metro Line A to Lucio Sestio followed by a short walk likely being the most convenient way to see the ruins. The ruins are a 15-20 minute drive from the centre of Rome via Via Tuscolana, or a 1 hour 45 minute walk.

Similarly, it is possible to see the ruins at Appia Antica Regional Park, with full travel details available on our website.

Barbegal Aqueduct and Mill history

The fascinating Barbegal Aqueduct and Mill archaeological site contains the ruins of an ancient water-powered milling complex and gives crucial insight into Roman use of water-powered engineering.

Not a technology often associated with the Romans, the Barbegal Mill demonstrates that far from being ignorant of such technology, the Romans actually pioneered this kind of harnessing of water power for industrial use.

Probably built in the early 2nd century AD, there are actually two ancient aqueducts that are found within the area of Barbegal, the Eygalières aqueduct and the Caparon aqueduct. Both served to supply the nearby city of Arles, Roman Arelate, while a sluice gate siphoned off water to the mill.

The Barbegal Mill itself was a huge complex built into the slope of the hillside and utilising 16 water wheels to power the massive flour mill. It is thought this industrial-scale operation provided the majority of the bread for the inhabitants of ancient Arles.

Barbegal Aqueduct and Mill today

Today however, only a hint of this impressive complex survives. Sections of the Barbegal Aqueducts can still be seen as can the outer walls of the Barbegal Mill. The Museum of Arles contains a model of the complex demonstrating how it may have appeared in its heyday.

Visitors to Barbegal may park where a minor road crosses the massive remains of the original aqueduct, and walk south about 250 meters along the remains of the aqueduct through the cleft in the ridge to the top of the mill complex. The site is signposted as Roman aqueduct rather than as a mill. The site is currently overgrown, and care is needed exploring the ruins.

Getting to Barbegal Aqueduct and Mill

Barbegal Aqueduct and Mill archaeological site is just outside the town of Arles, France. If you are travelling by car from the centre of the town, you can reach the site in under 20 minutes via the D17 and Route de L’Acqueduc.

If you you are travelling from Paris, take the A6 southbound toward Lyon and the A7 from Lyon to Avignon. From here travel down the D570N before turning onto the D33 at the roundabout in Saint-Gabriel. There is a carpark on site.

History of the Caesarea Aqueduct

Mostly constructed during the reign of King Herod the Great, the majority of the great public buildings, infrastructure and monuments of Caesarea were built from around 22 BC onwards. The city became a thriving commercial hub which hosted sporting events and which flourished further under the Byzantines.

However, the city had no reliable fresh water supply at the time of construction and the growing population demanded greater supplies of water to furnish the various public and private demands of a Roman city. The aqueduct was therefore built to provide this supply and was further expanded as the city grew in the following centuries. Most of the water supply came from Shuni, 12km north east of the city.

In later years Caesarea’s importance diminished and, though the aqueduct fell in to disuse, it has remained in a relatively good state of preservation to this day.

Caesarea Aqueduct today

One of the best preserved stretches of aqueduct is on Caesarea’s beach, offering gorgeous, extremely photographic, views. It remains a somewhat mind-boggling feat of the Roman engineering, and is a particular hit with children. You can also spot remnants of the aqueduct throughout the main body of Caesarea’s ruins. The aqueduct is free to view at all times, but offers little in the way of information nearby. It’s worth reading up in depth before you go if you’re interested.

Today the aqueduct is sort of split into 2 parts: high level 1 (the Herodian aqueduct), and high level 2, which was constructed later, around 130AD. The aqueduct was in use for over 1200 years, supplying the port of Caesarea with water.

Getting to Caesarea Aqueduct

The aqueduct beach is a few kilometres north of the main ruins at Caesarea: you can either walk up the coastal footpath (the Israel National Trail) or drive back into town and round. There is ample parking at the beach itself.

Chesters Roman Fort history

Chesters Roman Fort was built around 124 AD as a cavalry fort, and housed some 500 soldiers until the Romans left Britain in the 5th century. The first unit of troops were garrisoned at the fort to guard a bridge across the River Tyne, with an inscription naming them ala Augusta ob virtutem appellata, translated as ‘the cavalry regiment styled Augusta for its valour’.

In the mid-2nd century, the Sixth Legion were at Chesters Roman Fort and undertook a programme of building work, however it is uncertain as to whether they were permanently stationed there.

