My visit to the south of France several years ago, included a trip to the Pont du Gard. A feat of Roman ingenuity and architecture, the Pont du Gard is an ancient aqueduct bridge that crosses the Gardon River and is part of a 31 mile long aqueduct that runs between Uzès and Nîmes. The aqueduct was constructed in the 1st century AD and is the highest of all Roman aqueduct bridges, as well as one of the best preserved.
Amazingly, it was constructed entirely without the use of mortar.

The aqueduct’s stones – some of which weigh up to 6 tons – are held together with iron clamps. The masonry was lifted into place by block and tackle with a massive human-powered treadmill providing the power for the winch. A complex scaffold was erected to support the aqueduct as it was being built. The face of the aqueduct still bears the mark of its construction, in the form of protruding scaffolding supports and ridges on the piers which supported the semicircular wooden frames on which the arches were constructed. It is believed to have taken about three years to build, employing between 800 and 1,000 workers. It was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1985, and today, is one of the most popular attractions in France.

To walk across the Pont du Gard one can only imagine how different life must have been for those workers who assembled it, and how different the surrounding countryside must’ve also been. It is an amazing piece of history and one that shouldn’t be missed. Accomodations can be had close by in Avignon, St Remy, Uzes, Arles and Nimes, and tour buses and transportation to the site is plentiful.