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
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 considered one of the greatest achievements in
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 ...
. Though it was only functional for 165 years, it is often considered to have been the longest arch bridge in both total span and length for more than 1,000 years.
The bridge was completed in 105 AD and designed by Emperor
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 ...
's architect
Apollodorus of Damascus before the
Second Dacian War to allow
Roman troops to cross the river. Fragmentary ruins of the bridge's
pier
A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...
s are still in existence.
The site

The bridge was situated east of the
Iron Gates, near the present-day cities of
Drobeta-Turnu Severin in
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
and
Kladovo
Kladovo ( sr-Cyrl, Кладово, ; or ) is a town and municipality located in the Bor District of Southern and Eastern Serbia, eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube river.
Name
In Serbian language, Serbian, the town i ...
in
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
. Its construction was ordered by the
Emperor
The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
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 ...
as a supply route for the Roman legions fighting in
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...
.
Construction of the bridge was part of a wider project, which included the digging of side canals so that
whitewater rapids could be avoided to make the Danube safer for navigation enabling an effective river fleet, a string of defense posts and development of the intelligence service on the border.
The remains of the embankment which protected the area during the construction of the canal (in a loop to the south of the Danube) show the magnitude of the works. The long canal bypassed the problematic section of the river in an arch-like style.
[ Former canals eventually filled with sand, and empty shells are regularly found in the ground.][
All these works, especially the bridge, served the purpose of preparing for the Roman invasion of Dacia, which ended with Roman victory in 106 AD. The effect of finally defeating the Dacians and acquiring their gold mines was so great that Roman games celebrating the conquest lasted for 123 days, with 10,000 gladiators engaging in fights and 11,000 wild animals being killed during that period.][
The bridge was long (the Danube is now wide in that area), wide, and high, measured from the surface of the river. At each end was a Roman fort so that crossing the bridge was only possible through the camps.
On the south bank, at the modern village of Kostol near Kladovo, the Pontes fort was built in 103, concurrently with the bridge, occupying several hectares. Remnants of the long castrum with thick ramparts are still visible today. A ''vicus'' (civilian settlement) grew up around it later. A bronze head of Emperor Trajan has been discovered in Pontes, part of a statue which was erected at the bridge entrance and is today kept in the National Museum in Belgrade.
On the north bank is the ]Drobeta
''Drobeta'' is a genus of moths of the family Noctuidae. The genus was erected by Francis Walker (entomologist), Francis Walker in 1858.
Species
* ''Drobeta albicauda'' (Hampson, 1910)
* ''Drobeta albirufa'' (Druce, 1909)
* ''Drobeta andrevia'' ...
fort. It also had a bronze statue of Trajan.
Design and construction
Apollodorus used wooden arches, each spanning , set on twenty masonry pillars made of bricks, mortar, and pozzolana
Pozzolana or pozzuolana ( , ), also known as pozzolanic ash (), is a natural siliceous or siliceous- aluminous material which reacts with calcium hydroxide in the presence of water at room temperature (cf. pozzolanic reaction). In this reaction ...
cement. It was built unusually quickly (between 103 and 105), employing the construction of a wooden caisson for each pier.
Apollodorus applied the technique of river flow relocation, using the principles set by Thales of Miletus
Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages, founding figures of Ancient Greece.
Beginning in eighteenth-century historiography, many came to ...
some six centuries beforehand. Engineers waited for a low water level to dig a canal, west of the modern downtown of Kladovo. The water was redirected downstream from the construction site, through the lowland of , to the location of the modern village of Mala Vrbica. Wooden pillars were driven into the river bed in a rectangular layout, which served as the foundation for the supporting piers, which were coated with clay. The hollow piers were filled with stones held together by mortar, while from the outside they were built around with Roman bricks
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 ...
. The bricks can still be found around the village of Kostol, retaining the same physical properties that they had 2 millennia ago. The piers were tall, wide and apart. It is considered today that the bridge construction was assembled on the land and then installed on the pillars. A mitigating circumstance was that the year the relocating canals were dug was very dry and the water level was quite low. The river bed was almost completely drained when the foundation of the pillars began. There were 20 pillars in total in an interval of . Oak
An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
wood was used and the bridge was high enough to allow ship transport on the Danube.[
The bricks also have a historical value, as the members of the ]Roman legions
The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizens serving as legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 infantry and 300 cavalry. After the Marian reforms in 1 ...
and cohorts which participated in the construction of the bridge carved the names of their units into the bricks. Thus, it is known that work was done by the legions of IV Flavia Felix, VII Claudia, V Macedonica and XIII Gemina and the cohorts of I Cretum, II Hispanorum, III Brittonum and I Antiochensium.[
]
Tabula Traiana
A Roman memorial plaque ("''Tabula Traiana''"), 4 metres wide and 1.75 metres high, commemorating the completion of Trajan's military road is located on the Serbian side facing Romania near Ogradina, 29 km west of the bridge. In 1972, when the Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station
The Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station (, /Đerdap I) is the largest dam on the Danube river and one of the largest hydro power plants in Europe. It is located on the Iron Gate gorge, between Romania and Serbia.