By 178-84 AD the Second Asturians hailing from northern Spain were garrisoned at Chesters and would remain at the fort until the end of the Roman period. They would have witnessed the site’s heyday between 180-250 AD, when the fort and its surrounding civilian settlement would have been a bustling hub of activity. It was also then that the fort was rebuilt, and from which the current remains of the barracks date.

Chesters Roman Fort today

Today, Chesters Roman Fort is managed by English Heritage and is open to visitors. The extensive and well-preserved remains include four main gates, an altar and shrine, and several buildings such as a baths complex and the commandant’s home.

As the most complete cavalry fort in Britain, Chesters Roman Fort offers an illuminating glimpse into the lives of the soldiers who lived here and the northernmost reaches of the Roman Empire.

Within the site’s adjoining museum, there is also a large display of Roman artefacts found at the site and along Hadrian’s Wall. Highlights of these include two carved incense burners, a figurine of a ‘scotty dog’, a centurial building stone, and a statue of the Roman goddess Juno, all dated around 2,000 years old.

Getting to Chesters Roman Fort

Chesters Roman Fort is located near Chollerford in Northumberland on the B6318 road, and there is parking at the site. The nearest train station is 5.5 miles away at Hexham, from which the AD122 Hadrian’s Wall bus may be taken to the site between April and October. The 680 Tynedale Links bus service also stops at the Recreation ground, a 10-minute walk to the site.

Though Dorchester is best known for its connection to Thomas Hardy, Durnovaria remains a fascinating town in its own right, and has a number of museums covering subjects such as dinosaurs, Tutankhamun, and military history.

The best Roman ruins in the town are the remains of a Roman townhouse dating from the 1st century AD located on Northernhay behind the Town Hall.

History of Durnovaria

Durnovia’s pre-Roman population centre appears to have been at the hill fort of Maiden Castle, which is 2 miles outside of the town centre. The inhabitants seem to have resisted the invasion, with their war cemetery being excavated in the 1930s.

The site of present-day Dorchester itself may have originally been a small garrison fort. After the military moved away in around 70 AD, Durnovaria became a civilian settlement, with an organised street plan being laid out and dotted with public buildings such as a thermae.

There is also evidence of public amusements, with excavations carried out in 1908-12 revealing the full extent of the ‘Maumbury Rings’, which was an ancient British earthwork that was repurposed by the Romans as an amphitheatre.

There were many fine homes for rich families, with excavated mosaic floors suggesting that the school of art had a workshop in the town. A large late-Roman and Christian cemetery has been excavated at Poundbury just to the west of the town. Little is known of Durnovia’s decline after the end of Roman rule.

Durnovaria Today

Today, Durnovaria still has some Roman remains, which include part of the town walls and the foundations of a Roman town house, which are freely available to access near the County Hall. The County Museum is also home to many finds.

Traces of an aqueduct, which the Romans built to supply the town with water, are available to see at nearby Whitfield Farm. Poundbury Hill, a Bronze-age fortification, is also available to see nearby.

Getting to Durnovaria

From the city of Exeter, Durnovaria (Dorchester) is reachable in around an hour and a half by car, via the A35. There’s also a regular connecting train service – the Grand Western and Southern Western Railways – which take between 3 and 4 hours and depart from Exeter St. Davids.

From London, the Dorchester is reachable in just under 3 hours via the M3, with regularly departing Grand Western and Southern Western Railway trains from Paddington taking just over three hours.

History of Hezekiah’s Tunnel

The tunnel was built by the 14th king of Judah, King Hezekiah, in 701 BC. Upon hearing of the approach of the Assyrian army, the king wanted to protect the city’s water supply and thus ordered the construction of this tunnel to act as an aqueduct, partly to ensure a supply of water for his citizens, but primarily to stem the water supply, preventing it from reaching the invading troops. This 1,750-foot marvel of engineering stretches from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam and is still in a remarkable state of preservation.

The events which led to the creation of Hezekiah’s Tunnel are described in the Bible and also on its walls. In 1880, a young boy found an inscription in the tunnel – known as the Siloam Inscription – telling of how the two groups digging it met in the middle. It’s still unclear precisely how Israelite engineers managed such a feat. Some have hypothesised that they were directed from above ground, using tapping and sound signals to identify where they were. The imperfect tunnel also shows this method was far from foolproof as it zigzags and winds in places.

