Roman bridge
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The
ancient Romans The Roman people was the ethnicity and the body of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens (; ) during the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. This concept underwent considerable changes throughout the long history of the Roman ...
were the first civilization to build large, permanent
bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somet ...
. Early Roman bridges used techniques introduced by
Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...
immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...
, but the Romans improved those skills, developing and enhancing methods such as
arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...
es and keystones. There were three major types of Roman bridge: wooden, pontoon, and stone. Early Roman bridges were wooden, but by the 2nd century BC stone was being used. Stone bridges used the arch as their basic structure, and most used
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
, the first use of this material in bridge-building.


History

Following the conquests of
Tarquinius Priscus Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (), or Tarquin the Elder, was the legendary fifth king of Rome and first of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned for thirty-eight years.Livy, '' ab urbe condita libri'', I Tarquinius expanded Roman power through military ...
, Etruscan engineers migrated to Rome, bringing with them their knowledge of bridge-building techniques. The oldest bridge in
ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
was the Pons Sublicius. It was built in the 6th century BC by
Ancus Marcius Ancus Marcius () was the Roman mythology, legendary fourth king of Rome, who traditionally reigned 24 years. Upon the death of the previous king, Tullus Hostilius, the Roman Senate appointed an interrex, who in turn called a session of the Roman a ...
over the
Tiber River The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the R ...
. The Romans improved on Etruscan architectural techniques. They developed the
voussoir A voussoir ( UK: ; US: ) is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.“Voussoir, N., Pronunciation.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/7553486115. Acces ...
, stronger keystones, vaults, and superior arched bridges. Roman arched bridges were capable of withstanding more stress by dispersing forces across bridges. Many Roman bridges had semicircular arches, but a few were segmental, i.e. with an arc of less than 180 degrees. By the 2nd century BC, the Romans had further refined their bridge-building techniques, using stronger materials such as
volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, produced during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to r ...
, lime and
gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...
. Also, they began to use iron clamps to hold together bridges, constructing midstream arches, and
pentagon In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...
al stones to allow for wider vaults. According to Canadian classicist
John Peter Oleson John Peter Oleson (born 1946) is a Canadian classical archaeologist and historian of ancient technology. His main interests are the Roman Near East, maritime archaeology (particularly Roman harbours), and ancient technology, especially hydraul ...
, no known stone bridges existed in Italy before the 2nd century BC. This view is not supported unanimously: Spanish engineer Leonardo Fernández Troyano suggested that stone bridges have existed since Pre-Roman Italy. Between 150 and 50 BC, many stone Roman bridges were built, the Pons Aemilius being the first. Engineers began to use stone instead of wood to exemplify the ''
Pax Romana The (Latin for ) is a roughly 200-year-long period of Roman history that is identified as a golden age of increased and sustained Roman imperialism, relative peace and order, prosperous stability, hegemonic power, and regional expansion, a ...
'' and to construct longer-lasting bridges. These were the first large-scale bridges ever constructed. Bridges were constructed by the Roman government to serve the needs of the
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
and the empire's administration. Sometimes roads and bridges were used for commercial purposes, but this was rare as boats better served the needs of the
Roman economy The study of the economies of the Ancient Rome, ancient city-state of Rome and its empire during the Republican and Imperial periods remains highly speculative. There are no surviving records of business and government accounts, such as detailed ...
. By the 2nd century Roman techniques had declined, and they had been mostly lost by the 4th century. Some Roman bridges are still used today, such as the Pons Fabricius, and even after the
Fall of the Western Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome, was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast ...
, engineers copied their bridges. Roman bridge-building techniques persisted until the 18th century: for example, the prevalence of arches in bridges can be attributed to the Romans.


Construction


Measurements

Roman bridges were much larger than the bridges of other civilizations. They could be anywhere from long. By the time of
Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
around the turn of the 1st millennium the maximum span of Roman bridges increased from around in 142 BC to . The
Ponte Sant'Angelo Ponte Sant'Angelo, originally the Aelian Bridge or Pons Aelius, is a Roman bridge in Rome, Italy, completed in 134 AD by Roman Emperor Hadrian (Publius Aelius Hadrianus), to span the Tiber from the city centre to his newly constructed maus ...
, built during the reign of
Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
, has five arches each with a span of . A bridge in
Alcántara Alcántara () is a municipality in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain, on the Tagus, near Portugal. The toponym is from the Arabic word ''al-Qanṭarah'' (القنطرة) meaning "the bridge". History Archaeological findings have atte ...
has piers wide, high, and arches with a span of . Another bridge over the Bibey River in Galicia has a pier wide, arches with a span, side arches, and an arch spanning . Wider spans increase the bridge's drainage, reduce water pressure on the
spandrels A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame, between the tops of two adjacent arches, or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fil ...
, and reduced the bridge's weight.
Trajan's Bridge Trajan's Bridge (; ), also called Bridge of Apollodorus over the Danube, was a Roman segmental arch bridge, the first bridge to be built over the lower Danube and considered one of the greatest achievements in Roman architecture. Though it was ...
over the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
featured open-spandrel segmental arches made of wood (standing on high concrete piers). This was to be the longest arch bridge for a thousand years both in terms of overall and individual span length. The longest extant Roman bridge is the Puente Romano at Mérida.


