Roman Mystery in Elsbach Lignite Pit by Louis Hissink

Eva Hagedorn, a German scientist, studied a section of the Garzweiler Lignite mine stratigraphy and chemistry during the 1990’s and published a summary online at her website.

A captioned photograph of “Parts of the Roman Water pipeline in Profile FR126” is published, but with no comment in the text.

Figure 1 – Parts of the Roman Water pipeline in Profile FR126

Putting this in geological context

Figure 2 – Stratigraphy

and

Figure 3 – Longitudinal View of, one assumes, the lowest section of the cross-section

This Roman water works is not buried under colluvium, but under, ahem, Miocene stratigraphy.

It’s location in the cross section seems to be wee white features above the basal orange Devonian strata. I think, because no one seems to want to discuss this anachronism.

The Romans did not bury this aqueduct as is commonly believed.

Instead this aqueduct was engulfed in a massive deposit of sediments and lignite.

A previous discussion of this was posted here.

There’s more than a 2000 year Heinsohn Hiatus here, and my guess is that the Roman period was terminated by the Tertiary tectonic event.

Update:

A crucial fact is how one thinks.

Religious minds tend to see what they believe, and hence when confronted with the fact of Miocene sediments overlying Roman water works will, to avoid cognitive dissonance, conclude the Romans dug the water works under the Miocene sediments.

The scientific mind, on the other hand, believes what it sees, and concludes that the Roman waterworks were buried under a dumping of sediment.