Nijmegen: Aquaduct

Lake along the Meerwijkselaan, Berg en Dal.

Nijmegen: city in the Netherlands, where several Roman settlements have been discovered.

The Roman legionary base at the Hunerberg offered accomodation to thousands of men, who need lots of water - more water than was available. The solution was the construction of a simple aquaduct. The wells were to the south, and still exist: small lakes, like the one on the first photo and on this satellite photo.

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Canal in Museumpark Orientalis. Photo Jona Lendering.

Canal in Museumpark Orientalis (Louisedal)

Originally, the water fled to the west, but the Roman engineers discovered that, by digging several shortcuts, the water would flow to the north, through the site of the modern village Heilig-Landstichting, through the Marienbosch park, and then -by constructing a dike across a small depression- to the Hunerberg. The valleys and canals are still visible, and the dike is also recognizable, although it is no longer very high. It is called the Broerdijk.

Canal in the Marienbosch park

Taken together, the canals and the dike are seven kilometer long. They are among the largest archaeological sites of the Netherlands; perhaps only the dike along the Rhine that was part of the Limes was bigger.