Stone bridges

Roman engineers would begin by laying a foundation for building bridges across moving bodies of water. At first, they used heavy timbers as
pilings A pile or piling is a vertical structural element of a deep foundation, driven or drilled deep into the ground at the building site. A deep foundation is a type of foundation that transfers building loads to the earth farther down from th ...
in the riverbed, but a later technique involved using watertight walls to redirect the water and then laying a stone foundation in the area. Work was exclusively done during the
dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...
to aid in constructing a foundation. This ensured as many piers as possible were accessible. There is some evidence that to construct bridges rivers were diverted. Trajan might have performed such a practice when constructing his Danube bridge. Roman engineers might have diverted rivers using rudimentary methods and tools. Sometimes dirt was added to the foundation. A bridge's foundation could be built above or below
water level Water level, also known as gauge height or stage, is the elevation of the free surface of a sea, stream, lake or reservoir relative to a specified vertical datum. Over long distances, neglecting external forcings (such as wind), water level ten ...
. Building the bridge above water level resulted in a need for a wider span. Bridge's tunnels and spandrels were designed to decrease the weight of the bridge and function as flood arches. The Pons Aemilius probably had stone piers with wooden roadbeds and arches. They were rebuilt in stone in 142 BC and either extended from the abutments to the
piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...
or vice versa. Throughout Roman history, brick or stone arches supported bridges' weight. Roman engineers built bridges with one long arch instead of several smaller ones. This practice made construction easier, as they only needed to build one arch on land, instead of many in water. Roman arches were semi-circular and used
voussoir A voussoir ( UK: ; US: ) is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.“Voussoir, N., Pronunciation.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/7553486115. Acces ...
s with equal dimensions and
conic section A conic section, conic or a quadratic curve is a curve obtained from a cone's surface intersecting a plane. The three types of conic section are the hyperbola, the parabola, and the ellipse; the circle is a special case of the ellipse, tho ...
s with equal circumference. Later in Roman history arches started to become semi-circular. Sometimes arches were segmented, or not semicircular. The Romans invented this technique. Segmented arches allowed greater amounts of flood water to pass, preventing the bridge from being swept away and allowing it to be lighter. The Bridge near Limyra in southwestern
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
has 26 segmental arches with an average span-to-rise ratio of 5.3:1, giving the bridge an unusually flat profile unsurpassed for more than a millennium. The late Roman Karamagara Bridge in
Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...
in eastern Turkey may represent the earliest surviving bridge featuring a pointed arch. However, it is now submerged by the
Keban Dam The Keban Dam () is a hydroelectric dam on the Euphrates, located in the Elazığ Province of Turkey. The dam is the first and uppermost of several large-scale dams to be built on the Euphrates by Turkey. Although the Keban Dam was not originally ...
. Roman arches were unable to fit into the arch springings properly, forcing the base of the arches upwards. In the
2nd century The 2nd century is the period from AD 101 (represented by the Roman numerals CI) through AD 200 (CC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. Early in the century, the ...
, arches became thinner, and spandrels became flat and pierced with holes. They were constructed using a wooden frame to hold wedge-shaped blocks in place. Afterwards, the wooden frame was removed, but the weight of the keystone, the last block to be put in place, held it together. Bridges had
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 that provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...
s at each end and piers in the middle, these two design features carrying most of the bridge's weight. Abutments could be constructed in the many
arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...
es of a bridge, allowing each to be built separately. Piers were usually twenty-six feet thick and framed with
starlings Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine (perching) birds known for the often dark, glossy iridescent sheen of their plumage; their complex vocalizations including mimicking; and their distinctive, often elaborate swarming behavior, known ...
. The Karamagara Bridge represents an early example of the use of
pointed arch A pointed arch, ogival arch, or Gothic arch is an arch with a pointed crown meet at an angle at the top of the arch. Also known as a two-centred arch, its form is derived from the intersection of two circles. This architectural element was partic ...
es. Roman
piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...
were thick enough to support the pressure of an arch. Stone arches allowed bridges to have much longer spans. Usually, iron clamps covered in
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
were used to build piers. Because of poor performance underwater, Roman piers were often destroyed over time. Bridges that survived to the modern day were often furnished with cut waters on the upstream side and a flat downstream face, though some bridges, such as a bridge in
Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
, are exceptions. Two niches carrying
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...
s were inserted between
pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
s. They were then put above the framed starlings. Roman bridges had
spandrel A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame, between the tops of two adjacent arches, or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fil ...
s, between which images of
dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...
s were often inserted. They rarely had wide spans and thick piers with bow-shaped piers that used small openings to allow for the flow of water. During construction, cranes were used to move materials and lift heavy objects. Some bridges had
aprons An apron is a garment worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body to protect from liquids. They have several purposes, most commonly as a functional accessory that protects clothes and skin from stains and marks. However, other typ ...
. They were used to surround piers. Usually, the aprons covered the area of the
stream bed A streambed or stream bed is the bottom of a stream or river and is confined within a Stream channel, channel or the Bank (geography), banks of the waterway. Usually, the bed does not contain terrestrial (land) vegetation and instead supports d ...
near the bridge.
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (; BC – 12 BC) was a Roman general, statesman and architect who was a close friend, son-in-law and lieutenant to the Roman emperor Augustus. Agrippa is well known for his important military victories, notably the B ...
used
ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...
and bricks to cover the outside of bridges and concrete for footings and water channels. Ashlar was used because large amounts of wood were needed to
cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William ...
the concrete.
Travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process ...
limestone and
tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...
were used to build Roman bridges, or they could be made of dry rubble or concrete. Often the building materials varied in
smoothness In mathematical analysis, the smoothness of a function is a property measured by the number of continuous derivatives (''differentiability class)'' it has over its domain. A function of class C^k is a function of smoothness at least ; t ...
, or rustication. Other bridges were made of bossed limestone combined with cornices, voussoirs and slabs. Sometimes
bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bed ...
,
buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...
es, and vaults were used to construct bridges. Bridges built in Iberia tended to have cylindrical vault geometry. In the first half of the 2nd century BC, blocks of stone held together with iron
clamps Clamp may refer to: Tools and devices *Brick clamp, an early method of baking bricks *Clamp (tool), a device or tool used to hold objects in a fixed relative position (many types listed) **C-clamp **C-clamp (stagecraft) **Riser clamp, a device u ...
were used to aid in the construction of bridges.


