This is a list of Roman bridges. The Romans were the world's first major bridge builders.[1] The following constitutes an attempt to list all known surviving remains of Roman bridges.
A Roman bridge in the sense of this article includes any of these features:
Roman arches
Roman pillars
Roman foundations
Roman abutments
Roman roadway
Roman cutwaters
Also listed are bridges which feature substantially Roman material (spolia), as long as the later bridge is erected on the site of a Roman precursor. Finally, incidences where only inscriptions lay testimony to a former Roman bridge are also included.
In the following, bridges are classified either according to their material or their function. Most data not otherwise marked come from O’Connor's Roman Bridges, which lists 330 stone bridges for traffic, 34 timber bridges and 54 aqueduct bridges.[2] An even larger compilation of more than 900 Roman bridges (as of 2011) is offered by the Italian scholar Galliazzo, who is used here only selectively.[3]
Note: the table columns are sortable by clicking the header, e.g. for country of origin, etc.
Note on classification
Bridges are particularly difficult to classify as they, more than other structures, are subject to wear, on account of war and the impact of natural elements. The constant need for repairs through the ages has often turned bridges into hybrid structures, making it often difficult or nearly impossible to determine the exact date and origin of individual parts of a bridge. Thus, the majority of bridges listed below can be assumed to include medieval or (early) modern modifications, replacements or extensions, to a small or large extent.
Masonry road bridges
The following table lists road bridges made out of stone or brick. The vast majority features arches, although stone deck slabs were also known. Bridges' spans and height abbreviations: S = small, M = middle, L = large.
A timber bridge is a structure composed wholly out of wood, while a stone pillar bridge features a wooden superstructure resting on stone pillars. Strictly speaking, many bridges of the second type should be rather called "concrete pillar bridges", as the Romans preferably used opus caementicium for constructing their bridge piers (stone was confined in these cases to covering). Both types, timber bridges and stone respectively concrete pillar bridges, are listed here in the same category as historically, with the consolidation of Roman power in the newly conquered provinces, wooden bridges often gave way to solid pillar bridges.
As an alternative to ferry services, the Roman army often made use of pontoon bridges, along with timber structures, for river crossings. They usually consisted of boats lashed together, with the bows pointing towards the current. Permanent bridges of boats were also commonly set up for civilian traffic.
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 keystones. There were three major types of Roman bridge: wooden, pontoon, and stone. Early Roman bridges were wooden, but by the 2nd century stone was being used. Stone bridges used the arch as their basic structure, and most used concrete, the first use of this material in bridge-building.
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct may be made from a series of arches, although other more economical structures are typically used today.
The Ponte Pietra is a Roman arch bridge crossing the Adige River in Verona, Italy. The bridge was completed in 100 BC, and the Via Postumia from Genoa to Aquileia passed over it. It is the oldest bridge in Verona.
The Ponte das Taipas is a deck slab bridge across the Ave River in Caldas das Taipas, Portugal. Contrary to some sources which classify the structure as a Roman bridge, it was built in the modern age.
The Alcántara Bridge 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 built over the Tagus River between 104 and 106 AD by an order of the Roman emperor Trajan in 98.
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.
The White Bridge was a Roman bridge across the river Granicus in Mysia in the north west of modern-day Turkey. Presumably constructed in the 4th century AD, it belonged in Ottoman times to the important road to Gallipoli on the Dardanelles. The structure was praised by early European travellers for its fine construction and marble facing, but was plundered for building material during the 19th century.
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.
The Eurymedon Bridge was a late Roman bridge over the river Eurymedon, near Aspendos, in Pamphylia in southern Anatolia. The foundations and other stone blocks (spolia) of the Roman structure were used by the Seljuqs to build a replacement bridge in the 13th century, the Köprüpazar Köprüsü, which stands to this day. This bridge is characterized by a significant displacement along its mid-line, noticeable by looking at its ancient piers.
The Bridge near Limyra is a late Roman bridge in Lycia, in modern south-west Turkey, and one of the oldest segmented arch bridges in the world. Located near the ancient city of Limyra, it is the largest civil engineering structure of antiquity in the region, spanning the Alakır Çayı river over a length of 360 m (1,181.1 ft) on 26 segmental arches. These arches, with a span-to-rise ratio of 5.3:1, give the bridge an unusually flat profile, and were unsurpassed as an architectural achievement until the late Middle Ages. Today, the structure is largely buried by river sediments and surrounded by greenhouses. Despite its unique features, the bridge remains relatively unknown, and only in the 1970s did researchers from the Istanbul branch of the German Archaeological Institute carry out field examinations on the site.
The Nysa Bridge is a late imperial Roman bridge over the Cakircak stream in Nysa in the ancient region of Caria, modern-day Turkey. The 100 m (328 ft) long substructure was the second largest of its kind in antiquity, after the Pergamon Bridge.
