Three-picture story of Roman aqueduct

I’m rather fond of telling stories… but telling a story in three photos is a different challenge — and also happens to be this week’s theme for the WordPress weekly photo challenge.

So today I’m going to tell you a story about the magnificant Roman aqueduct in Segovia, Spain — one of the highlights of my visit to Spain a few years ago.

And – because I am a writer, here’s the commentary – heh…

A. The Roman aqueduct in Segovia is one of the best-preserved in the former Roman empire. It’s spectacular from many angles — carving through the centre of the city, ancient, soaring and graceful. Simply an amazing structure to look at.

B. But there’s more wonder to be discovered and, being an engineer (and a fantasy writer), I like to get to the heart of these things. I followed along the length the aqueduct for a couple of kilometres, noting how its height off the ground adjusts with the contours of the land in order to keep the gradient exactly right for the gentle delivery of water to the town via gravitational feed. This is why it gets so high when the ground dips — and the town centre of Segovia (as with many towns of its age) is built on a hill. This photo illustrates nicely how the structure adjusts with the downward slope of the land. Cool, hey? Clever engineering.

C. As one continues along the aqueduct, the land begins to rise again, until the early part of the water channel itself is almost at street level. This photo shows a close-up of the cross-section of the water channel, which carried the water all those years ago to the town. This close up demonstrates the whole point of the aqueduct, which one can be in danger of forgetting due to its sheer spectacular nature.

Once again, it’s been fun participating in the weekly photo challenge. I always love sharing travel photos and stories.

Weren’t the Romans clever?