Brick bridges

Although
Roman brick Roman brick is a type of brick used in ancient Roman architecture and spread by the Romans to the lands they conquered, or a modern adaptation inspired by the ancient prototypes. Both types are characteristically longer and flatter than standard ...
s were used to build many bridges, they were far more commonly used to build aqueducts. Bridges built from bricks were rare as bricks often failed to survive
erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...
. The brick bridges that were built were generally used by the
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
, and they used construction techniques called ''
opus vittatum ''Opus vittatum'' ("banded work"), also called ''opus listatum'', was an ancient Roman construction technique introduced at the beginning of the fourth century, made by parallel horizontal courses of tuff blocks alternated with bricks.Coarelli (1 ...
'' and ''
opus mixtum Example of ''opus mixtum'' in the substruction of Brest Castle, France ''Opus mixtum'' (Latin: "mixed work"), or ''opus vagecum'' and ''opus compositum'', was an ancient Roman construction technique. It can consist in a mix of ''opus reticulatu ...
'', the latter alternating rows of bricks in ''
opus reticulatum ''Opus reticulatum'' (also known as reticulate work) is a facing used for concrete walls in Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture from about the first century BCE to the early first century CE. Facings are a type of polygonal masonry us ...
''. Examples are bridges in Carmona, Palomas,
Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...
, and the Ponte della Chianche in Italy. One brick bridge in
Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...
,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, has stone arches and brick spandrels. Bricks were sometimes used to create parts of bridges, such as vaults, piers with
welding joint In metalworking, a welding joint is a point or edge where two or more pieces of metal or plastic are joined together. They are formed by welding two or more workpieces according to a particular geometry. There are five types of joints referred t ...
s, and brick and mortar
rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...
.


