Following the Roman aqueduct near the Pont du Gard

Finding the aqueduct near Vers

Between Vers-Pont-du-Gard and the great Roman bridge, paths run beneath low arches and walls overgrown with vegetation. Some remains stand alone; elsewhere, they follow one another along the trail.

The Pont du Gard was one crossing on a much longer structure. Around Vers, the construction adapts to changes in the terrain: walls support the channel, while arches carry it across hollows without losing height.

Bringing water to Nîmes

Built in the first century AD, the aqueduct carried water to Nîmes from the Fontaine d’Eure spring, near Uzès. The spring and the city are about twenty kilometres apart as the crow flies, but the channel ran for around fifty kilometres to skirt the hills.

The difference in altitude between the starting point and the destination is only about twelve metres, giving an average gradient of roughly twenty-five centimetres per kilometre. Water flowed by gravity. The builders therefore had to find a route around the hills while keeping enough height to reach the city and supply its fountains and baths.

La Lône, arches without their channel

In the La Lône area, part of the water channel has disappeared, leaving the walls and arches that supported it. The openings carried it across small depressions without lowering its level. Elsewhere along the route, the channel was buried: most of the aqueduct was protected underground.

Inside the channel, a mortar made from lime and fragments of fired clay provided a watertight lining. Access shafts allowed workers to enter for maintenance. The water ran through a covered conduit rather than in the open air on top of the arches.

Limestone left by the water

The lime-rich water from the Fontaine d’Eure deposited mineral layers on the channel walls. These deposits gradually reduced the space available for the flow. Their thickness helps explain how much maintenance the conduit required.

Outside the channel, limestone masses formed as water flowed from leaks and diversions. At Pont Roupt, one such mass preserves evidence of water being diverted to irrigate crops.

Bornègre, a bridge for water

Near Argilliers, between Uzès and Vers-Pont-du-Gard, the Bornègre bridge crosses a small valley. It belongs to the same aqueduct, upstream from the Pont du Gard. The stream may look modest in calm weather, but its bed can carry runoff from heavy rain.

The structure had three arches. Two are now partly hidden by sediment, while the central arch remains clearly visible. Its large stone blocks contrast with the smaller masonry seen around Vers. The water channel above has disappeared, but the bridge continued to serve a purpose.

When carts replaced water

After it stopped carrying water, the Bornègre bridge became a crossing for people and animals. Ruts and hollows in the bridge deck preserve the marks left by wheels and hooves.

Elsewhere, inhabitants dismantled sections of the aqueduct to reuse the stones. Bornègre retained its arches and became part of the network of rural tracks.

Continue towards Uzès and the Gardon

In Uzès, the Eure valley offers a chance to see where the aqueduct began before visiting the historic centre. The Pont du Gard and its museum provide a broader view of the Roman building project. To explore more villages in the Uzège, head to Blauzac, above the Gardon plain.