Roman brick aqueduct tunnel found in nature preserve

The remains of a Roman aqueduct have been found in the Borsacchio Nature Reserve on the Adriatic coast of the central Italian region of Abruzzo. The underground brick structure was uncovered during work on a gas pipeline in a hilly stretch of the reserve near the town of Cologna Spiaggia. The conduit likely dates to the Imperial period (1st-4th century A.D.), likely to the later part of it.

Previous archaeological investigations conducted in the area between the 1980s and the early 2000s have found evidence of a thriving Roman town with pottery kilns for amphora production, a large country villa from the Late Republican era, two necropolises and a fortress guarding the strategically important port where the Tordino river flowed into the Adriatic. A Roman inscription found in a nearby monastery records construction work done to an important public edifice by local praetors M. Petulcius e L. Satrius.

The local amphora factory played a part in the construction of the aqueduct. Large fragments of broken amphorae were used to build the base of the pipeline. The sides and a vaulted ceiling were then built up with neatly laid bricks and hydraulic mortar. The pipeline extends from west to east, going through the hill.

Unfortunately the structure was damaged during the works by the bucket of the bulldozer, leaving a hole in the top of the brick tunnel, but workers immediately realized they’d stumbled on something of archaeological significance and stopped what they were doing, preventing any further harm. The bricks are still present and the hole should be comparatively easy to repair. The crew reported the find to the Superintendency of Archaeological Heritage and for now, the gas pipeline modernization project is on hold.

* This article was originally published here