Picture of the day - September 13, 2008

France's "Pont du Gard" aqueduct

Photo courtesy of Igor Badalassi. The Roman Empire once extended across much of Europe and Asia, and during the many years of its existence a succession of emperors embarked on building projects of all types and complexities all across the vast area under their control. Today's picture by photographer Igor Badalassi features one of the most well-known ancient Roman structures still in existence outside of current-day Italy: France's Pont du Gard aqueduct. Like most other structures built by the ancient Romans, Pont du Gard is a veritable engineering masterpiece. Its longest span is an amazing 466 feet in length and it stands a dizzying 161 feet above the river below. Even more impressive is the fact that each and every stone was set in place by human power without the aid of modern heavy machinery after being precisely milled to tolerances so close that water doesn't leak out of the cracks between them - even though there is no mortar in the cracks to seal them! The bottom level of the aqueduct serves as a bridge for a roadway while the top level carries 5 million gallons of water each and every day. Of course it took approximately 1,000 workers three years to build this famous aqueduct, but such an endeavor was not at all uncommon at the height of the Roman Empire.   Click here to comment on this picture.   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!                                 Place the "Picture of the Day" on your website, for free! Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"