@ARTICLE{10.21494/ISTE.OP.2021.0612, 

TITLE={Carbonates and "water memory": the contribution of legal texts to the management of urban aqueducts}, 
  
AUTHOR={Philippe Leveau, }, 
	
JOURNAL={Archaeology, Society and Environment}, 
	
VOLUME={1}, 

NUMBER={Issue 1}, 
	
YEAR={2020}, 

URL={http://openscience.fr/Carbonates-and-water-memory-the-contribution-of-legal-texts-to-the-management}, 
	
DOI={10.21494/ISTE.OP.2021.0612}, 
	
ISSN={2752-4507}, 
	
ABSTRACT={This article aims to draw the attention of geoarchaeologists who work on the carbonate deposits (sinter) of aqueducts to the importance of the legal regulation, which framed the use of aqueducts. The approach followed is historiographic. It is based on the study of the aqueduct of Nîmes, an urban aqueduct as well as the study of the south branch of the aqueduct of Arles. This one was assigned to private use, supplying of the mills of Barbegal. The residents along the line of a public aqueduct were allowed to use the water for a fee. They had the legal obligation to maintain the conduit and its surroundings. The regulations applicable to the Barbegal aqueduct were governed by private law. The characteristics and the importance of the concretions of the Nîmes aqueduct depend as much on a natural evolution as on interventions on the canal for water intakes and for its maintenance. In the case of the Barbegal aqueduct, the observation of the concretions and their analyses show (1) that the mills did not function throughout the year, (2) that the building was originally covered only by a roof that was subsequently removed or destroyed, (3) the aqueduct served as a water reserve during its period of use.}}