The Bridge near Limyra (in tr, Kırkgöz Kemeri, "Bridge of the Forty Arches") is a late
Roman bridge in
Lycia
Lycia (Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean ...
, in modern south-west
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, and one of the oldest
segmented arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...
s in the world. Located near the ancient city of
Limyra
Limyra ( grc, Λίμυρα) ( xlc, 𐊈𐊚𐊎𐊒𐊕𐊁 was a small city in ancient Lycia on the southern coast of Asia Minor, on the Limyrus River ( grc, Λιμύρος).
History
Already flourishing in the second millennium BC, the c ...
, it is the largest civil engineering structure of
antiquity
Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to:
Historical objects or periods Artifacts
*Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures
Eras
Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...
in the region, spanning the Alakır Çayı river over a length of on 26 segmental arches. These arches, with a span-to-rise ratio of 5.3:1, give the bridge an unusually flat profile, and were unsurpassed as an architectural achievement until the late
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. Today, the structure is largely buried by river sediments and surrounded by
greenhouse
A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...
s. Despite its unique features, the bridge remains relatively unknown, and only in the 1970s did researchers from the
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
branch of the
German Archaeological Institute carry out
field examinations on the site.
Field examinations
![Bridge near Limyra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Bridge_near_Limyra._Pic_11.jpg)
No information on the bridge survives from
ancient sources. The first descriptions appear in European travellers' accounts from the 19th century. The British archaeologist
Charles Fellows
Sir Charles Fellows (31 August 1799 – 8 November 1860) was a British archaeologist and explorer, known for his numerous expeditions in what is present-day Turkey.
Biography
Charles Fellows was born at High Pavement, Nottingham on 31 August ...
was the first to explore the region of Lycia, and visited the bridge in May 1840. Fellows, as well as T.A.B. Spratt and Edward Forbes, who visited the site two years later, describe it as having 25 arches.
In 1882, an Austrian expedition, including
Otto Benndorf
Otto Benndorf (13 September 1838 – 2 January 1907) was a German-Austrian archaeologist who was a native of Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz. He was the father of physicist Hans Benndorf (1870–1953).
He studied under Friedrich Gottlieb We ...
, interpreted the structure as part of an
ancient road
Historic roads (historic trails in USA and Canada) are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient trackways ...
that connected Limyra with the city of Attaleia (modern
Antalya
Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...
) to the east. However, this mission failed to produce any plans or sketches of the site.
The first, and only scientific examination of the bridge was undertaken by the German archaeologists Wolfgang W. Wurster and Joachim Ganzert in two successive days in September 1973, and completed through further visits in subsequent years.
Their findings were published in 1978 in the ''Archäologischer Anzeiger'' journal of the
German Archaeological Institute, with the express intent of bringing the imperiled state of the hitherto almost intact bridge into the spotlight:
In 1993, the civil engineer Colin O'Connor summarized their report in his English-language
monograph
A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject.
In library cataloging, ''monograph ...
on Roman bridges, and also emphasized the exceptional character of this bridge. No further scientific examinations of the Limyra Bridge are known.
Location and situation
![Bridge near Limyra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Bridge_near_Limyra._Pic_01.jpg)
The bridge crosses the Alakır Çayı stream, whose ancient name is unknown, east of the ruins of Limyra (distance measured from the city's theatre) and north of the modern coastline, close to the modern road from
Turunçova
Turunçova is a town in Finike district of Antalya Province, Turkey. At it is situated on Turkish state highway . Distance to Finike is . The population of Turunçova was 8237 as of 2012. The area around Turunçova was always inhabited dur ...
to
Kumluca
Kumluca is a town and district of Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, part of the Turkish Riviera. Kumluca is located west of the city of Antalya, on the Teke Peninsula, (between the bays of Antalya and Fethiye). Its neighbour ...
.
The local topography is dominated by the foothills of the
Toçak Dağı mountains, which blend here with the alluvial bottomlands of the Bay of
Finike.
In this transitional area, the bridge was built immediately above the point where the narrow river valley opens into the wide estuary plain, and where the crossing of the river during the rain period would be obstructed by high water. While the eastern end of the bridge levels off at the gravel plain, the western end abuts directly to the rising rock wall of the mountain, presumably for protection against floods.
The resulting sharp bend in the course of the road could also be exploited in case of need to block the road. A modern dam, Alakır Barajı, was constructed upstream for irrigation purposes and flood protection.
Lycia did not, in contrast to other
Roman province
The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
s, possess a very developed road system. While the north–south traffic was conducted primarily through the few river valleys, the east–west routes led, unlike today, mostly on and along the mountain ridges.
