Constantine's Bridge ( bg, Константинов мост, ''Konstantinov most''; ro, Podul lui Constantin cel Mare) was a

Roman bridge The ancient Romans were the first civilization to build large, permanent bridges. Early Roman bridges used techniques introduced by Etruscan immigrants, but the Romans improved those skills, developing and enhancing methods such as arches and ...

over the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

used to reconquer Dacia. It was completed in 328 AD and remained in use for four decades. It was officially opened on 5 July 328 AD in the presence of emperor

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

. With an overall length of , of which spanned the Danube's riverbed, Constantine's Bridge is considered the longest

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

river bridge and one of the longest of all time.

Construction

It was a construction with masonry piers and wooden arch bridge and with wooden superstructure. It was constructed between Sucidava (present-day

Corabia Corabia () is a small Danube port located in Olt County, Oltenia, Romania, which used to be part of the now-dissolved Romanați County before World War II. Across the Danube from Corabia lies the Bulgarian village of Gigen. History Beneath ...

Olt County Olt County () is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (the regions are separated by the Olt river). The capital city is Slatina. History On 24 August 2017, the Olt County ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

) and Oescus (modern Gigen,

Pleven Province Pleven Province ( bg, Област Плевен or Плевенска Област) is a province located in central northern Bulgaria, bordering the Danube river, Romania and the Bulgarian provinces of Vratsa, Veliko Tarnovo and Lovech. It i ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

), by

. The bridge was apparently used until the mid-4th century, the main reason for this assumption being that

Valens Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...

had to cross the Danube using a bridge of boats at

Constantiana Daphne Daphne was a Roman fortification inaugurated, most probably in 327, on the left bank of the Danube, across Transmarisca, in the delta of the Arges river. In 367, emperor Valens crossed the Danube at Daphne using a pontoon bridge. Chronicler Georg ...

during his campaign against the

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Euro ...

in 367. While Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli attempted to locate the bridge in the 17th century and and

Cezar Bolliac Cezar Bolliac or Boliac, Boliak (March 23, 1813 – February 25, 1881) was a Wallachian and Romanian radical political figure, amateur archaeologist, journalist and Romantic poet. Life Early life Born in Bucharest as the son of Anton Bogliako ...

continued this search in the 19th century, the first real scientific discoveries were performed by

Grigore Tocilescu Grigore George Tocilescu (26 October 1850 – 18 September 1909) was a Romanian historian, archaeologist, epigrapher and folkorist, member of Romanian Academy. He was a professor of ancient history at the University of Bucharest, author of Marel ...

and

Pamfil Polonic Pamfil Polonic (27 August 1858 – 17 April 1943) was a Romanian archaeologist and topographer Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves ...

in 1902. In 1934

Dumitru Tudor Dumitru is a Romanian surname and given name. Notable people with the surname include: * Alina Alexandra Dumitru (born 1982), Romanian judoka * Alexe Dumitru (1935–1971), Romanian sprint canoer * Ion Dumitru (born 1950), Romanian footballer *Nico ...

published the first complete work regarding the bridge, and the last systematic approach on the north bank of the Danube was performed in 1968 by Octavian Toropu.

Technical data

The length of the bridge was with a wooden deck with a width of at above the water. The bridge had two

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining wal ...

piers at each end, serving as gates for the bridge.

Notes

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Constantine's Bridge
o
wikimapia.org
{{Crossings navbox , structure =

Bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

, place =

, bridge = Constantine's Bridge , upstream = New Europe Bridge , downstream = Giurgiu–Ruse Friendship Bridge 328 works Bridges completed in the 4th century Roman bridges Bridges over the Danube Demolished bridges Bridges in Romania Bridges in Bulgaria Roman Dacia Ancient Bulgaria Olt County Buildings and structures in Pleven Province Corabia

Construction

Technical data

See also

Notes

Bibliography

External links