History of Tarragona Museum Roman Pont Del Diable Aqueduct

About History of Tarragona Museum Roman Pont Del Diable Aqueduct

Tarraco had in Roman times two aqueducts that supplied water to the city. The first collected it from the Francoli river and the second, coming from the Gaia river, took its flow at the height of Pont d'Armentera. In addition, this last aqueduct forked before reaching the city.

The water from the viaducts was deposited in distribution tanks located in the city. The layout of the aqueducts took advantage of the natural slope of the terrain. Despite this, there were times when geographical features were naturally insurmountable. In these cases it was decided to pass the water pipe over a viaduct whose construction dates back to the 1st century AD.

The pipeline collected the water in the current town of Puigdelfa and took it to Tarraco. The viaduct consists of two rows of superimposed arches, the lower one is made up of 11 arches 6.3 meters high and 5.7 meters high. The upper one has 25 arches of similar dimensions. The maximum height of the viaduct is 27 meters and the length is 217 meters. The arched construction is crowned by a conduit through which water circulated and which originally was covered. The floor of the water channel had to be waterproofed with a characteristic mortar (opus signinum) that prevented loss of water.

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Visiting History of Tarragona Museum Roman Pont Del Diable Aqueduct

The top of the viaduct has a path that you can walk along and enjoy the views.

The viaduct is in a park that is open 24x7. however I recommend visiting it during daylight hours.

Accessibility, mobility & Clothing for Roman Tarragona Pont Del Diable Aquaduct

Access to the viaduct is via a gravel path in a woodland park so I would advise taking a bottle of water. Although step free it does require a little walking to reach.

There is a cafeteria inside the Roman Aqueduct park.

Day Trip Rucksack

Small 10L day trip and museums rucksack

Convertible Trousers

Lightweight convertible trousers that zip down to shorts

Mid layer Top

Light weight cotton quick dry T-shirt

Trail shoes

Lightweight comfortable trail shoes

Summer socks

Ankle spring/summer socks

Fleece jacket or Jersey

Light weight warm fleece

Emergency Poncho

Small folded lightweight Water proof poncho for emergencies

0.8L water bottle

Reusable, refillable 1L water bottle.

Getting to History of Tarragona Museum Roman Pont Del Diable Aqueduct

Address: Barranc del Diable S/N, Tarragona. 43003

From Barcelona there are frequent REGIONAL trains with a journey time of

Use a Regional Train service to Tarragona. Journey time of about 1 hour 10 minutes, departing from Barcelona-Estacio de franca, Barcelona-passeig de Gracia and Barcelona-Sants.

The viaduct is located in a park about 10 minutes outside of Tarragona city via bus or taxi. From the Roman wall, walk to Plaza Imperial Tarraco. From here get a number 5 bus to ponte de diablo bus stop. Busses every half an hour. Consult Movit Bus app.

Another option would be to get a taxi.

Documents for History of Tarragona Museum Roman Pont Del Diable Aqueduct

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