This particular road, leading from Limyra over the Alakır Çayı and into the neighbouring region of
Pamphylia and Attaleia, must have been of special importance, since the two regions were united in a single province, ''
Lycia et Pamphylia'', until the 4th century. In comparison to the main arterial roads of the Roman Empire however, the roads of Lycia were, with width, rather modest and confined to pedestrian and pack animal traffic.
This is further corroborated by the fact that no wagon ruts are evident on the paving of the Limyra bridge, nor any traces of a parapet or breastwork.
Construction
![Bridge near Limyra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Bridge_near_Limyra._Pic_02.jpg)
With a length of , the Limyra Bridge qualifies as the largest surviving engineering achievement of antiquity in Lycia. The bridge stands on 26 uniform segmental arches consisting of a double, radially laid course of bricks.
At the eastern end, the original 27th arch has been replaced by two smaller, semicircular arches of later construction. The latter are built with a single course of bricks. Traces of the original, flat beginning of the collapsed arch are still visible on the piers.
At the time of Wurster's and Ganzert's visit to the site, the entire bridge was buried by river sediments up to the springing line of the vaults. No efforts to dig them up were undertaken by Wurster and Ganzert.
Only two of the 28 arches were exposed enough so that direct measurements of the clear span and the pier width could be undertaken. It was, however, possible to calculate the dimensions of the remaining
bays
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...
from their exposed sections.
Architecture
Arches and piers
![Limyra Bridge Arch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Limyra_Bridge_Arch.svg)
The spans of the arches ranged from to (arches 2 and 26 respectively).
Based on the size of the spans, one can distinguish four groups, with the following
median
In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...
values:
* for four arches (Nos. 2, 3, 7, 21)
* for fourteen arches (Nos. 5, 9–15, 17–19, 22–24)
* for four arches (Nos. 1, 4, 6, 8)
* for three arches (Nos. 16, 20, 25)
The reason for this grouping is unclear; they certainly cannot be attributed to an attempt to match the lay of the river bed. The differences however could point to the repeated use of differently-sized
falsework
Falsework consists of temporary structures used in construction to support a permanent structure until its construction is sufficiently advanced to support itself. For arches, this is specifically called centering. Falsework includes temporary su ...
structures in the construction of the
barrel vault
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...
s (see animation below).
Only in a single case, between arches 26 and 27, were Wurster and Ganzert able to determine the breadth of a pier: . Subtracting this value from the common arch span of , a clear span of remains.
Since all arches have a rise of ca. , the Limyra Bridge has an unusually large span-to-rise ratio of . Such flattened arches were very rare at the time for stone bridges, and were not matched and surpassed until the reappearance of segmental arch bridges in 14th century
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. For the largest arch in the Limyra Bridge, the ratio is even greater, spanning a width 6.4 times its height.
The two later arches, in contrast, are, with a ratio of 2.7:1, quite ordinary semi-circular arches.
Height
![Bridge near Limyra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Bridge_near_Limyra._Pic_08.jpg)
The total height of the bridge could not be determined because most of the structure is silted up. However, the distance between the arches' abutments and the pavement surface could be determined at only .
The surface level is almost horizontal: the roadway lies at a height of above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
between arches 1 to 20, and falls slightly in its eastern section, between arches 21 and 26 to a level of . Since there is no indication of a later sinking of the structure, this nearly uniform height indicates careful levelling and the existence of solid pier foundations.
In contrast, the lengthwise axis of the bridge displays often significant deviations from arch to arch.
Statics
Remarkably, the support line of the structure's
dead load
A structural load or structural action is a force, deformation, or acceleration applied to structural elements. A load causes stress, deformation, and displacement in a structure. Structural analysis, a discipline in engineering, analyzes the e ...
is almost identical with the curve of the vault arch.
The
statical analysis of the bridge proves the structure's great load capacity:
Materials
The Limyra bridge was built in a composite manner of
brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
,
stonemasonry
Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...
, and
rubble.
Arches
![Bridge near Limyra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Bridge_near_Limyra._Pic_09.jpg)
The bricks of the segmental arches are made of yellow-red clay, mixed with fine brick fragments. The bricks are rectangular plates, measuring ca. and thick. They are placed with the shorter side upright facing outwards, so that the total thickness of the arches measures .
