Eifel Aqueduct

The Eifel Aqueduct is a Roman-era water supply system that carried spring water from the Eifel highlands to the Roman city of Cologne. It was constructed in the 1st century AD and extended for roughly 95 kilometres.

Remains are visible as buried channels, sections of stone lined conduit and occasional above-ground masonry. The route includes long underground channels and engineered gradients rather than continuous arcaded sections, and fragments are studied by archaeologists and shown in local museums.

Built and maintained by Roman engineers for municipal water supply, it served Cologne during the imperial period and fell out of use as the Roman administration and maintenance declined. Modern investigation and excavation in the 19th and 20th centuries mapped large parts of the route and documented construction techniques.

Geographically it runs from springs in the Eifel region into the Rhineland and terminates at Cologne (Köln) in North Rhine-Westphalia. Surface traces and archaeological finds occur at intervals along its course through rural and urban landscapes.

• Length: runs for approximately 95 kilometres from springs in the Eifel highlands to the Roman settlement at Cologne, making it one of the longest Roman aqueducts north of the Alps.
• Date and purpose: constructed in the 1st century AD and used to supply water to the Roman city of Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium.