The actual name of the aqueduct located in Tomar is the Aqueduct dos Pegões Altos. It is also named the Aqueduct of the Covent of the Christ, as it was built to bring water to such Covent. Will you dare walk on it?
The Tomar aqueduct in short
It’s just a short drive from Tomar city and is a nice addition to your visit of the Convent of the Christ a UNESCO World Heritage site in Tomar.
Despite its conditions, the aqueduct is not from the Roman era. I know, you already knew that: The Romans did not used pointed arches and they clearly show on the picture below! Well spotted!
Indeed the Tomar aqueduct was built much later. Its construction started in 1593 under the reign of Philippe I. Philippe I never saw the finished work, as he died before the aqueduct was finished in 1614.
The Tomar aqueduct used to get water from 4 different sources located in Pegões. It was 6km (3.7 miles) long and initially ended in a park near the Tomar city. In 1619, the aqueduct was extended to reach the Covent in the Dom João III cloister.
Tip: When visiting the Covent of the Christ, you have to walk in the park to see the aqueduct!
The aqueduct apparently has a total of 180 vaulted arches. 58 for the highest part which are held by 16 pointed arches.
At its highest point the aqueduct of Tomar is 30m (98 feet)….
Will you dare walk on it?!
To access the walkable part of the aqueduct is easy. On each side there are 2 little towers which were settling basins. Just walk up the stairs and cross such little towers to start your journey… if you dare!
As mentionner just above, the aqueduct is 30 meter high or 98 feet. This is actually pretty high if you ask me! When you start, it is lower though and it does seem totally manageable at first…
As you get closer to the bend, things change slightly. The little road which passes below seems to be luring you to look down. Your feet might start to feel unstable on the little path. Your heart may start pounding louder in your chest…
The part where the water used to flow is still high and you’ll probably be walking with one hand holding on to the wall. Thanking God it isn’t closed anymore!
If you manage to pass the bend, things will change slightly. The little edge on the path will soon disappear. It wasn’t really high to start with but felt like a nice security. It helped not to watch your feet. Now, you will have to, which also means seeing the road below…
The questions in your head will probably be “should I continue or turn around!?” “Is this safe?” “Will I die here?!” Ok maybe not the last one!!
If you want to turn around you need to consider if there are other people coming your way. Crossing will not be that easy!
If you continue, you can come back to your starting point on the firm ground. That’s a nice idea!! But the condition of the path seems to deteriorate and you can’t really be sure you won’t step onto a rock or a piece that is about to break loose. The choice is hard!
Wondering what I did?
I won’t hide it: I turned around before the bend! My heart was pounding in my chest, my legs were wobbly. I totally freaked out! if you’ve read the tale of the shower coin, you already know I don’t do well with height!
I don’t even know what got me thinking I could walk on the aqueduct in the first place? I headed there straight on, like it was nothing… then reality caught up with me and my whole body was like: WTF are you doing?!
I went back down and after a little while, I walked on the path below the aqueduct to take some pictures. I felt better on the ground!! And quite frankly, you get to see the aqueduct much better.
A word of wisdom
There are 0 health & safety measures on the aqueduct and there are few tourists. There might be no one to come & rescue you or just help you and hold your hand, if you feel stuck up there. Don’t do it, if you don’t feel capable or if you know you are scare of height. It’s not worth it.
Plus, the views from below are much better!
How did aqueducts work?
Aqueducts were part of a whole ingenious water management system, invented by the Minoans around 2000 BCE, extensively used the Greeks and perfected by the Romans, to bring water to cities.
Depending on the landscape, covered trenches, tunnels, bridges, aqueducts, and inverted siphons were built.
Originally aqueducts referred to any elements that conducted water. Simple covered trenches were used whenever possible and elevated with built up elements, only when necessary. Nowadays, the word aqueduct only refers to the monumental constructions, like we see here in Tomar.
Conceptually aqueducts are simple: they are formed by a water channel supported by walls which can have arches. To enable the water flow in the water channel, a shallow slop is required. The water channel is closed to limit evaporation and dirt but isn’t air proof. The water just circulate in the water chanel by gravity.
Same concept for tunnels and covered trenches really. Just a shallow slop and various accesses for maintenance.
Where valleys were broad and deep, aqueducts were built and a lot of them have survived the passing of time so we can admire them today.
enlarge to better understand this representation of a whole water supply system
In specific circumstances inverted syphons were also used. Romans seemed reluctant to build aqueducts of more than 50 meters high because of stability problems. In case a deep ravine needed to be crossed, an inverted syphon was a good option. It was also used to bring water to hilltops where cities or forts were built for defensive purpose.
What is an inverted siphon? It is an ingenious ensemble!
An inverted syphon includes a header tank where water quantity builds up and create pressure. From such tank, the water goes into an air proof series of terra-cotta or lead pipes down toward a venter bridge and back up to the receiving tank located on the other side of the valley, almost at the same height as the receiving tank. The Greeks had discovered the law of the communicating vessels!
It’s brilliant but really not that easy to implement. The inverted syphon has to be 100% water tight to work. Leaks and air bubbles could render the siphon useless.
After all that, the water arrived close to its destination and was stored in distribution or storage basins also called in latin a castellum divisorium.
So there you have it. You now have a pretty good idea of how water was brought to cities in the past and what the different constructions used were.
It’s kind of useful when visiting Europe because there are numerous aqueducts around!
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