Aqueduct s (Ar. qanṭara , pl. qanāṭir) are water channels. The term refers particularly to water channels elevated on arches, but it can also designate a bridge, or an arched bridge, with a canal on top of it. The design and building techniques for each type were identical. All aqueducts had three components: a tapping system, a conducting system, and a distribution system. Although ethnographic literature, particularly French, may refer to any water-bearing channel, whether a surface or a subterranean installation, as an "aqueduct," the term is better reserved for