The bricks are bound with
grout
Grout is a dense fluid which hardens to fill gaps or used as reinforcement in existing structures. Grout is generally a mixture of water, cement and sand, and is employed in pressure grouting, embedding rebar in masonry walls, connecting secti ...
of lime mortar mixed with brick shards and fine gravel, forming -thick
joints. The two later semi-circular arches were built with smaller bricks, although surviving bricks from the original arch were re-used at places.
The abutment stones are dressed limestone
ashlar
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
blocks, and form a sloping surface to support the arches.
The double-layer technique facilitated a more effective use of the falsework, since they could be removed and used elsewhere as soon as the lower course was finished:
Superstructure
As far as can be determined, between arches 2 to 21, the outer facing of the
superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
consists of four layers of brick, followed by layers of rough stonemasonry bound with mortar.
In contrast, between arches 22 and 26, as well as in both ramps on either end, the facing consists of ashlar blocks.
The two repaired arches 27a and 27b are differentiated from the earlier work through the use of smaller unworked stones and the incorporation of irregularly placed brick tiles.
In arch 26, the lower side of the arch still features a projecting bearing used for the placement of the falsework.
The interior of the superstructure consists of a combination of unworked masonry blocks and large river boulders, bound with lime mortar.
Pavement
The bridge surface is located only over the arches' apex, is wide, increasing towards either end at and projects ca. over the superstructure on either side.
It is paved with large and irregular limestone
cobblestone
Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings.
Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...
s, although smaller pebbles have been used in the repairs at the two semicircular arches.
Dating
The exact chronological placement of the Limyra bridge is difficult due to its unique place within
Roman engineering
The ancient Romans were famous for their advanced engineering accomplishments. Technology for bringing running water into cities was developed in the east, but transformed by the Romans into a technology inconceivable in Greece. The architecture ...
tradition and the lack of comparable structures.
Wurster and Ganzert used following characteristics as a starting point:
* multiple arches of same width, and horizontal deck level with only small-gradient ramps on either end
* very flat segmental arches built with double, radially layered brick courses
* the use of mortar in the stonework
* exterior facing primarily rough masonry with interspersed bricks, partly dressed ashlar blocks
* exceptionally large paving stones.
In contrast to these, most Roman stone bridges were faced with ashlar and rested on
voussoir
A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.
Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...
arches, a method which is dominant in other vaulted structures in Lycia too. Compared to the massive and tall semicircular-arched bridges that are typical of
Roman architecture
Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered on ...
, the Limyra bridge, with its flat segmented arches, offers a markedly lower and more elongated appearance, so that Wurster and Ganzert offer a "provisional" late dating, approximately during the reign of emperor
Justinian I
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
in the 6th century, during which the use of mixed brick and stone is attested in other structures of the region.
On the other hand, this mixed technique is already present in the 3rd-century AD
aqueduct of
Aspendos
Aspendos or Aspendus ( Pamphylian: ΕΣΤϜΕΔΥΣ; Attic: Ἄσπενδος) was an ancient Greco-Roman city in Antalya province of Turkey. The site is located 40 km east of the modern city of Antalya.
It was situated on the Eurymedon ...
, and the Romans certainly knew how to build segmented-arched bridges, as attested by surviving examples, three of which are listed by Wurster and Ganzert themselves. An earlier construction date in the 2nd or cannot therefore be excluded. The case for an earlier construction date has been strengthened in recent years with the discovery of further seven Roman segmented arch bridges. The remnants of the nearby
Kemer Bridge
The Bridge near Seydikemer was a Roman segmental arch bridge near the ancient city of Xanthos in Lycia, in modern-day southwestern Turkey. Its remains are located on the upper reaches of the Xanthos river (''Koca Çayı''), 4 km upstream fro ...
over the river
Xanthos
Xanthos ( Lycian: 𐊀𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀 ''Arñna'', el, Ξάνθος, Latin: ''Xanthus'', Turkish: ''Ksantos'') was an ancient major city near present-day Kınık, Antalya Province, Turkey. The remains of Xanthos lie on a hill on the left ba ...
, which dates to the 3rd century and has some architectural similarities with the Limyra bridge, could further reinforce that case.
See also
*
List of Roman bridges
This is a list of Roman bridges. The Romans were the world's first major bridge builders. The following list constitutes an attempt to list all known surviving remains of Roman bridges.
A Roman bridge in the sense of this article includes an ...
References
Sources
*
*
External links
*
*
Roman bridges in Turkey
Roman segmental arch bridges
Deck arch bridges
Stone bridges in Turkey
Bridges completed in the 3rd century
Lycia
Buildings and structures in Antalya Province
Arch bridges in Turkey
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