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Origin and history

The aqueduct of Fontenay, also called the aqueduct of the Cher, was built under the Roman High Empire, probably in the first century, to supply Caesarodunum (now Towers) with drinking water. Its route, about 25 km long, linked the sources of the Grandes Fontaines near Bléré to the Cher valley, following the left bank of the river. The structure, which was mostly underground, integrated aqueduct bridges to cross the valleys, such as that of the Chandon valley in Atheus-sur-Cher, where three batteries remain in lock. Its estimated flow rate (2,300-5400 m3/day) suggested an urban destination, although its final route to Tours remains unidentified due to modern urbanization.

The construction involved local materials (calcareous stone, lime mortar, flint) and classical Roman techniques: a 0.50 m wide vaulted canal, placed on a mortar radier, covered with a stone vault. Art works, such as the 60 m bridge of the Chandon valley, used a regular apparatus (opus vittatum) subsequently reinforced by foothills and low vaults (II–III centuries). Regular maintenance, attested by the absence of concretions on cleaned walls, was intended to limit limestone deposits and muddy infiltrations, although these may have altered water quality.

The lake captured the waters of several sources, including the Great Fountains at Blére, which are still being exploited today for its abundant flow and mineralogic quality. Other contributions came from Fontaine-Saint-Martin and streams such as the Gitonnière (Azay-sur-Cher). Despite attested renovations (mortier of tile, bricks), its abandonment remains indate: the last maintenance campaigns, interrupted abruptly, suggest a cessation of use before the High Middle Ages. In the 11th century, its masonries were used again to build the Larçay church, proof of its early dismantling.

The remains visible in the 21st century are limited to relief anomalies, arch sections (such as at the Veretz campsite or in the Coteau Castle park in Azay-sur-Cher), and piles of water bridges. The crossing of the Cher, crucial to reaching Tours, remains hypothetical: a subfluvial siphon or a monumental bridge are evoked, but no vestiges were discovered. The excavations of the years 1960–2000 (notably by Cyril Driard) confirmed its route to Saint-Avertin, without being able to decide on its final destination.

The first records of the aqueduct date back to the 19th century, with the works of Jean-Louis Chalmel (1828) and Louis Boilleau (1847), who described the remains of the pipeline without consensus on its destination. In the 20th century, Camille Liot (1963–1964) and Cyril Driard (2004) improved knowledge through topographic surveys and archaeological analyses. Despite these studies, the absence of traces in Towers itself and the partial destruction of remains (scaling, urbanization) keep the mystery on its completion. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1966, the protected section of Athée-sur-Cher illustrates Roman engineering in Touraine.

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