Pont du Gard, an Ancient Roman Aqueduct Bridge in Southern France
The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge that crosses the Gardon River in southern France. It is part of the Nîmes aqueduct, a 50 km-long structure built by the Romans to carry water from a spring at Uzès to the Roman colony of Nîmes.
Because the terrain between the two points is hilly, the aqueduct took a long, winding route that crossed the gorge of the Gardon, requiring the construction of an aqueduct bridge. Built in the 1st century AD, the Pont du Gard is the highest of all Roman aqueduct bridges and is the best preserved.
The bridge has three tiers of arches, standing 48.8 m high. The whole aqueduct descends in height by only 17 m over its entire length, while the bridge descends by a mere 2.5 cm which is indicative of the great precision that Roman engineers were able to achieve using only simple technology. The aqueduct formerly carried an estimated 200,000 cubic metres of water a day to the fountains, baths and homes of the citizens of Nîmes. It continued to be used possibly until the 6th century, with some parts used for significantly longer, but lack of maintenance after the 4th century meant that it became increasingly clogged by mineral deposits and debris that eventually choked off the flow of water.
After the collapse of the Roman Empire and the aqueduct's fall into disuse, the Pont du Gard remained largely intact due to the importance of its secondary function as a toll bridge. It attracted increasing attention starting in the 18th century and became an important tourist destination. It underwent a series of renovations between the 18th and 21st centuries. Today it is one of France's most popular tourist attractions and has attracted the attention of a succession of literary and artistic visitors.
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The Medieval Tower Castle Gate ( 3D Printed )
Please watch: (10) Christmas Winter Scene ( Laser Engraved )
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The Medieval Tower Castle Gate ( 3D Printed )
A tower castle is a small castle that mainly consists of a fortified tower or a tower-like structure that is built on natural ground. It is thus different from the motte-and-bailey castle, which it may resemble, but whose main defensive structure is built on a motte or artificial hill. The tower castle is occasionally also described as a tower house castle or a tower house.
Sometimes, during the development of a castle, it might be converted from a tower castle to a motte-and-bailey type, if the initial, ground level site is later remodelled by the construction of an artificial mound for the keep or bergfried. The habitable but also fortified tower castle became the permanent private residence of numerous lords during the 11th and 12th centuries.
Since many tower castles had at least a few additional structures such as a curtain wall, often only a few metres long, its overlap with an ordinary castle is fluid, as is its transition to the fortified house.
The word castle is derived from the Latin word castellum, which is a diminutive of the word castrum, meaning fortified place. The Old English castel, Old French castel or chastel, French château, Spanish castillo, Portuguese castelo, Italian castello, and a number of words in other languages also derive from castellum. The word castle was introduced into English shortly before the Norman Conquest to denote this type of building, which was then new to England.
A portcullis (from the French porte coulissante, sliding door) is a heavy vertically-closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications, consisting of a latticed grille made of wood, metal, or a combination of the two, which slides down grooves inset within each jamb of the gateway.
Portcullises fortified the entrances to many medieval castles, securely closing off the castle during time of attack or siege. Every portcullis was mounted in vertical grooves in the walls of the castle and could be raised or lowered quickly by means of chains or ropes attached to an internal winch.
Often, two portcullises to the main entrance would be used. The one closer to the inside would be closed first, and then the one farther away. This was used to trap the enemy, and often, burning wood or fire-heated sand would be dropped onto them from the roof or murder-holes. Hot oil, however, was not commonly used in this manner, contrary to popular belief, since oil was extremely expensive. Arrows lits in the sides of the walls enabled archers and crossbowmen to eliminate the trapped group of attackers.
In England, working portcullises survive at the Tower of London, Monk Bar, York and Hever Castle, Kent and at the hotel conversion, Amberley Castle.
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