Roman aqueduct maintenance in the water supply system of Divona, France.

Carbonate deposits formed in Roman aqueducts provide a window onto the environment and water management in antiquity. These laminated archives precipitated over a period of decades to centuries and are a potential high-resolution source of unwritten history. However, their use as environmental archives is hampered by local and partial removal during maintenance work in some aqueducts.

Reconstructing the hydraulics of the world's first industrial complex, the second century CE Barbegal watermills, France.

The Barbegal watermill complex, a unique cluster of 16 waterwheels in southern France, was the first known attempt in Europe to set up an industrial-scale complex of machines during the culmination of Roman Civilization in the second century CE. Little is known about the state of technological advance in this period, especially in hydraulics and the contemporary diffusion of knowledge. Since the upper part of the Barbegal mill complex has been destroyed and no traces of the wooden machinery survived, the mode of operation of these mills has long remained elusive.

The second century CE Roman watermills of Barbegal: Unraveling the enigma of one of the oldest industrial complexes.

The second century CE Roman watermill complex of Barbegal, France, is regarded as one of the first industrial complexes in human history. The 16 water wheels are no longer extant as all woodwork has decayed. However, carbonate deposits precipitated from water during operation of the mills forming casts on the woodwork.