Lifting Blocks
I was wrapping up my visit to Pont du Gard and I finally visited the museum which I passed by near the entrance of the park. The museum at Pont du Gard showcases exhibits which relate to the nearby aqueduct as well as aqueducts as a whole. I always wondered how they built all these structures without the help of modern techniques. The museum tries to provide the answers to these questions. The ancient Romans turned out to be master engineers and they were very adept at building structures. It seems that arches were initially supported by wood and purpose built rocks were stacked upon the wooden arch to give it its shape.
Building an Arch
The large blocks complement each other and will naturally support each other’s weight when the arch is removed. If one looks closer, one end of the block is wider than the other end, this makes it impossible for the block to fall off on its own. This is a very ingenious way of building arches but how do you get them up there in the first place. There was mechanical cranes which can lift the blocks up all the way to the top of the aqueduct. It is actually a very impressive state of engineering which I never thought to be possible at that time. I think I left the museum with a newfound respect for the ancient Romans.
[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/PontduGard.kmz} zoom=19]