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__NOTOC__ The Glanum Dam, also known as the ''Vallon de Baume'' dam, was a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
arch dam An arch dam is a concrete dam that is curved upstream in plan. The arch dam is designed so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch, causing the arch to straighten slightly and strengthen ...
built to supply water to the Roman town of
Glanum Glanum (Hellenistic ''Γλανόν'', as well as Glano, Calum, Clano, Clanum, Glanu, Glano) was an ancient and wealthy city which still enjoys a magnificent setting below a gorge on the flanks of the Alpilles mountains. It is located about one kil ...
, the remains of which stand outside the town of
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (; Provençal Occitan: ''Sant Romieg de Provença'' in classical and ''Sant Roumié de Prouvènço'' in Mistralian norms) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. L ...
in
Southern France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French language, French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi ...
. It was situated south of Glanum, in a gorge that cut into the hills of the
Alpilles The Chaîne des Alpilles is a small range of low mountains in Provence, southern France, located about south of Avignon. Geography The range is an extension of the much larger Luberon range. Although it is not high - some 498 m (1,634  ...
in the Roman province of
Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the ...
. Dating to the 1st century BC, it was the earliest known dam of its kind.; ; ; ; The remains of the dam were destroyed during the construction of a modern replacement in 1891, which now facilitates the supply of water to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in the
Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and large ...
region of France. The remains of the Roman dam at Glanum were discovered in 1763 by
Esprit Calvet __NOTOC__ Esprit Calvet (28 November 1728 – 25 July 1810) was a French physician and collector. Calvet came from a long established family in Avignon and was educated at the Jesuit college in the town. He studied medicine at the university ...
. A recent study shows that the dam originally was composed of two curved parallel masonry walls, each around thick and separated by a gap around wide which was likely filled with earth and rubble. The cut stone blocks were held together by crampons and finished with Cordon joints designed to protect against water entry. At each end of the dam there was an
abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...
cut into the rock of the gorge. Overall the dam stood high with a thickness of . Its dimensions and location in a steep-sided gorge point towards it being a true arch dam. The dam collected water that was fed into an aqueduct that in turn supplied the Roman town of Glanum. A modern arched dam was constructed on the same site in 1891, destroying the remains of the Roman dam. The dam's reservoir is called in French the ''Lac de Peirou'' and is accessible via the ''Chemin du Barrage''.


See also

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List of Roman dams and reservoirs This is a list of Roman dams and reservoirs. The study of Roman dam-building has received little scholarly attention in comparison to their other civil engineering activities, even though their contributions in this field have been ranked alon ...
*
Roman architecture Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered on ...
*
Roman engineering The ancient Romans were famous for their advanced engineering accomplishments. Technology for bringing running water into cities was developed in the east, but transformed by the Romans into a technology inconceivable in Greece. The architecture ...
*
Dara Dam The Dara Dam was a Roman arch dam at Dara in Mesopotamia (modern-day Turkey), a rare pre-modern example of this dam type. The modern identification of its site is uncertain, but may rather point to a common gravity dam. Ancient account The con ...


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Further reading

* * {{Roman dams 1763 archaeological discoveries 1891 disestablishments in France Buildings and structures demolished in 1891 Dams in France Ancient Roman dams Arch dams Buildings and structures in Bouches-du-Rhône Roman sites in Provence 1st-century BC establishments in Roman Gaul Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century BC Gallia Narbonensis Demolished buildings and structures in France