Pont d'Aël

Pont d'Aël
Coordinates	45°40′36″N 7°13′20″E / 45.676667°N 7.222309°E / 45.676667; 7.222309Coordinates: 45°40′36″N 7°13′20″E / 45.676667°N 7.222309°E / 45.676667; 7.222309
Carries	Aqueduct to Augusta Prætoria Salassorum (Aosta)
Crosses	Grand Eyvia
Locale	Pont d'Aël, Aymavilles, Aosta Valley, Italy
Characteristics
Design	Arch bridge
Material	Stone
Total length	60.46 m
Width	2.26 m
Height	22.15 m
Longest span	14.24 m
No. of spans	1
Clearance below	66 m (from bridge deck to torrent)
History
Construction end	3 BC
Pont d'Aël Location in Italy

The Pont d'Aël is a Roman aqueduct, located in a village of the same name in the comune of Aymavilles in Aosta Valley, northern Italy. It was built in the year 3BC for irrigation purposes and supplying water for the newly founded colony of Augusta Praetoria, which is now known as Aosta. The water was directed through a neighbouring valley 66m above the floor of the Aosta valley, through a sophisticated system. The aqueduct is 6km long in total. In addition to its unusual position, the construction, which was originally thought to be a three-story structure, shows more unique features such as a control corridor below the water line, as well as explicit private funding. Today, the water channel of the aqueduct serves as a public walking trail.

Besides the Pont d'Aël, two other Roman bridges in the Aosta valley are still intact: the Pont-Saint-Martin in the town of the same name and the Pont de Pierre in Aosta.

The bridge traverses the Grand Eyvia river at Pont d’Aël next to the entrance to the Cogne Valley, 8 km West of Aosta. Pingone recorded the first description, along with a sketch in the year 1550. Further illustrations were contributed by Baron de Malzen in 1826 and Aubert in 1860, which already showed the construction in its present form. Barocelli added measurements from 1864 after excavations on the eastern edge of the bridge in 1930.

A complete survey and documentation was first carried out in 1996 by Mathias Döring. Here it was discovered that the bridge was used to transport iron ore, as previously thought, but belonged to the growing colony of Augusta Praetoria Salassorum (modern Aosta), used as an irrigation pipeline for agricultural land and a washery for the iron ore in Cogne. The idea of it being a water supply for Augusta Praetoria was ruled out, because the town itself is supplied from the nearby river Buthier. Nevertheless, the water may have also been used, in addition to its main economic function, to meet local drinking water needs.