This area has lots of Roman history. Arles was an important Roman colony for hundreds of years. They built all kinds of structures to make their lives as Roman as if they were living in Italy.
Today we visited the ruins of the Roman Aqueducs de Barbegal, near Fontvielle. One aqueduct supplied water to Arles, and the other fed water to a flour mill.
This construction dates to at least the 2nd century. The integrity of the arches is amazing.
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| Arches |
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| Side of aqueduct |
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| The top of the aqueduct |
As we walked through the chute where water was delivered to the flour mill, we heard a peculiar sound, which vaguely resembled falling water. But listening more carefully, and looking out at the field below all the mills, we realized it was bells around the necks of sheep and goats that were grazing. Each animal had it's own bell, so even if only a few animals were moving, their bells could be heard.
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| The water chute above the mill |
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| The bell-wearing goats and sheep |
A lovely experience at a site we have visited several times before.
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