The Bënça, Tepelena, ancient water supply system, also known as the “aqueduct,” is a first-category cultural monument. It attracts interest from visitors to the area. The water supply system is located on the right side of the road leading to the village of Bënça.

The Regional Directorate of Cultural Heritage Gjirokastër shared aerial images of the monument on social media. The aqueduct is a 19th-century hydraulic work that carried water to the Tepelena Castle.

The monument has the form of a bridge. It consists of the water channel, the monument’s piers, and the bridge over which several piers are built where the Bënça River passes.

The water channel is built with small stones and concrete and is supported by 21 piers or columns. The columns are also made of small stones bound with mortar. They are rectangular and have varying heights, depending on the slope of the terrain. In the section crossing the river canyon, the monument’s piers rise on a bridge.

/a.p./