Bridge at Nimreh
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The Bridge at Nimreh is a Roman bridge in the vicinity of
Shahba Shahba ( ar, شَهْبَا / ALA-LC: ''Shahbā'') is a city located south of Damascus in the Jabal el Druze in As-Suwayda Governorate of Syria, but formerly in the Roman province of Arabia Petraea. Known in Late Antiquity as Philippopolis (in ...
( ancient Philippopolis),
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, dating to the 3rd or 4th century AD. Its transversal arch construction derives from old building traditions of the
Hauran The Hauran ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa (Syria), al-Safa ...
region and is arguably unique in
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
bridge building.


Road network of the Hauran

The Bridge at Nimreh is located in the Hauran (ancient name: ''Auranitis''), a mountainous volcanic region c. 80 km southeast from
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
in the transitional zone between agricultural land and the desert. Due to fertile soils and sufficient rainfalls, the area yielded in Roman times particularly high returns, which could be transported on the extensive
Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
network. The Hauran lay at the junction of several long distance trade routes: the inland trade route between
Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
, Damascus and
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
went right through the main emporium
Bostra Bosra ( ar, بُصْرَىٰ, Buṣrā), also spelled Bostra, Busrana, Bozrah, Bozra and officially called Busra al-Sham ( ar, بُصْرَىٰ ٱلشَّام, Buṣrā al-Shām), is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Dara ...
, while the trans-Arabian caravan route and the road to Palmyra, the later ''
Strata Diocletiana The ''Strata Diocletiana'' (Latin for "Road of Diocletian") was a fortified road that ran along the eastern desert border, the ''limes Arabicus'', of the Roman Empire. As its name suggests and as it appears on milestones, it was constructed unde ...
'', touched the north respectively south of the region. After the annexation by
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
in 106 AD, the infrastructure of the newly established Provincia Arabia was greatly expanded by the construction of Roman forts and military roads to ward off nomadic incursions; in Bostra the
Legio III Cyrenaica Legio III Cyrenaica, ( Third Legion " Cyrenean") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. The legion had its origins among the forces of Mark Antony during the civil wars of late first century BC. In the Imperial period it was stationed in Egyp ...
was stationed. The rugged terrain, with many wadis crisscrossing it, made necessary the construction of solid bridges, another two of which have survived to this day: the
Gemarrin Bridge The Bridge of Gemarrin is a Roman bridge in the village of Jemarrin near the ancient city of Bosra in southern Syria. The bridge belonged to the Roman road to Soada Dionysias (As-Suwayda), crossing the Wadi Zeidi some kilometers north of Bostra. ...
and the
Kharaba Bridge The Kharaba Bridge is a Roman bridge in the village of Kharaba in the fertile Hauran region of Syria, close to the city of Bosra (ancient Bostra). The bridge crosses the Wadi Zeidi, a tributary of the Yarmuk, 3.5 km northwest of Bosra. It ...
.


Construction

The bridge is situated 10 km southeast from Shahba, close to the modern road at the foot of the mountain village Nimreh, which was known in the Onomastikon of Eusebius by the name Namara and regarded as an important place (''vicus grandis''). Here, the bridge crosses the
Wadi al-Liwa Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water on ...
almost right-angled, making a small bend of 120° at its western end; a slightly elevated causeway continues for about 100 m before trailing off. The bridge is 25 m long, with the eastern section covering the larger part (15 m). Its width of 4.52 m corresponds exactly to that of the Kharaba Bridge.All data: The span of its single arch is 6.73 m, with a rise of 3.10 m, resulting in a slightly less pronounced profile (c. 160°) than the typical Roman semi-circular arch (180°); the overall height from the riverbed to the apex of the arch is reported as 3.60 m.All data: The vault was made of three parallel, transversal arches standing at intervals of 1.20 m; the arches were built of 60 cm long, 30 cm wide and just as high
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 ...
, while the spaces in between are covered with longish
basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
blocks. This design principle – transversal arches with
lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...
s – seems to be unique among Roman bridges. It also appears in the Hauran in roof constructions of
late antique Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English has ...
basilicas In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...
, and the early
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...
in Nimreh, indicating a construction date in the 3rd or 4th century AD. Possibly, the bridge was built in the 3rd century AD, when the region prospered, culminating in a large building program which emperor Philippus Arabs (r. 244–249 AD) initiated for his home town Shahba, then Philippopolis. The practice of using transversal arches for vaulting large chambers was continued in the Hauran until the early 20th century. Presumably, the bridge was built directly onto the solid stone. Its almost unadorned masonry walls consist of rectangular, roughly smoothed basalt blocks of varying size without mortar (''opus quasi-quadratum''). Since Roman bridges rarely featured basalt, its use is undoubtedly due to the availability of the material '' in situ''. The spandrel walls on both sides are broken up, revealing the interior filling of stone, sand and earth. The pavement, parts of which are well preserved, consists of large, smoothed basalt stones.All data:


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 ...
*
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 ...
*
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 ...


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nimreh, Bridge At Roman bridges in Syria Deck arch bridges Stone bridges in Syria Buildings and structures in as-Suwayda Governorate