Dominican Republic workers find the New World’s oldest aqueduct

Santo Domingo.- The remnants of what was the New World’s oldest aqueduct were found two weeks ago during the excavations by the Tourism Ministry to spruce up the Colonial Zone.

Lead architect Maribel Villalona said several hundred meters of ancient pipes were found on the south side of Isabel La Católica St. next to the Cathedral, in the Colonial Zone.

She said they are conduits dating to 1540, when water reached the city from a reservoir pumped by a mill and from there by gravity to a holding tank beneath the street. The latter had been found but never was photographed, according to experts.

"They are what remains of what was once the aqueduct of Liendo. They are visible now, but we will draw and photograph and film it to then cover them again because it’s the best way to preserve it since it cannot be moved because it’s a buried structure,” Villalona said, quoted by diariolibre.com.