We‘ve focused our attention on the central part of the city, where you can undoubtedly get lost among the remains of the Roman Stadium, the Ancient Theater and the impressive architecture along Main Street and in Old Plovdiv. We drink coffee and eat deliciously in the colorful Kapana district and rarely get to the more peripheral neighborhoods of Plovdiv, where, however, there is a real and impressive find from Roman times that will also amaze you.
The remains of the two aqueducts in Plovdiv are the only ones preserved in our lands. The western one is more impressive. Today it can be seen above the Komatevo road junction and with its scale testifies to the significance of the city of Philippopolis during Antiquity. It was built in the 2nd-3rd century and consists of two main aqueducts, diverting the mountain springs at the foot of the Rhodopes and uniting near the Komatevo district. The main catchments are located near the present-day villages of Kuklen and Markovo, and the construction was carried out by slaves. The aqueducts were restored in the 1980s, with the foundations being authentic, and their discovery took place in 1935, when archaeologist Dimitar Tsonchev studied the water supply of Philippopolis.
The impressive water supply system didn’t just run above ground. In fact, most of the pipelines were clay pipes dug underground. Two parallel aqueducts were directed from Komatevo to the Youth Hill, which ran along the slopes of the Youth Hill, Bunardzhika and Sahat Tepe, and the slope was towards Taksim Tepe. The mountain water was collected there, and then headed in the different directions of the city. Water was mainly supplied to public buildings and city fountains, as well as a small part of the homes of the richest families.
There aren’t many cities in Europe where aqueducts have been discovered. They were expensive and difficult to build, and only rich and important settlements could afford them. Parts of this type of equipment are exhibited in Rome, and the ruins of the longest and well-preserved Roman aqueduct can be seen in France, near the city of Nîmes - this is the so-called Bridge over the Gard River (Pont du Gard).
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