The Bridge of Mantible ( Spanish: ''Puente Romano de Mantible'') is a ruined bridge located near Logroño, Spain. It crosses the Ebro river between La Rioja and the

Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...

, connecting

El Cortijo El Cortijo is a village in the municipality of Logroño, in the province and autonomous community of La Rioja, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto ...

and

Assa Assa may refer to: Places * Assa (Chalcidice), a town of Chalcidice in ancient Macedonia, Greece * Assa, Morocco, a town in Southern Morocco in the Jbel Ouarkziz * Asa River (Kazakhstan), river in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan * Assa (river), river ...

. According to some historians, construction of the bridge began in the first half of the 2nd century, well into Rome's imperial period. Others suggest that the bridge was built in the 11th century, near the same time in which the

Puente La Reina Puente la Reina (Spanish meaning literally the "bridge of the Queen"; eu, Gares) is a town and municipality located in the autonomous community of Navarre, in northern Spain. Puente la Reina lies between Pamplona and Estella on the Way of St. ...

was constructed over the

River Arga The Arga is a river of Navarre, in Spain, and is a tributary of the Aragón River, itself a tributary of the river Ebro. The Arga was known as the river Runa in antiquity. Situated in the north-east of Spain, the river stretches some and has a b ...

, and that both were made to join the two most important cities of the

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre (; , , , ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona (), was a Basque kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, alongside the Atlantic Ocean between present-day Spain and France. The medieval state took ...

, Nájera and Pamplona. Neither theory makes clear at what point the bridge became no longer passable, but there are documents that suggest that it had already fully deteriorated by halfway through the 16th century. The bridge is 164 meters long, 5 meters wide and reaches a maximum height of 30 meters. It was built with seven semicircular arches, only two of which stand relatively intact today. There are only a few remains of the other five arches. The two standing arches serve as an example of the excellent quarry stone used in the bridge. It was declared '' Bien de Interés Cultural'' in 1983.

Dating

Manuel A. Martín Bueno and José Gabriel Moya Valgañón, like other authors, classify this bridge as a Roman bridge and date it around the 2nd century AD. However, today we know this is not accurate. Isaac Moreno Gallo, after comparing the structural characteristics of this bridge with the one in Puente la Reina (Navarra), concludes that it is a medieval bridge. Both bridges were constructed in the 11th century to connect two cities of the powerful medieval kingdom, Nájera and Pamplona, and it's highly likely that they were constructed by the same individuals.

References

Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in La Rioja (Spain) Bridges in La Rioja (Spain) Ruined bridges Ruins in Spain 2nd-century establishments in the Roman Empire 2nd-century establishments 11th-century establishments in Spain 16th-century disestablishments in Spain Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in Álava {{Spain-bridge-struct-stub