Sur le fonctionnement d'un ouvrage de grande hydraulique antique, l'aqueduc de Nîmes et le pont du Gard (Languedoc, France)The hydraulic engineering of the ancient aqueduct of Nimes and the Pont du Gard (Languedoc, France).

Abstract The aqueduct at Nimes is the best known of all the Gallo-Roman aqueducts in France. Interdisciplinary, permanent and recent research (topography, karstic hydrology, hydraulic modelling...) provides a new insight into its functioning. It was fed exclusively by the Eure karstic springs (Uzes, Gard) and the water passed through a channel with successive segmented reaches and horizontal banks. This made it possible to regulate the flow according to demand and to control it through small hydraulic structures directly connected to the channel. The maximum discharge ranged from 200 to 400 L·s –1 .