LA GRAN FONT, SAINTES AND ITS GALLO-ROMAN AQUEDUCTS, OR HOW DRINKING WATER CAME TO SAINTESThe Douhet, whose name means "water conduit", is hilly and wooded. The Gallo-Roman aqueduct on this municipality is closely linked to the city of Saintes, as it fed it into water. We need to go back far to understand how and why. We have to wait until the beginning of the first century of our era and especially towards 18/19, the date of the completion of the arc de Germanicus marking the City's entrance through the road from Lyon, the capital of Saplings, to see the establishment of a new road. It is reasonable to think, given the importance of the work, that it is also at this time that the Romans decide, thanks to their technological mastery, to construct a aqueduct to serve the city in drinking water. A first 7 km long aqueduct, from the source of «Font-Morillon» in the municipality of Fontcouverte, to the Saint-Vivien thermal baths, built on the Charente River. On the course, several quality works were carried out: the bridge-aqueduct from the Arches of the Arches, then the gallery of the "Plantis of nine wells", another bridge-aqueduct to "Hautmont".A few decades later, Saintes continued its expansion; it probably reaches its most brilliant time and corresponds to the peak of Mediolanum's prosperity. For example, a new spa facility is built in Saint-Saloine (see Heritage of Saintes). It was necessary to review the flow of the water too low. Thus, there is a new aqueduct with a total length of 17 km, bringing together the waters of the municipalities of Douhet and Vénérand, doubling the route of the first aqueduct, from the source of Fontcouverte, and allowing the addition to the other two. This route allowed for the reuse, after modifications, of the works of art of the first aqueduct, thereby reducing the cost.The aqueducts of Saintes have different types of works. First, in their starting point, the abstraction of the springs, and upon arrival, the thermal baths. Between these two points, there is a conduit that has been carried out either in the trenches or in tunnels or in galleries built off ground. Then, when they pass through a valley or valley, they pass, either on bridges or on bridges, or even, for the crossing of the Charente valley, through a trap equipped with specific works (hunting and leak tanks). Another remarkable book is the junction basin of the two aqueducts from Vénérand and Douhet, with an underground cleaning system, in underground underground.The Grand-Font on the commune of Douhet, corresponds to the most distant source of the second aqueduct that fed the ancient city of Saintes. This place was known long before the arrival of the Romans, since we collected ceramics dated the age of old/medium bronze. Populations had access to the water of the groundwater by one or more joints remontant up to the surface. So it was through one of these faults that the Romans had access to this river that sank underground just a few meters deep. Thus, after checking the flow and height of water relative to the level of arrival in Saintes, the Roman engineers were able to decide to carry out an aqueduct. This ancient development, linked to the capture of an underground resurgence, is exceptional in the ancient world. This utility public monument and, correspond to a sanctuary. Today, it remains accessible to Douhet at the bottom of the gallery, the source and the retention basin.
