Ancient aqueduct carbonates: accurate archives of the environment and archaeological events
Classical, Roman, Christian and Islamic Archaeology
Final Report Abstract
This study explored aqueduct carbonate deposits (CaCO3) from four Roman aqueducts in connection with civilization centres of the Roman Empire in France (Nîmes, Arles, Bellegarde, Cahors). We found that such carbonate deposits can give a wealth of information in archaeology, and additional data on environmental conditions during Roman time. Observations of carbonate from the Roman aqueduct of Cahors have shown, that environmental data are stored in such deposits, and that data on annual temperature, spring discharge (and indirectly precipitation) can be retrieved with an up to daily resolution. It is clear however, that aqueducts were a controlled environment, and that it is necessary to recognize and understand anthropogenic effects in the deposits before reliable environmental data can be retrieved. An important part of the project time was therefore focussed on the archaeological interpretation of the deposits, especially those of the Roman aqueduct of Cahors and Arles. Proof for cleaning operations and their frequency was documented in Cahors (Divona), proved late antiquity restoration of the Roman aqueduct of Arles by Constantine the Great in Arles, and documented 200 years of climatic variation in Nîmes.
Publications
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Giving voice to the incrustations from a Roman watermill complex at Barbegal: an impression. In: Bouffier, S, Fumadó Ortega, I (eds). L’eau dans tous ses états. Perceptions antiques. Archéologies méditerranéennes, 161-171
Sürmelihindi, G., Passchier, C. & Leveau, Ph.
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Reconstructing the hydraulics of the world’s first industrial complex, the second century CE Barbegal watermills, France. Scientific Reports, 10(1).
Passchier, Cees W.; Bourgeois, Marcel; Viollet, Pierre-Louis; Sürmelihindi, Gül; Bernard, Vincent; Leveau, Philippe & Spötl, Christoph
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Carbonates from the ancient world's longest aqueduct: A testament of Byzantine water management. Geoarchaeology, 36(4), 643-659.
Sürmelihindi, Gül; Passchier, Cees; Crow, James; Spötl, Christoph & Mertz‐Kraus, Regina
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Archaeological information obtained from carbonate deposits in ancient water system. In: Moreno Gallo, I. Ingeniería hidráulica Romana. VI congreso internacional de las obras públicas romanas.
Passchier, C. & Sürmelihindi. G.
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Origines, développement et preuves du nettoyage des concrétions calcaires durant le fonctionnement de l’aqueduc gallo-romain de Divona-Cahors (Lot). Archéologie, société et environnement, 1(1).
Rigal, Didier; Passchier, Cees W. & Sürmelihindi, Gül
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Roman aqueduct maintenance in the water supply system of Divona, France. Scientific Reports, 13(1).
Sürmelihindi, Gül; Passchier, Cees W.; Rigal, Didier; Wilson, Andrew & Spötl, Christoph
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Sustainability of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: From Prehistoric Times to the Present Times and the Future. Water, 15(8), 1614.
Angelakis, Andreas N.; Capodaglio, Andrea G.; Passchier, Cees W.; Valipour, Mohammad; Krasilnikoff, Jens; Tzanakakis, Vasileios A.; Sürmelihindi, Gül; Baba, Alper; Kumar, Rohitashw; Haut, Benoît; Roubelakis, Maria G.; Min, Zhang & Dercas, Nicholas
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Writ in water—Unwritten histories obtained from carbonate deposits in ancient water systems. Geoarchaeology, 39(1), 63-88.
Sürmelihindi, Gül & Passchier, Cees
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High resolution paleo-hydrological record from carbonate deposits in the Roman aqueduct of Traconnade (Aix-en-Provence, SE France). Chemical Geology, 670, 122423.
Claude, C.; Vidal, L.; Passchier, C.; Angeletti, B.; Guihou, A.; Sürmelihindi, G.; Ricolleau, A.; Gassier, G.; Panneau, M.; Sonzogni, C.; Delanghe, D.; Deschamps, P.; Fuhry, M.; Fino, B.; Leveau, Ph.; Marié, L. & Nin, N.
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Operation and decline of the Barbegal mill complex, the largest industrial complex of antiquity. Geoarchaeology, 39(6), 594-608.
Passchier, Cees W.; Sürmelihindi, Gül; Viollet, Pierre‐Louis; Leveau, Philippe & Spötl, Christoph
