network

Under the quaint Provençal village of Arles, the skeleton of a lost empire in stone, lime, and lead has been unboxed through geological archaeology. Researchers and scientists working on the project have deciphered the history of this vast and efficient hydraulic network of the Roman waterworks that formerly served Arles. The telling material? Carbonate: mineral-rich limescale that built up inside Roman aqueducts, basins, and even pipes over centuries. Their research, published in Geoarchaeology, brings isotopic analysis together with archaeological excavation to recreate the dynamic life of one of the ancient world's most sophisticated water networks. "This study clearly shows how a Roman aqueduct worked over several centuries and was transformed at different times by the Romans, efficiently maintained and modified