Hezekiah’s Tunnel today

The tunnel can be walked through today – it’s quite an experience, and not one to undertake if you suffer from claustrophobia. The water often reaches hip height, so you’ll want to wear shorts / a swimsuit / quick drying trousers, and strap on shoes which you don’t mind getting wet. Unsurprisingly, the water is icy and a torch comes in very handy to understand what you’re looking at.

Guided tours are available, and help bring this remarkable site to life. It’s one way, and parts of it are very narrow – 60cm is the smallest gap you’ll have to squeeze through. Allow somewhere between 20 and 40 minutes to walk through the tunnel in its entirety. Check the water levels before going with children.

Getting to Hezekiah’s Tunnel

The tunnel is part of the City of David Archaeological Site. From the Dung Gate, head east (which is downhill) and take the road to the right (Ma’alot Ir David St). The entrance is a short way along on your left. There’s parking opposite, and a variety of buses stop close to the Dung Gate on the main road.

An aqueduct system, the Zaghouan Aqueduct, ran for over 100km to bring water to the ancient metropolis, and the Malga Cisterns were used to store the water that then ran through the city and was used to supply the Antonine Baths.

Converted for other uses such as stable blocks after the fall of Rome, the Malga Cisterns have survived remarkably well and are certainly one of the more interesting Roman sites to explore.

La Malga Cisterns features as one of our Top Visitor Attractions of Tunisia.

History of La Malga Cisterns

The cisterns are located on the north side of the ancient Roman city of Tunis, Tunisia. They were the largest cisterns of Carthage, and today are some of the best-preserved Roman cisterns.

There were likely at least 24 cisterns in a single line, each with a length of 130 paces and a width of 26 paces. They were relied upon to supply water for the vast bath complex of Antoninus, with the water flowing from the cisterns to the baths through underground pipes. More widely, they were vital for providing water for Carthage as the most important city of Africa Proconsulare during the High Empire.

The original cistern complex was nearly 1km long and was fed by a huge aqueduct which carried mountain spring water from Zaghouan.

From the Middle Ages, the cisterns were used as makeshift houses, stables, barns, or cellars by the local population. This continued until the twentieth century, which delayed archaeological investigation of the site.

In 2012, the Tunisian government proposed that the whole Zaghouan-Carthage Roman hydraulic complex – of which the cisterns are a part – should be classified as a world heritage site.

La Malga Cisterns today

Today, there is an active project to conserve and restore the site, and to develop a museum space devoted to it.

Nearby, visitors can enjoy a number of other important archaeological sites, such as the cemetery of the officials, the villa of Scorpianus, and some mausoleums – one of which has been re-constructed in a special room of the Bardo National Museum.

Getting to La Malga Cisterns

From the centre of Tunis, the cisterns are reachable in around 20 minutes by car via the N9 road. The site is reachable by foot the same way, though takes over three hours so is only recommended for the most intrepid explorer.

Longovicium history

The fort is estimated to have been built later than the other forts on Dere Street, around 150 AD. There is evidence it was rebuilt around 230/240 AD and again in the early 4th century. A construction slab identifies the Legio XX Valeria Victrix (Twentieth Legion) as having built the fort.

The fort was an estimated 160m by 140m in size, and accommodated approximately 1,000 troops. Geophysical surveys by archaeologists have discerned the location of the headquarters buildings, a bathhouse and barrack buildings. The fort was occupied from 160 until 400 AD and there was the an associated civil settlement (vicus) associated with the fort, with buildings on both sides of Dere Street.

Longovicium is also interesting in having a copious water supply, from two aqueducts, one of which was fed from an impounded source to the west. The dam harnessed the water of 21 springs and was 20 feet high and 110 yards in length, being stone faced and clay lined on the inside. Despite not being on the scale of those supplying cities, the Longovicium aqueduct was nevertheless a significant feat of engineering, being considered one of the best preserved aqueducts in Britain.

Longovicium today

The Friends of Longovicium society, Durham County Council, Durham University and Newcastle University have recently been working together with the owner of the lands on which the fort is situated to eventually open the area for the public, turning it into a tourist attraction. Possible excavations are also envisaged. The project is currently worth a couple of million pounds, funds which the County Council is pursuing through the English Heritage

Getting to Longovicium

Longovicium is located just southwest of Lanchester in the English county of Durham, roughly 8 miles to the west of the city of Durham. The fort was situated between Ebchester, and Binchester on Dere Street, the main Roman road linking York with Hadrian’s Wall. It is about 20 miles south of the wall, and was built on high ground with clear views around the site.

