Roman Structures > Aqueducts > Aqueduct Contray

Aqueduct Contray

Aqueduct ContrayAqueduct Contray 3.jpgGeneral view of the remains from the southwest.PresentationTypeAqueduct View and modify data on WikidataConstructionfirst centuryHeight4 moriginal destinationAqueductcurrent destinationRemainsOwnertownGeographyCountryFlag of France la FranceRegionCentre-Val de LoireDepartmentIndre-et-LoiretowngrouperLocationContact information47 ° 09 '01 "N , 1 ° 00 '54 "ELocation map of the Indre-et-Loiresee map of the Indre-et-Loire Red pog.svgLocation on the map of Francesee on the map of France Red pog.svgchange - change the code - change Wikidata Documentation of the modelThe aqueduct Contray is a conduit of the Gallo-Roman located northeast of the city of Loches , in the department of Indre-et-Loire .Dated from the first century and private use, it probably served to feed a house type villa located a few hundred meters west of the remains still in place, four batteries small device, while collection was in all likelihood a kilometer to the east, at a source in the forest of Loches.Summary1Location2Description3Origin, destination and route4History5Annexes5.1Bibliography5.2Related articles5.3External link6ReferencesLocation [ change | modify the code ]The remains of the aqueduct Contray are on the edge of the forest of Loches, 3 km northeast of the town and about 200 meters east of the hamlet of Contray. The aqueduct and the hamlet are installed on the south side of a valley which, out of the forest, joined the Indre; Contray the stream flows at the bottom of this valley .Description [ edit | edit the code ]View of the battery of a bridge small device with bait arches of both sides.Vestige of a battery of the aqueduct Contray showing the departure of arches.The clearly visible remains of the aqueduct, in 2015, consist of four batteries east of the hamlet of Contray. Three of these batteries, consecutive, aligned east-west and spaced 3 m , on a rectangular plan of 2.50 × 1.40 m, lost arches that connected them and supported the pipeline. The fourth cell, isolated over 9 m east of the foregoing, suggesting that at least one intermediate pile is gone, is more massive and still retains the starting arches . The height of the remains of these batteries is approximately 4 m above the modern ground level. Farther still, at the entrance to the forest, two heaps of stones in perfect alignment saved piles testify to the presence of two other cells. Beyond this point, in the direction of the presumed source of the aqueduct, raising the ground level suggests that the channeling of the water has been underground .The architecture of the batteries is constant from one cell to another. A siding in small device small limestone blocks of 12 × 9 cm surrounds a core blocking rude. The joints between the stones of the cladding do not seem taken with iron . No clay (brick or tile) seems to enter the facing of the structure; the departure of the keystones of the arches is constituted of narrow stones arranged in a fan, the curvature being obtained by varying the thickness of the joints. The chaining batteries angles is provided by larger stones and Crusaders.Origin, route and destination [ edit | edit the code ]layout replacing ancient remains in their modern environment.Map of the aqueduct site.View of a spring surrounded by a stone ledge forming basin and from which descends a staircase.Source Orfonds(Edge and stairs are modern).The aqueduct probably caught the source Orfonds in the forest of Loches, or set of sources close to 1.3 km east of the remains in the municipality of Ferrière-sur-Beaulieu , which would give him a total length of 1.5 km for a vertical drop of about 9 m , a significant slope already reported in the nineteenth century but not exceptional for a Roman aqueduct .If the line of the aqueduct was in its terminal part, driven by a bridge, it is likely that the first kilometers of its route, taking into account the relief, was underground .In the early nineteenth century, it was envisaged that the aqueduct could serve a mansio on the edge of the Indre, on the ancient route linking Loches Tours , but this hypothesis of a food establishment with over a kilometer of known remains, on the other bank of the Indre, is not admissible under topographic data . The discovery in the 1860s remains a vast facility on the site of Contray, northwest of modern homes , confirmed by aerial survey in 1970 , suggesting that this aqueduct was rather intended to supply water habitat , called " villa " . The observations made on site although no search has been conducted, as well as agricultural work, helped uncover, besides traces of walls, tegulae and coins in bronze of Hadrian to Gallien , c ' is to say, covering all second and third centuries .History [ change | modify the code ]The architectural style of the aqueduct remains and movable items found on the site of Contray, including currencies used to hypothesize the construction of the aqueduct in the first century, if the link between the monument and habitat highlighted in Contray is held . Operation of the aqueduct until the end of the third century is possible, this period being covered by the monetary discoveries made on the site. The aqueduct's history until the nineteenth century did not appear documented.The August 19, 1869 And in the Archaeological Congress in France organized by the French Society of Archaeology in Loches , this association with the support of the Archaeological Society of Touraine , bought private owners the remains of the aqueduct .In 1907, one observer noted that "batteries are covered with vegetation affecting conservation" . In 1970, the French Archaeological Society donated the aqueduct in the city of Loches. The remains are not subject to any protection under the historical monuments .Annexes [ edit | edit the code ]References [ change | modify the code ]Document used for writing A document used as a source for writing this article.André Montoux Vieux Logis de Touraine, vol. 1, CLD-Norman, 1974 239 p. Document used for writingAlain Malissard, Roman and water, Paris, Les Belles Lettres, coll. "Realia" 2002 344 pp. ( ISBN 2251 33814 4 ) .Michel Provost, Archaeological Map of Gaul - Indre-et-Loire 37, Paris, Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres , 1988 141 pp. ( ISBN 2 002 87754 2 ) .

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