The Romanian side of the po ...
was built (causing the water level to rise by about 35 m), the plaque was moved from its original location, and lifted to the present place. It reads:
:IMP. CAESAR. DIVI. NERVAE. F
NERVA TRAIANVS. AVG. GERM
PONTIF MAXIMUS TRIB POT IIII
PATER PATRIAE COS III
MONTIBVS EXCISI(s) ANCO(ni)BVS
SVBLAT(i)S VIA(m) F(ecit)
The text was interpreted by Otto Benndorf to mean:
:Emperor Caesar son of the divine Nerva
Nerva (; born Marcus Cocceius Nerva; 8 November 30 – 27 January 98) was a Roman emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became emperor when aged almost 66, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the succeeding rulers of the Flavian dynast ...
, Nerva Trajan, the 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 ...
, Germanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was a Roman people, Roman general and politician most famously known for his campaigns against Arminius in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicu ...
, Pontifex Maximus, invested for the fourth time as Tribune
Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...
, Father of the Fatherland, Consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...
for the third time, excavating mountain rocks and using wood beams has made this road.
The Tabula Traiana was declared a '' Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance'' in 1979, and is protected by the Republic of Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
.
Relocation
When the plan for the future hydro plant and its reservoir was made in 1965, it was clear that numerous settlements along the banks would be flooded in both Yugoslavia and Romania, and that historical remains, including the plaque, would also be affected. Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , SANU) is a national academy and the most prominent academic institution in Serbia, founded in 1841 as Society of Serbian Letters (, DSS).
The Academy's membership has included Nobel Prize, Nobel la ...
urged for the plaque to be preserved and the government accepted the motion. The enterprise entrusted with the task of relocation was the mining company " Venčac" as its experts previously participated in the relocation of the Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive Rock-cut architecture, rock-cut Egyptian temple, temples in the village of Abu Simbel (village), Abu Simbel (), Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is located on t ...
temple in Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
.
First idea was to leave the plaque at its position and to build the caisson around it but the calculations showed this would not work. The idea of cutting the plaque in several smaller pieces in order to be moved was abandoned due to the quality of the rock of which it was made. The proposition of lifting it with the floating elevator " Veli Jože" was discarded, too. The motion of cutting the table in one piece and placing it somewhere else was rejected as the plaque would lose its authenticity.[
In the end it was decided to dig in a new bed into the rock above the plaque's original location. The plaque was then cut in one piece with the parts of the surrounding rock and road. After being cut with the cable saws, the 350 tons heavy chunk was lifted to the new bed. Works began in September 1967 and were finished in 1969.][
]
Destruction and remains
The wooden superstructure of the bridge was dismantled by Trajan's successor, 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 '' ...
, presumably in order to protect the empire from barbarian invasions from the north. The superstructure was destroyed by fire.[
The remains of the bridge reappeared in 1858 when the level of the Danube hit a record low due to the extensive drought.][ The twenty pillars were still visible.
In 1906, the Commission of the Danube decided to destroy two of the pillars that were obstructing navigation.
In 1932, there were 16 pillars remaining underwater, but in 1982 only 12 were mapped by archaeologists; the other four had probably been swept away by water. Only the entrance pillars are now visible on either bank of the Danube,Romans Rise from the Waters]
one in Romania and one in Serbia.[
In 1979, Trajan's Bridge was added to the ''Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance'', and in 1983 on '' Archaeological Sites of Exceptional Importance'' list, and by that it is protected by the Republic of Serbia.
]
See also
* List of inscriptions in Serbia
* List of Roman bridges
* Trajan's Dacian Wars
Trajan's Dacian Wars (101–102, 105–106) were two military campaigns fought between the Roman Empire and Dacia during Roman Emperor, Emperor Trajan's rule. The conflicts were triggered by the constant Dacian threat on the Danube, Danubian Rom ...
* Constantine's Bridge (Danube)
Constantine's Bridge (, , ''Konstantinov most''; ) was a Roman bridge over the Danube 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 empe ...
* Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli
Count (nobility), Count Luigi Ferdinando Marsili (or Marsigli, ; 10 July 1658 – 1 November 1730) was an Italian scholar and natural scientist, who also served as an emissary and soldier.
Biography
Born in Bologna, he was a member of an an ...
References
Further reading
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External links
Trajan's Bridge - 3D Animation
*
Romans Rise from the Waters
– Excavations
Trajan's bridge near Kladovo
(Serbian)
Gallery 2003
Gallery 2005
{{Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance
Bridges completed in the 2nd century
Bridges over the Danube
Bridges in Romania
Bridges in Serbia
Roman segmental arch bridges
Deck arch bridges
Demolished bridges
Drobeta-Turnu Severin
Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Serbia
Archaeological Sites of Exceptional Importance
Historic monuments in Mehedinți County
Timok Valley
Roman Dacia
103
105
Trajan
Buildings and structures in Mehedinți County
Demolished buildings and structures in Serbia
Buildings and structures demolished in the 3rd century
Demolished buildings and structures in Romania