Description
The Aqueduct of Valens had a length of 971 meters and a maximum height of ca. 29 meters (63 meters above sea level) with a constant slope of 1:1000. Arches 1-40 and 46-51 belong to the time of Valens, arches 41-45 to Mustafa II, and those between 52 and 56 to Suleyman I. Arches 18-73 have a double order, the others a single order.
Originally the structure ran perfectly straight, but during the construction of the Fatih Mosque - for unknown reasons - it was bent in that section. The masonry is not regular, and uses a combination of ashlar blocks and bricks. The first row of arches is built with well-squared stone blocks, the upper row is built with four to seven courses of stones alternated with a bed of smaller material (opus caementitium) clamped with iron cramps. The width of the aqueduct varies from 7.75 meters to 8.24 meters. The pillars are 3.70 meters thick, and the arches of the lower order are four meters wide. As a result of geophysical surveys performed in 2009, it is now known that pillars' foundations are approximately 5.4 - 6.0 m. below present-day surface.
The water comes from two lines from the northeast and one coming from the northwest, which join together outside the walls, near the Adrianople Gate (Edirne Kapı). Near the east end of the aqueduct there is a distribution plant, and another lies near Hagia Sophia. The water feeds the zone of the imperial palace. The daily discharge in the 1950s amounted to 6,120 cubic meters. During Byzantine times, two roads important for the topography of medieval Constantinople crossed under the eastern section of the aqueduct.
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