The Bridge near Seydikemer was a Roman segmental arch bridge near the ancient city of Xanthos in Lycia, in modern-day southwestern Turkey. Its remains are located on the upper reaches of the Xanthos river, 4 km upstream from the town of Seydikemer, at a site where the gravel river bed reaches a width of 500 m. Only a 29 m long and 4.5 m wide section on the right river bank, outside the inundation zone, is left today, having once served as approach to the bridge proper. Despite its near-complete destruction, the bridge represents a noteworthy example of the early use of segmental arches and hollow chambers in bridge building.
The Macestus Bridge or Bridge of Sultançayır was a Roman bridge across the Macestus River at Balıkesir, in the northwestern part of modern-day Turkey. Its flattened arches, slender piers and the hollow chamber system documented the progress made in late antique bridge building. A first cursory investigation of the 234 m long structure was conducted in the early 20th century, but since then its existence has been largely neglected by scholars. Current photos from 2009 show that the bridge has collapsed in the meantime.
The Pergamon Bridge is a Roman substruction bridge over the Selinus river in the ancient city of Pergamon, modern-day Turkey. The 196 m (643 ft) wide structure, the largest of its kind in antiquity, was designed during Hadrian's reign (AD 117–138) in order to form a passageway underneath a large court in front of the monumental "Red Basilica" temple complex. The two intact tubes, which consist of supporting walls covered with barrel vaults, still serve their purpose to this day.
The Karamagara Bridge is a Byzantine or late Roman bridge in the ancient region of Cappadocia in eastern Turkey, and possibly the earliest known pointed arch bridge.
The Aesepus Bridge was a late antique Roman bridge over the Aesepus River in the ancient region of Mysia in modern-day Turkey. It is notable for its advanced hollow chamber system which has also been employed in other Roman bridges in the region, such as the Makestos Bridge. In a field examination carried out in the early 20th century, the four main vaults of the bridge were found in ruins, while nearly all piers and the seven minor arches had still remained intact. Today, the two remaining pier stubs in the riverbed are still extant, while the condition of the rest of the structure is difficult to determine.
The Ponte Nomentano is a Roman bridge in Rome, Italy, which carried the Via Nomentana over the Aniene. Having lain outside the city limits for most of its history, the picturesque bridge is noted for its medieval bridge tower, which served to protect this important northern approach to Rome.
The Ponte Salario, also called Ponte Salaro during the Middle Ages, is a road bridge in Rome, Italy, whose origins date back to the Roman period. In antiquity, it lay outside the city limits, 3 km north of the Porta Collina, at the point where the Via Salaria crossed the Aniene, a tributary of the Tiber. The visible side arches are assumed to originate from the first stone structure built during the 1st century BC.
The Eurymedon Bridge is a Roman bridge over the river Eurymedon near Selge in Pisidia in southern Turkey. It is part of the road winding up from the coastal region Pamphylia to the Pisidian hinterland. Located 5 km north of the village Beşkonak in a sparsely settled area, the bridge crosses the Eurymedon high above the valley bottom.
1 2 3 Note that Marcia, Julia and Tepula shared about 9 km of their aqueduct bridge mileage (O’Connor 1993, p.151).
Sources
Main source
O’Connor, Colin (1993), Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, ISBN0-521-39326-4
Other sources
Bauer, Sibylle (2004), "Die älteste Steinbrücke am Rhein– stand sie in Mainz? Neuer Holzfund als Indiz für einen frührömischen Brückenschlag", Antike Welt, vol.35, no.3, pp.83–84
Döring, Mathias (1998), "Die römische Wasserleitung von Pondel (Aostatal)", Antike Welt, vol.29, no.2, pp.127–134
Kissel, Theodor; Stoll, Oliver (2000), "Die Brücke bei Nimreh. Ein Zeugnis römischer Verkehrspolitik im Hauran, Syrien", Antike Welt, vol.31, no.2, pp.109–125
Milner, N. P. (1998), "A Roman Bridge at Oinoanda", Anatolian Studies, vol.48, British Institute at Ankara, Cambridge University Press, pp.117–123, doi:10.2307/3643051, JSTOR3643051
Selkirk, Raymond (1995), On the Trail of the Legions, Anglia Publishing, ISBN1-897874-14-6
Warren, John (1991), "Creswell's Use of the Theory of Dating by the Acuteness of the Pointed Arches in Early Muslim Architecture", Muqarnas, vol.8, Brill, pp.59–65, doi:10.2307/1523154, JSTOR1523154
Wiegand, Theodor (1904), "Reisen in Mysien", Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Athenische Abteilung, 29: 254–339 (300–301)
Wurster, Wolfgang W.; Ganzert, Joachim (1978), "Eine Brücke bei Limyra in Lykien. Anhang: Reste einer Brücke oberhalb von Kemer am Oberlauf des Xanthos", Archäologischer Anzeiger, Berlin: German Archaeological Institute, pp.304–307, ISSN0003-8105
Further reading
Fernández Casado, C.: Historia del puente en España. Puentes Romanos, Instituto Eduardo Torroja, Madrid 1980
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