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What have the Romans ever done for us?
Went to Nîmes at the weekend. Spent the day roaming round the roman remains.
"The aqueduct."
"Oh. Yeah, yeah. They did give us that. Uh, that's true. Yeah."
Pont du Gard is worth every bit of its World Heritage status. Stunning engineering across a scenic gorge that's survived nearly 2000 years, however it was in full use for only 200 years.
The Maison Carrée, originally a temple to an Imperial cult, in constant use as a monastic chapel, a stable, a meeting hall, a gallery and many other functions.
The Nîmes Amphitheatre, still in use as a stadium today. Slightly unfortunately from a photographic point of view, during my visit they were busy putting the infrastructure for the winter season, including an inflated canvas roof and wooden tiered seating.
The Tour Magne, standing at the summit of a hill, overlooking Nîmes. One can climb interior stairs and get to the top to get impressive panoramas of the town.
Copyright© 2004 by Andrew Mobbs
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