Alcantarilla Dam

The Alcantarilla Dam is a ruined Roman gravity dam in Mazarambroz, Toledo province, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, dating to the 1st century AD. The toponym "Alcantarilla" means conduit and is of Arabic origin:[2] the Latin name is unknown.[1]

Alcantarilla Dam
LocationToledo province, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
Coordinates39°39′36″N 4°3′28″W
Opening date1st century
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsGuajaraz (Tajo basin)[1]
Height20 m (66 ft)
Length>800 m (2,600 ft)
Width (base)4 m (13 ft)?

The dam and reservoir were part of the water supply system of the city of Toletum (Toledo). The structure appears to have been similar to the surviving Proserpina Dam near Merida, an earth dam with a stone retaining wall.[3]

Conservation

The structure has been in ruins for a long time. There has been speculation that it was not strong enough to cope with a large volume of water. It was possibly breached in the Roman era.[3]

The remains of Toledo's Roman water supply system are partly protected by a heritage designation (Bien de Interés Cultural).[4]

See also

Notes
  1. Spann, P. "Places: 268784 (Untitled)". Pleiades. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  2. It is the diminutive of "alcántara" from the Arabic word al-QanTarah (القنطرة) meaning "the bridge".
  3. Arenillas & Castillo 2003
  4. "Restos del acueducto" [Remains of the aqueduct] (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 May 2018.

References

Further reading
  • Hodge, A. Trevor (1992), Roman Aqueducts & Water Supply, London: Duckworth, pp. 87–89, ISBN 0-7156-2194-7
  • Schnitter, Niklaus (1978), "Römische Talsperren", Antike Welt, 8 (2): 25–32 (29)
  • Smith, Norman (1971), A History of Dams, London: Peter Davies, p. 48, ISBN 0-432-15090-0


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.