40 centuries of history
Best known for its Roman aqueduct, the Pont de Gard actually has a much older history. Archaeology takes us back in time to discover its prehistoric past.
Grotte de la Salpêtrière
The Grotte de la Salpêtrière (listed as a Historic Monument in 1931). It is one of the major sites of French prehistory.
Known as a prehistoric site since the 19th century, it contained more than 6 metres of superimposed dwellings representing 20 millennia of human history.
Our ‘Salpetrian’ ancestors (19,000 years ago), hunter-gatherers, set up their huts and camps here.
One of the first animal engravings on bone discovered in France was found here, and is kept at the Museum of Natural History in Nîmes.
On the right bank of the river, its wide opening onto the esplanade not far from the Pont du Gard draws visitors' attention.
Built around 50 AD, under the reigns of Claudius or Nero, the aqueduct to which the Pont du Gard belongs supplied the city of Nîmes with large quantities of pressurised water for 5 centuries. The Roman city of Nîmes, the ancient ‘Nemausus’, grew so rapidly in the 1st century that it decided to equip itself with an aqueduct, following in the footsteps of Rome, the capital and model for the entire Roman Empire. With an average gradient of 25 cm per kilometre, one of the lowest ever achieved at the time, the aqueduct carried 30,000 to 40,000 m3 of running water per day by gravity from a spring in Uzès, over a distance of 50 kilometres to Nîmes.
At 49 metres high, the Pont du Gard is the highest Roman aqueduct bridge in the world.
It is the only example of an ancient 3-storey bridge still standing today. Nearly a thousand men worked on this colossal project, which took just 5 years to complete.
Centuries of use
At the beginning of the 6th century, when the region was dominated by the Franks and the Visigoths, the Pont du Gard was finally abandoned and its structures came to be used as quarries for building materials. From the Middle Ages onwards the monument fulfilled many different functions with little to do with its original design it a source of inspiration for many Renaissance artists.
The first twelve arches of the third level were taken to build several churches and buildings in the surrounding area. The bridge's upper passage, which was wider and more dangerous, was condemned.
It was at this time that the first mention of the Pont du Gard appeared in the form of ‘Pons de Gartio’. It appears in a document dated 1295 concerning a toll that the King of France, Philippe le Bel, granted to the Lord of Uzès in exchange for the barony of Lunel.
At the time, the road leading to Beaucaire and its famous fair passed through the Pont du Gard. Traffic was increasing sharply at this time, which is why it was necessary to create a better passage for carts and animals at the middle level of the monument. Access ramps were built and the piers on the second level were further indented (on the west side). However, this effervescence posed a real danger to the structure, which could have collapsed.
It should be noted that the builders of the Pont d'Avignon and the Pont-Saint-Esprit were greatly inspired by the Pont du Gard.
Winter 1429-1430: Following a high water level in the Gardon during the winter, King Charles VII is said to have ordered the States of Languedoc ‘to work without delay to repair this extremely damaged building’. A certain awareness of the need to conserve the monument began to emerge around this time.
In 1565: Charles de l'Ecluse's map is the oldest official document to mention the Pont du Gard, as ‘an admirable bridge, the work of the Romans, once an aqueduct’.
It was customary for the Compagnons du Tour de France to come and salute and be inspired by this feat of Roman architecture. To leave a trace of their passage, they engraved their marks and tools.
More than 320 companion marks have been found on the building. The oldest mark dates back to 1611 and the most recent to 1989. Today, no-one carves their name into the stone.
From 1696 to 1702: under the direction of the architects Daviler and de Laurens, major restoration work was carried out to repair the damage caused by cart traffic and the excavation of the piers: corbelling and filling in the indentations. Awareness of the need to conserve the Pont du Gard was growing, and the great architects of the day took a growing interest.
Between 1743 and 1747: the States of Languedoc ordered the construction of a road bridge alongside the aqueduct bridge. Henri Pitot (Pitot tube and Montpellier aqueduct) was the engineer in charge of the project. To mark the occasion, the Estel quarry was reopened to carry out this large-scale project.
Discover or download the story of Henri Pitot: the man, the engineer and his inventions (1695-1771) by Michel Desbordes, Professor at Polytech'Montpellier, and Michel Lescure, Director of Modernisation and Development of the Road Network, Conseil Général du Gard.
https://www.pontdugard.fr/sites/default/files//documents/conference_pitot.pdf
In 1840, Prosper Mérimée, the 1st Inspector of Historic Monuments, noted the sad state of the Pont du Gard: "The great arches are in a terrible state, a number of keystones are detached and all are gnawed in such a way as to give great cause for concern. The rapporteur thinks that this is a matter that should be dealt with without wasting any time, as the administration would be unforgivable if an accident were to occur.
Mérimée had the Pont du Gard included on the first list of Historic Monuments. This step accelerated the process of preserving the Pont du Gard.
Between 1842 and 1846, two restoration campaigns were carried out to save the monument from its state of disrepair. Charles Questel, the architect in charge of monuments in Nîmes and the Pont du Gard, carried out the work. A spiral staircase was built at the same time.
Between 1844 and 1845: engineers considered reusing the aqueduct to supply Nîmes and its textile industries.
From 1855 to 1859: a second restoration campaign was carried out by the architect Jean-Charles Laisné.
Around 1865: a coaching inn was built on the first railway line to be established in the Gard.
