Barbegal aqueduct and mills

The Barbegal aqueduct and mills was a Roman watermill complex located on the territory of the commune of Fontvieille, Bouches-du-Rhône, near the town of Arles, in southern France.

The Roman aqueducts that fed the mills were also built to supply water to the town of Arles (then called Arelate).

Vertical water mills were well known to the Romans, being described by Vitruvius in his De architectura of 25 BC,[5] and mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historiæ of 77 AD.

The use of multiple stacked sequences of reverse overshot water wheels was widespread in Roman mines, especially in Spain and Wales.

Visitors to Barbegal may park where a minor road (Route de L’Aqueduc) crosses the massive remains of the original aqueduct, and, with olive orchards on either side, walk south about 250 meters along the partially erect remains of the aqueduct and through the three meter deep rock-hewn cleft emerging at the top of the mill complex.