In Armenia, archaeologists have recovered the remains of a Roman aqueduct. The Romans seem to have started the building enthusiastically, but it was never finished.

Archaeologists found remains of the aqueduct’s foundation during excavations in Artashat. A place that served as the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia for several centuries around the beginning of the era. “The monumental foundations testify to an unfinished aqueduct built by the Roman army between 114 and 117 AD,” said researcher Achim Lichtenberger. “At that time, Artashat was destined to become the capital of the Roman province of Armenia.”

Big effort

It was the heyday of the Roman Empire which reached its maximum size during that period. Emperor Trajan annexed several territories, including the Kingdom of Armenia, which in the year 115 became a Roman province named Armenia. “The planned and partly completed construction of the aqueduct in Artashat shows that a great effort was made in a very short time to connect the infrastructure of the capital of the province of Armenia with that of the Roman Empire,” said researcher Torben Schreiber .

Never completed

But the excavations also show that the aqueduct was never completed. “The aqueduct was left unfinished, because after Trajan’s death in AD 117, his successor Hadrian left the Armenian province before the aqueduct was completed.” In the eyes of the archaeologists, the aqueduct thus testifies to the failure of Roman imperialism in Armenia. “After the establishment of the (Roman) Armenian province, Trajan moved south and marched victoriously through Adiabene, central and southern Mesopotamia and, after conquering Babylon, Seleucia on the Tigris and Ctesiphon, journeyed on to the coast of the Persian Gulf,” the researchers write in their research article. “Besides Armenia, two more eastern provinces were thus created: Adiabene and Mesopotamia. But Roman dominance was short-lived: anti-Roman revolts flared up in all conquered kingdoms by the end of AD 116, and the Roman Empire was unable to suppress them. After Trajan’s death, Hadrian left the province and the army left Artashat.” Armenia became a kingdom again, but under a king appointed by the Romans.

The research

The aqueduct must have been forgotten in the centuries that followed. Archaeologists discovered it during geomagnetic research, in which magnetic anomalies can be used to discover what is hidden in the soil. The investigation revealed a number of anomalies that were all on the same page. Follow-up research showed that it was the remains of the pillars of an aqueduct. An analysis of the lime mortar used to make the pillars reveals a typical Roman recipe. And soil samples confirm that the pillars were erected during the time of the Romans.

Eastern

The aqueduct is not only special, because it dates from a rather special period of Armenian history. The building will also be remembered as the easternmost Roman vaulted aqueduct that has been found to date.

Archaeologists are not yet finished with Artashat and its surroundings. The excavations continue as usual; it is hoped that these could provide more insight into the influences that nearby Central Asia, Iran and the Mediterranean region had on the ancient city and its inhabitants.