Technology
The ancient Romans also had a complex system of aqueducts, which were used to transport water across long distances. The first Roman aqueduct was built in 312 BCE. The eleventh and final ancient Roman aqueduct was built in 226 CE. Put together, the Roman aqueducts extended over 450 kilometers, but less than seventy kilometers of this was above ground and supported by arches.
Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct
The cast iron canal aqueduct was designed by Thomas Telford and built in 1796 to carry the Shrewsbury Canal across the River Tern near Longdon-on-Tern in Shropshire. The aqueduct was opened one month after Benjamin Outram's cast iron Holmes Aqueduct on the Derby Canal, the world's first cast iron canal aqueduct. Since the closure of the Shrewsbury Canal in 1944, the aqueduct has been disused. The aqueduct is an Historic England Grade I listed building and has been on the register since 30 March 1971.