Wooden bridges

Early Roman bridges were wooden, including one constructed by
Apollodorus Apollodorus ( Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: :''Note: A ...
and the Pons Sublicius, the oldest bridge in ancient Rome, and they were probably common across northern Europe and the Tyrrhenian coast; however, because of their lack of durability few have survived to the modern day. These bridges were supported by wooden trestles spanned by horizontal timbers and reinforced with
strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. A stay is sometimes used as a synonym for ...
s, and they were possibly
cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...
ed. In order to simplify the process of cutting trees, multiple shorter timbers were used. Wooden poles were driven into the ground, and flat pieces of timber laid across them to create a flat surface. Other early techniques used to build wooden bridges involved
barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...
s, sometimes they were
moored A mooring is any permanent structure to which a seaborne vessel (such as a boat, ship, or amphibious aircraft) may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to f ...
side by side. Workmen would raise weights, sometimes by rope, then it would fall down onto the piles. This method of construction, called
pile driving A pile driver is a heavy-duty tool used to drive piling, piles into soil to build piers, bridges, cofferdams, and other "pole" supported structures, and patterns of pilings as part of permanent deep foundations for buildings or other structures ...
, was necessary for wooden bridges to properly function. Because this technique created
cofferdam A cofferdam is an enclosure built within a body of water to allow the enclosed area to be pumped out or drained. This pumping creates a dry working environment so that the work can be carried out safely. Cofferdams are commonly used for constru ...
s, which are enclosures build to pump water out of an area. The base for the foundation of the bridge would be put in this area. Cofferdams were constructed of many piles held together. It is possible the piles were interconnected, likely to improve positioning, waterproofness, or both. Cofferdams would have been sealed with packed clay. The cofferdams also needed to be consistently dry. In order to achieve this, engineers would use tools such as buckets to drain the water. Wooden bridges could be burned to stop an attacker, or dismantled quickly. For example, according to
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...
, during a battle against the
Sabines The Sabines (, , , ;  ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divided int ...
the Romans set one of their wooden bridges on fire, driving the enemy back. Other early wooden bridges used
post and lintel Post and lintel (also called prop and lintel, a trabeated system, or a trilithic system) is a building system where strong horizontal elements are held up by strong vertical elements with large spaces between them. This is usually used to hold ...
construction.


Pontoon bridges

Pontoon bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, is a bridge that uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the support ...
s were built by laying boats from side to side across a river. During
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
's campaign in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, he built
bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somet ...
by driving wooden piles into the
stream bed A streambed or stream bed is the bottom of a stream or river and is confined within a Stream channel, channel or the Bank (geography), banks of the waterway. Usually, the bed does not contain terrestrial (land) vegetation and instead supports d ...
from floating platforms and fixing beams at
right angle In geometry and trigonometry, a right angle is an angle of exactly 90 Degree (angle), degrees or radians corresponding to a quarter turn (geometry), turn. If a Line (mathematics)#Ray, ray is placed so that its endpoint is on a line and the ad ...
s across them to create trestles.
Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...
built another bridge supported by stone during the Dacian Wars. Roman engineers gradually developed new techniques to build bridges, such as oval-shaped bases and pierced bases to facilitate the movement of water. Many bridges would have
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
s or
carving Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and y ...
s, but these bridges were likely used exclusively by
government officials An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of the ...
because of the difficulty and expense of carving marble artwork.


Typology

There were three major types of Roman bridges. These were wooden, pontoon, and stone bridges. A list of Roman bridges compiled by the engineer Colin O'Connor features 330
stone bridges In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...
for traffic, 34 timber bridges and 54 aqueduct bridges, a substantial number still standing and even used to carry vehicles. A more complete survey by the Italian scholar Vittorio Galliazzo found 931 Roman bridges, mostly of stone, in as many as 26 different countries (including former
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
; see right table). A segmental arch is an arch that is less than a semicircle. The Romans built both single spans and lengthy multiple-arch
aqueducts Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...
, such as the Pont du Gard and Segovia Aqueduct. Their bridges often had flood openings in the piers, e.g. in the Pons Fabricius in Rome (62 BC), one of the world's oldest major bridges still standing. There were two main types of wooden bridge in Britain. Small timber bridges with
girder A girder () is a Beam (structure), beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a sta ...
s, and large ones made of stone and wood. Throughout the rest of the Roman world, except for northern Europe, arched bridges made of stone were common. This was likely due to the climate and rivers of the regions. Rivers were much calmer and water levels were lower in the southern parts of the Empire. This ensured foundations were easy to construct. While in the northern parts it was much harder to lay down foundations due to the high water level, muddy water, and substantial waterflow.


