This photo was taken (Jan 09) on our hike in search of the Roman aqueduct that existed in the Roman/Byzantine period on the back side of Khirbet el-Ḥebbēsa. I have doctored the photo and imposed a sample aqueduct where the remains indicated it ran across the gorge. The original aqueduct would have fed the five cisterns that I've calculated held over 1 million litres of water and would have been magnificent in its day. This water system was more than enough to supply a large city like Livias. This photo was taken the day before we located the aqueduct remains and had walked right through the base of the V in the gorge because they were so camouflaged. With the help of Dr. Kay Prags article and map several of us went back the next day and after much searching were able to see the water channels at the top of both sides of the gorge. The remains of the aqueduct were evident once located. We measured, photographed, and GPS'ed the ruins and just enjoyed the satisfaction of finding the water source from the hills somwhere behind. The aqueduct spanned 43.5 meters of the gorge and was 19m high. The recreation of the aqueduct in the photo shows what it might have looked like. Tall e-Hammam is located just behind the aqueduct in the photo. More details will be provided in an upcoming publication.
Apr 2, 2009
Roman Aqueduct of Khirbet el-Ḥebbēsa that fed Tall el-Hammam
This photo was taken (Jan 09) on our hike in search of the Roman aqueduct that existed in the Roman/Byzantine period on the back side of Khirbet el-Ḥebbēsa. I have doctored the photo and imposed a sample aqueduct where the remains indicated it ran across the gorge. The original aqueduct would have fed the five cisterns that I've calculated held over 1 million litres of water and would have been magnificent in its day. This water system was more than enough to supply a large city like Livias. This photo was taken the day before we located the aqueduct remains and had walked right through the base of the V in the gorge because they were so camouflaged. With the help of Dr. Kay Prags article and map several of us went back the next day and after much searching were able to see the water channels at the top of both sides of the gorge. The remains of the aqueduct were evident once located. We measured, photographed, and GPS'ed the ruins and just enjoyed the satisfaction of finding the water source from the hills somwhere behind. The aqueduct spanned 43.5 meters of the gorge and was 19m high. The recreation of the aqueduct in the photo shows what it might have looked like. Tall e-Hammam is located just behind the aqueduct in the photo. More details will be provided in an upcoming publication.
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1 comment:
Excellent job with the photo. I assumed it was real until you pulled back the curtain.
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