Gravity-fed flow
Channel width 1.20 m; simulated water depth h. For a rectangular section, A = b × h; wetted perimeter P = b + 2h; hydraulic radius R = A / P.
Manning equation: v = (1/n) × R2/3 × √S, Q = A × v. This is a steady, uniform, open-channel approximation. The visual water ribbons are animated from v, not a computational fluid dynamics solver.
Independent continuity check: the displayed Q is compared with 1000 × b × h × v, in L/s. Height loss is S × 275 m; crossing time is 275 / v. S describes the average gradient for this experiment, not a surveyed local gradient for the bridge span.
Evidence labels
Documented: three levels, 6 / 11 / 35 surviving arches, total 48.77 m height, 275 m surviving upper run, and approximately 1.20 × 1.80 m water channel.
Scholarly reconstruction: the simplified arch-by-arch layout, course arrangement, arch spring lines and gallery cross section based on published spans.
Artistic interpretation: site vegetation, riverbed relief, color variation, individual tool marks and moving water.
Sources
- UNESCO — Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct) (whc.unesco.org/en/list/344)
- Pont du Gard public institution — The Monument (pontdugard.fr/en/discover/monument)
- Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining — Bridges: The Designs and the Materials (iom3.org/static/6835512b-2c23-4935-be39f169db4486d6/BRIDGES-)
- Office de Tourisme du Pont du Gard — Pont du Gard (ot-pontdugard.com/frpontdugard.html)
Educational reconstruction; details marked as reconstruction are interpretive.