Location


''Opus pontis''

The costs of building and repairing bridges, known as ''opus pontis'' ("bridge work"), were the responsibility of multiple local municipalities. Their shared costs prove Roman bridges belonged to the region overall, and not to any one town (or two, if on a border). The
Alcántara Bridge The Alcántara Bridge (also known as Trajan's Bridge at Alcantara) is a Roman bridge at Alcántara, in Extremadura, Spain. Alcántara is from the Arabic word ''al-Qantarah'' (القنطرة) meaning "the arch". The stone arch bridge was bui ...
in
Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province encompassing most of modern-day Portugal (south of the Douro River) and a large portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and Province of Salamanca). Romans named the region after th ...
, for example, was built at the expense of 12 local municipalities, whose names were added on an inscription. Later, in the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
, the local lords of the land had to pay tithes to the empire for ''opus pontis''. The
Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
continued this practice with ''bricg-geworc'', a literal translation of ''opus pontis''.


Examples

Built in 142 BC, the Pons Aemilius, later named Ponte Rotto (broken bridge), is the oldest Roman stone bridge in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, with only one surviving arch and pier. However, evidence suggests only the
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 that provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...
is original to the 2nd century BC while the arch and pier perhaps date to a reconstruction during the reign of
Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
(27 BC – 14 AD). The Pons Fabricius, built in 62 BC during the late Republic, is the oldest Roman bridge that is still intact and in use. The largest Roman bridge was
Trajan's Bridge Trajan's Bridge (; ), also called Bridge of Apollodorus over the Danube, was a Roman segmental arch bridge, the first bridge to be built over the lower Danube and considered one of the greatest achievements in Roman architecture. Though it was ...
over the lower
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
, constructed by
Apollodorus of Damascus Apollodorus of Damascus () was an architect and engineer from Roman Syria, who flourished during the 2nd century AD. As an engineer he authored several technical treatises, and his massive architectural output gained him immense popularity dur ...
, which remained for over a millennium the longest bridge to have been built both in terms of overall and span length.


Large river bridging

Roman engineers built stone arch or stone pillar bridges over all major rivers of the Empire save two: the
Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...
, which lay at the frontier in the Roman–Persian Wars, and the
Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...
, the longest river in the world, which was bridged as late as 1902 by the British Old Aswan Dam. The largest rivers to be spanned by solid bridges by the Romans were the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
and the
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
, the two largest European rivers west of the
Eurasian Steppe The Eurasian Steppe, also called the Great Steppe or The Steppes, is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands biome. It stretches through Manchuria, Mongolia, Xinjiang, Kazakhstan, Siberia, Europea ...
. The lower Danube was crossed by least two (
Trajan's Bridge Trajan's Bridge (; ), also called Bridge of Apollodorus over the Danube, was a Roman segmental arch bridge, the first bridge to be built over the lower Danube and considered one of the greatest achievements in Roman architecture. Though it was ...
, Constantine's Bridge) and the middle and lower Rhine by four different bridges (the Roman Bridge at Mainz,
Caesar's Rhine bridges Caesar's bridges across the Rhine, the first two bridges on record to cross the Rhine river, were built by Julius Caesar and his legionaries during the Gallic War in 55 BC and 53 BC. Strategically successful, they are also considered masterpie ...
, the Roman Bridge at Koblenz, the Roman Bridge at Cologne). For rivers with strong currents and to allow swift army movements,
pontoon bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, is a bridge that uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the support ...
s were also routinely employed. Judging by the distinct lack of records of pre-modern solid bridges spanning larger rivers, the Roman feat appears to be unsurpassed anywhere in the world until into the 19th century.


See also

*
List of Roman bridges This is a list of Roman bridges. The Roman Empire, Romans were the world's first major bridge builders. The following constitutes an attempt to list all known surviving remains of Roman bridges. A Roman bridge in the sense of this article in ...
*
Bridges in Rome This is an incomplete list of bridges in the city of Rome, in Italy: *Pons Sublicius (around 642 BC) *Ponte di Castel Giubileo (built 1951) *Ponte di Tor di Quinto (1960) *Ponte Cestio (1st century BC), also called Ponte San Bartolomeo *Pon ...
* Record-holding bridges in antiquity *
Roman architecture Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical ancient 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 con ...
*
Roman architectural revolution __NOTOC__ The Roman architectural revolution, also known as the concrete revolution, is the name sometimes given to the widespread use in Roman architecture of the previously little-used architectural forms of the arch, Vault (architecture), vau ...


Footnotes


References

*Fuentes, Manuel Durán: ''La construcción de puentes romanos en Hispania'', Xunta de Galicia, Santiago de Compostela 2004, * * * * *


External links


Traianus
- Technical investigation of Roman public works
The Waters of Rome: Tiber River Bridges and the Development of the Ancient City of Rome
– Roman bog bridges {{Authority control Ancient Roman architecture