List_of_Roman_bridges

List of Roman bridges

List of Roman bridges

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This is a list of Roman bridges. The Romans were the world's first major bridge builders.[1] The following list constitutes an attempt to list all known surviving remains of Roman bridges.

Ponte Sant'Angelo in Rome, Italy
Roman stone pillar bridge in Trier, Germany. The arches were added in the 14th century.
Pons Cestius, Rome, during a flood

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.

More information Image, Name ...

Timber and stone pillar bridges

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.

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Pontoon 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.

More information Character, River ...

Aqueduct bridges

More information Image, Destination (Town) ...

See also

General overview

Other Roman building structures


References

  1. Galliazzo 1994, pp. 1–447 (cf. indice)
  2. Milner 1998, pp. 117f.
  3. A Roman Bridge on the Aesepus, F. W. Hasluck, The Annual of the British School at Athens, Vol. 12, (1905/1906):189.
  4. Galliazzo 1995, pp. 92–93
  5. Warren 1991, pp. 61–63
  6. Wiegand 1904, pp. 300–301, leaflet (annex)
  7. Galliazzo 1994, pp. 334 (No. 689)
  8. Galliazzo 1994, pp. 203–204 (No. 433)
  9. Galliazzo 1994, pp. 205–207 (No. 434)
  10. Galliazzo 1994, pp. 207–208 (No. 435)
  11. Grewe & Özis 1994, pp. 350, 352
  12. Hasluck 1906, pp. 188f.
  13. Bauer 2004, pp. 83f.
  14. "Cromwell - Thankful Village".
  15. Procopius: De Aedificiis, 5.3.8-11
  16. Döring 2007, pp. 24–35
  17. Döring 1998, pp. 127–134
  18. Note that Anio Novus and Claudia shared about 10 km of their aqueduct bridge mileage (O’Connor 1993, p. 151).
  19. 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, ISBN 0-521-39326-4

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
  • Döring, Mathias (2007), "Wasser für Gadara. 94 km langer Tunnel antiker Tunnel im Norden Jordaniens entdeckt" (PDF), Querschnitt, vol. 21, pp. 24–35
  • Galliazzo, Vittorio (1994), I ponti romani. Catalogo generale, vol. 2, Treviso: Edizioni Canova, ISBN 88-85066-66-6
  • Galliazzo, Vittorio (1995), I ponti romani, vol. 1, Treviso: Edizioni Canova, ISBN 88-85066-66-6
  • Grewe, Klaus; Özis, Ünal (1994), "Die antiken Flußüberbauungen von Pergamon und Nysa (Türkei)", Antike Welt, 25 (4): 348–352
  • Hasluck, Frederick William (1906), "A Roman Bridge on the Aesepus", The Annual of the British School at Athens, 12: 184–189, doi:10.1017/s0068245400008066
  • 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, JSTOR 3643051
  • Selkirk, Raymond (1995), On the Trail of the Legions, Anglia Publishing, ISBN 1-897874-14-6
  • 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, JSTOR 1523154
  • 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, ISSN 0003-8105

Further reading

  • Fernández Casado, C.: Historia del puente en España. Puentes Romanos, Instituto Eduardo Torroja, Madrid 1980

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