Segovia - Roman Aqueduct

(Local Name: Acueducto Romano) The hub of the town's traffic is the Plaza del Azoguejo, in a depression below the old town, where all the roads to Segovia meet. The square is traversed by the magnificent Roman aqueduct, probably built in the late A.D. first century in the reign of Trajan, which ranks with the walls of Tarragona as one of the two largest surviving Roman structures in Spain. The water channel, still bringing water from the Sierra de Fuenfría, 17km/11mi away, is carried over the deep valley now occupied by the outlying districts of the town on 118 arches, built of granite blocks laid without mortar or metal cramps, with a total length of 818m/895yd. The arches range in height between 7m/23ft and 28.5m/96ft, and 43 of them, covering 276m/302yd of the total length, starting from a sharp bend in the southern part of the town, are double-tiered. The aqueduct conveys the water to the upper town, ending at the Alcázar in an underground channel.