Acueducto de los Milagros

About

The Aqueduct of the Miracles is a Roman aqueduct in the Roman colonia of Emerita Augusta –present-day Mérida, Spain–, capital of the Roman province of Lusitania. It was built during the first century AD to supply water from the Proserpina Dam into the city. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the aqueduct fell into decay and today it is in ruins with only a relatively small section of the aqueduct bridge standing. It is part of the Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida, which is one of the largest and most extensive archaeological sites in Spain and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993.

Description: Only a relatively small stretch of the aqueduct still stands, consisting of thirty-eight arched pillars standing 25 metres (82 ft) high along a course of some 830 metres (2,720 ft). It is constructed from opus mixtum – granite ashlar blocks interspersed with red brick – utilising a double arcade arrangement. The structure originally brought water to the city from a reservoir called the Proserpina Dam, fed by a stream called Las Pardillas, around 5 km (3.1 mi) to the north-west of Mérida. It is thought to have been constructed during the 1st century AD, with a second phase...