A Roman aqueduct that tells the story of two thousand years of history has been discovered in Arles

If we think we are the most advanced civilization that has ever existed… maybe it's time to think again. Every day, archaeology awakens stories from the past that seem like science fiction: highly refined technologies, extraordinary ingenuity and infrastructures created to truly improve people's lives. One of the latest wonders to emerge from the dust of time takes us to Provence , near Arles . Here, like a secret kept under the stones, an ancient Roman water network has come to light.

A group of international researchers has undertaken a journey through time by analyzing the limestone deposits formed inside the old pipes . These fragments, similar to mineral imprints, have allowed them to decipher the ingenious architecture of the water system and tell, with the precision of a thousand-year-old chronicle, the story of one of the most advanced examples of hydraulic engineering of antiquity.

The discovery of the water network of Arles

A team of archaeologists has brought to light the ancient water network of Arles by carefully studying the mineral sediments found inside the pipes of the town inProvence . Thanks to the most modern and advanced technologies, scholars from the universities of Mainz, Oxford and Innsbruck have precisely reconstructed the life cycle of the water system of Arles in France , studying the construction dating back to the 1st century BC and used until the 5th century AD.

The original aqueduct, built around 3 BC, drew from springs on the southern slope of the Alpilles hills. After nearly a century, a second water structure was added on the northern slope, merging with the existing network through a settling tank. The basin was responsible for purifying the water, depositing sand and suspended particles.

But the fate of the structure changed: with the arrival of the new northern source, the first aqueduct was diverted to power a complex system of watermills at Barbegal, one of the most advanced factories in the Roman world.

The real breakthrough came, however, thanks to a surprising observation: inside the collapsed vaults of the Baths of Constantine, researchers identified fragments of limestone from the old northern aqueduct. This indicates that, in the 4th century, the system was restored and the material "chipped off" from the pipes was reused as construction aggregate for the roofs of the thermal buildings. This is concrete proof that the aqueduct was still in operation at the time of Emperor Constantine.

The analysis of the large lead pipes discovered in the 19th century on the bed of the Rhône has clarified another mystery: thanks to the isotopic correspondence with the limestone deposits of the pipes, it was possible to confirm that these pipes transported water to the Trinquetaille district , across the river, via an ingenious inverted siphon.

The importance of discovery

The significance of the discovery is not only archaeological , but also conceptual . The Arles aqueduct was not a simple water infrastructure, but a dynamic organism, capable of adapting to the needs of the evolving city. Isotopic analyses have allowed us to follow the phases of construction, modification and restoration over time, drawing a “climatic” and technical map of the ancient water network.

What makes this research extraordinary is the way in which mineral remains, invisible to the naked eye, become reliable witnesses of engineering decisions made two thousand years ago. The Roman system not only guaranteed water supply for centuries, but was also adapted, converted and maintained in a sustainable way, with a circular economy logic that is surprising for its modernity.

The discovery reminds us how, already two thousand years ago, the idea of ​​progress had deep roots.