From 1936: the upheavals linked to tourism accelerated. The passage of vehicles over the road bridge caused vibrations that threatened to topple the structure. To avoid this catastrophe, 310 tonnes of cement were injected into the sensitive areas.
In 1959, a campsite was built on the right bank of the river, marking the beginning of an exploitation that showed little respect for the monument and its environment.
In 1985, the Pont du Gard was listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site, and plans for a cultural facility on the site began to be studied.
From 1986 onwards, the General Council carried out studies into the development of the site. A defence committee was set up.
1988 saw the creation of a scientific council. Its aim was to guide the designers of development projects.
1998: the Pont du Gard development project was adopted (Declaration of Public Utility), putting an end to the anarchy and degradation of the site.
In 2000, the site was opened to the public, and the exhibition areas were opened in 2001.
2003: the Pont du Gard became an EPCC (Etablissement Public de Coopération Culturelle).
2004: the Pont du Gard was awarded the Grand Site de France label. This means that the ancient monument and its natural environment can be preserved and showcased to a certain extent.
In 2015: the EPCC adopted a five-year restoration plan to protect the remains of the aqueduct.
With 1,500,000 visitors, it is now France's most visited ancient monument.
1985 marked the year in which the Pont du Gard was officially listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although this designation testifies to the monument's exceptional universal value, the Département du Gard, anticipating a major new influx of tourists, took the decision to protect and develop the Gard's most visited cultural and tourist site.
Before 2000, the Pont du Gard site had no reception facilities, basic services or information. On the other hand, the image of the area around the monument is blurred by a patchwork of incongruous elements, road signs and activities linked to the tourist industry. Wild" footpaths are eroding the scrubland. Infrastructure dedicated to cars is only a few dozen metres away (roundabouts and parking areas). Cars, buses and lorries travelled on the bridge until 1996!
During the period 1996-2000, a major development project was undertaken by the Gard Department within a 165-hectare area around the monument, with the support of the Languedoc-Roussillon Regional Council, the French government and European funds. The aim of the project is to protect and conserve the site. As for visitors, the aim is to create the best possible conditions for them to visit the site, while also offering them cultural content on the subject of their visit.
The philosophy behind the new development can be summed up in four guiding principles:
- Protection of the environment and heritage;
- Quality of welcome;
- Passing on knowledge about the ancient aqueduct of Nîmes;
- Local economic development.
New life has been breathed into the area. It has been completely returned to pedestrians, and all traces of motorised civilisation have been erased.
The Pont du Gard site, which has been restored to its original state, benefits from an exceptional natural environment within a 500-metre perimeter. Road traffic is banned and vehicles are invited to park in new areas set back from the bridge. On each bank, 500 metres from the bridge on either side of the Gardon, two reception buildings (invisible from the monument) have been built to welcome and inform the public. To highlight the technical feat achieved by the Romans and respect the landscape, the designers of the project opted for modernity and discretion.
In 1998, the architectural project was entrusted to Jean-Paul Viguier, the internationally renowned French architect who won the competition. His references can be found all over the world: in France, the United States, Spain, Nigeria and elsewhere. They include the Parc André Citroën, the Médiathèque Cathédrale in Reims, the headquarters of France Télévision, the MacMay Museum in San Antonio, the Sofitel Hotel in Chicago and the Tour Cœur Défense in Paris. Its style is resolutely contemporary, so as not to create any confusion about the era in which it was built. It is also ‘silent’ to ensure absolute discretion in relation to the site. Volumes, materials and light are the only reference parameters for these two buildings, integrated into a living space on the edge of the Pont du Gard.
The special feature of this building is that it is 2/3 sunk into the ground and covers an area of 10,000m2 (it houses 4,500m2 of museum spaces). For the French architect, the building is like a laid stone that perfectly follows the natural curves of the land.
‘I wanted to create a fairly simple volume, a sort of stone set in the landscape’. Jean-Paul Viguier
The singularity of this building is that it was designed, built and excavated inside a quarry. It has no other shape or volume than that of the site, which is astonishing and spectacular: the quarry is its architecture. Today, the site is mainly used for seminars and conferences.
The old road has been redesigned as a walkway, forming the structuring element of the development of the site and providing a link between the various areas and the bridge. It integrates all the elements: landscape, outdoor furniture (benches, litter bins, water mirror), signage and lighting programme. Major designers have made their mark as part of the rehabilitation of this major site. Accompanied by a landscape redevelopment, all these elements are the expression of a new space around the Pont du Gard.
Technical information:
- Architecture and road programme: Jean-Paul Viguier ;
- Exterior furniture design: Maarten Van Severen;
- Landscaping of the surroundings: Laure Quoniam;
- Crossings landscaping: Philippe Deliau;
- Signage: Evelyne Deltombe;
- Pont du Gard lighting: 2000 to 2002: James Turrell | 2010 to 2014: Claudette Viguier | 2014 to 2018: Guillaume Sarrouy | 2018 to 2022: Groupe F.
Opposite the Pont du Gard, an old establishment created in 1865 has been renovated as part of the Pont du Gard site protection operation in 2000. This grand building has regained its original volume and character, and has benefited from the renovation of its façade and the demolition of additions. In 2010, the interior was given a contemporary makeover, returning it to its original purpose as a venue for regional gastronomy.