Pont du Gard Aqueduct history

Nimes had been a major city of Gaul before 45BC, when it was incorporated in the Roman Empire. As the city’s population grew, exceeding 20,000, the need for water surpassed the available supplies of the Nemausus spring. Thus, from 40AD, over 1,000 workers were engaged in building Pont du Gard in order to transfer water from the Gard River (the Eure) to the city. Upon its completion, it would stay in use until the sixth century, when it was finally abandoned.

Pont du Gard aqueduct remains one of humankind’s great masterpieces. A marvel of Antiquity and a true technical feat, it is also a stupendous site that has regained its unspoiled state since its refurbishment.

Since then, Pont du Gard has undergone a series of restoration projects and is now a spectacular place to visit. In 1985 it was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Pont du Gard Aqueduct today

Today guided tours of Pont du Gard take visitors right to the very heart of this iconic structure to see the how such an engineering feat was achieved and how the aqueduct operated. Visitors can also walk the full length of the bridge itself and explore this Roman marvel up close. These tours last approximately 1.5 hours.

There is also a Pont du Gard museum on site that explores the engineering techniques used by the Romans to build the bridge as well as the history of the area in which it is built, which actually stretches back to prehistoric times. Other exhibits found within the museum also focus on the history of Nimes and the surrounding area during the Roman era.

Getting to Pont du Gard Aqueduct

If travelling by car, the way to the Pont du Gard is very well indicated on the A9 motorway from Nîmes to Lyon (take exit 23 at Remoulins) or the N100 from Avignon and on the smaller roads that lead from it to the site. There are two car parks. The road signs will probably direct you to the larger, rive gauche (left bank) one (800 places), near the village of Vers Pont du Gard.

If travelling by train, a brand-new TGV station opened in 2019 called Nîmes-Pont-du-Gard. However, despite the name, it is actually in the small town of Manduel, 15 miles south of the Pont du Gard. Shuttle buses may be available in due course, and it’s within striking distance of a taxi ride.

Despite suffering damage under the Moorish occupation, this stunning site now weaves through Segovia, looming over the urban sprawl at a maximum height of almost 30 metres. Segovia Aqueduct is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct.

Segovia Aqueduct history

Without a legible inscription, the date of construction is uncertain. However, the general gate is likely during the reigns of Emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan in the late 1st and early 2nd century AD. Bronze letters found have indicted more specifically to 98 AD, commissioned under Domitian.

Roman troops sent to Segovia to control the local Arevaci people settled there, and the area thus fell into the Clunia province. The aqueduct’s design followed the guidelines of Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius in his De Architectura, written for his patron Julius Caesar in the 1st century BC. Segovia Aqueduct once held the image of Hercules on one of the tallest arches, believed to be the city’s founder.

With 2 tiers, the ever-declining slope of the aqueduct transported water from a large tank to the walled city centre, turning then towards Plaza Azoguejo and reached 28.5 metres high. Within the city a distribution systems shared water underground.

In the 15th century under the Catholic Monarchs, a portion of the arches in the Segovia Aqueduct’s first section were reconstructed, having been destroyed by the Moors in 1072. So faithful was the reconstruction that water continued to serve the city via the aqueduct until the early 20th century.

Segovia Aqueduct today

Today, while many Roman aqueducts have crumbled beneath the weight of time, Segovia Aqueduct has remained and can be viewed in its almost original glory. Keen explorers will find a replica of the Capitoline‘s bronze sculpture of the she-wolf that mothered Romulus and Remus beneath the aqueduct.

The aqueduct is also nicknamed ‘Puente de Diable’ or Devil’s Bridge because of local legend that whispers Lucifer’s role in building the bridge to impress a woman. Nevertheless, this devilishly spectacular structure is best enjoyed from the Plaza Azoguejo where its pillars reach their highest point – particularly lit up at night.

Getting to Segovia Aqueduct

Plaza Azoguejo can be reached easily on foot when exploring Segovia, and the Segovia Aqueduct is seen throughout the city. If getting to the square via public transport, buses 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10 and B all stop at Loba Capitolina (19), and you will walk underneath the aqueduct to reach the square’s vantage point.