page_title: De architectura
section_title: Roman technology
hierarchical_section_title: De architectura / Roman technology
caption_attribution_description: English: Pont du Gard, in Vers-Pont-du-Gard, Gard department, South France. The Pont du Gard is the most famous part of the roman aqueduct which carried water from Uzès to Nîmes until roughly the 9th century when maintenance was abandoned. The monument is 49m high and now 275m long (it was 360m when intact) at its top. It's the highest roman aqueduct, but also one of the best preserved (with the aqueduct of Segovia). The Pont du Gard is a UNESCO world heritage site since 1985. Français&#160;: Le Pont du Gard, à Vers-Pont-du-Gard, département du Gard, région Languedoc-Roussillon, France. Le Pont du Gard (1er siècle C.E.) est la partie la plus célèbre de l'aqueduc romain qui conduisait l'eau d'Uzès à Nîmes, jusqu'au 9ème siècle où l'on cessa de l'entretenir. Le monument fait 49 mètres de haut et aujourd'hui 275 mètres de long (360 mètres quand il était intact). C'est l'aqueduc roman le plus haut, mais aussi, avec celui de Ségovie, l'un des mieux préservés. Le Pont du Gard est un site du patrimoine mondial de l'humanité de l'UNESCO depuis 1985. Español: El Pont du Gard (puente del Gard), en Vers-Pont-du-Gard, departamento de Gard, en la región de Languedoc-Rosellón, sur de Francia, es la parte más conocida del acueducto romano que conducía el agua desde Uzès a Nîmes hasta el siglo&#160;IX, cuando cesó su actividad. El puente mide 49&#160;metros de alto y 275&#160;metros de largo (360&#160;m cuando se encontraba intacto en la antigüedad). Es el acueducto romano más alto y también, junto al de Segovia, en España, uno de los mejor conservados. El Pont du Gard fue declarado Patrimonio Mundial de la Humanidad por la UNESCO en 1985.
context_page_description: De architectura is a treatise on architecture written by the Roman architect and military engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio and dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesar Augustus, as a guide for building projects. As the only treatise on architecture to survive from antiquity, it has been regarded since the Renaissance as the first book on architectural theory, as well as a major source on the canon of classical architecture. It contains a variety of information on Greek and Roman buildings, as well as prescriptions for the planning and design of military camps, cities, and structures both large and small. Since Vitruvius published before the development of cross vaulting, domes, concrete, and other innovations associated with Imperial Roman architecture, his ten books give no information on these hallmarks of Roman building design and technology.
context_section_description: De architectura is important for its descriptions of many different machines used for engineering structures, such as hoists, cranes, and pulleys, as well as war machines such as catapults, ballistae, and siege engines.  Vitruvius also described the construction of sundials and water clocks, and the use of an aeolipile (the first steam engine) as an experiment to demonstrate the nature of atmospheric air movements (wind).
caption: The Pont du Gard Roman aqueduct in southern France.
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