Scientific American Supplement, No. 520, December 19, 1885 by Various
page 55 of 123 (44%)
page 55 of 123 (44%)
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from its source the aqueduct of Mont d'Or, and sometimes the aqueduct of
Ecully, from the name of a large plain which it crossed, was constructed, or rather two subterranean aqueducts were made and joined together into one, which crossed the plain of Ecully, in a straight line still underground; but the ground around Lyons was not like the Campagna, near Rome, and it was necessary to cross the broad and deep valley now called La Grange, Blanche. This, however, did not daunt the Roman engineers; making the aqueduct end in a reservoir on one side of the valley, they carried the water down into the valley, probably by means of lead pipes, in the manner which will be described more at length further on, across the stream at the bottom of the valley by means of an aqueduct bridge 650 ft. long, 75 ft. high, and 28½ ft. broad, and up the other side into another reservoir, from which the aqueduct was continued along the top of a long series of arches to the reservoir in the city, after a course of about ten miles. In the time of Augustus, however, it was found that the water brought by this aqueduct was not sufficient, especially in summer; and as there was a large Roman camp which also required to be supplied with water, situated at a short distance from the city, it was determined to construct a second aqueduct. For this purpose the springs at the head of a small river, called now the Brevenne, were tapped, and conveyed by means of an underground aqueduct (known as the aqueduct of the Brevenne) which wound round the heads of the valleys, and after a course of about thirty miles is believed by some to have arrived at the city, but by others to have stopped at the Roman camp, and to have been constructed exclusively for its supply. I have here a diagram, after Flacheron, showing a section of this aqueduct, and this will give a very good general idea of the section of a |
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