Roman bridge in the context of "Arch bridge"

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⭐ Core Definition: Roman bridge

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 BC 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.

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Roman bridge in the context of Roman architectural revolution

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, and dome. For the first time in Europe, possibly in the world (earlier experiments with arches in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia notwithstanding), the potential of these elements was fully appreciated and exploited in the construction of a wide range of civil engineering structures, public buildings, and military facilities. Throughout the Roman Empire, from Syria to Scotland, engineers erected structures using semicircular arches. The first use of arches was for civic structures, like drains and city gates. Later the arches were utilized for major civic buildings bridges and aqueducts, with the outstanding 1st century AD examples provided by the Colosseum, Pont Du Gard, and the aqueduct of Segovia. The introduction of the ceremonial triumphal arch dates back to Roman Republic, although the best examples are from the imperial times (Arch of Augustus at Susa, Arch of Titus).

A crucial factor in this development that saw a trend to monumental architecture was the invention of Roman concrete (also called opus caementicium), which led to the liberation of the shape from the dictate of the traditional materials of stone and brick.

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Roman bridge in the context of Ponte Nomentano

The Ponte Nomentano (called Pons Lamentanus during the Middle Ages) is a Roman bridge in Rome, Italy, which carried the Via Nomentana over the Aniene (Latin: Anio). 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.

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Roman bridge in the context of Augusta Treverorum

Augusta Treverorum (Latin for "City of Augustus in the Land of the Treveri") was a Roman city on the Moselle River, from which modern Trier emerged.

The date of the city's founding is placed between the construction of the first Roman bridge in Trier (18/17 BC) and the late reign of Augustus († 14 AD). In the Roman Empire, Trier formed the main town of the civitas of the Treverians, where several ten thousand people lived, and belonged to the province of Gallia Belgica. Roman Trier gained particular importance in late antiquity: between the late 3rd and late 4th centuries several rulers, including Constantine the Great, used the city as one of the western imperial residences, sponsoring monumental buildings such as the Trier Imperial Baths and the Basilica of Constantine. With a high five-digit population in 300, Augusta Treverorum, now sometimes called Treveris, was the largest city north of the Alps and thus had the status of a global city.

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Roman bridge in the context of 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 mausoleum, now the towering Castel Sant'Angelo. The bridge is faced with travertine marble and spans the Tiber with five arches, three of which are Roman; it was approached by means of a ramp from the river. The bridge is now solely pedestrian and provides a scenic view of Castel Sant'Angelo. It links the rioni of Ponte (which was named after the bridge itself), and Borgo, to which the bridge administratively belongs.

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Roman bridge in the context of Puente Romano, Mérida

The Puente Romano (Spanish for Roman Bridge) is a Roman bridge over the Guadiana River at Mérida in southwest Spain.

The Puente Romano was built c. First Century CE. It is the world's longest (in terms of distance) surviving bridge from ancient times, having once featured an estimated overall length of 755 m with 62 spans. The piers are designed to withstand river current as they are rounded on the upstream side and square on the downstream side.

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Roman bridge in the context of Eurymedon Bridge (Selge)

The Eurymedon Bridge (Turkish: Oluk Köprü) is a Roman bridge over the river Eurymedon (modern Köprüçay River) 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.

The excellently preserved structure is 14 m long and 3.5 m wide (with a roadway of 2.5 m). The clear span of its single arch is c. 7 m, the thickness of its voussoirs, which were set without the use of mortar, 60 cm. The building technique and the sturdy stonework point to a construction date in the 2nd century AD, a time when Selge was flourishing.

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Roman bridge in the context of Temple of Portunus

The Temple of Portunus (Italian: Tempio di Portuno) is an ancient Roman temple in Rome, Italy. It was built beside the Forum Boarium, the Roman cattle market associated with Hercules, which was adjacent to Rome's oldest river port (Portus Tiberinus) and the oldest stone bridge across the Tiber River, the Pons Aemilius. It was probably dedicated to the gateway god Portunus although the precise dedication remains unclear as there were several other temples in the area besides his. It was misidentified as the Temple of Fortuna Virilis (Latin for "Manly Luck") from the Renaissance and remains better known by this name. The temple is one of the best preserved of all Roman temples.

It is dedicated to Portunus, the god of keys, doors and livestock, and so granaries, it is the main temple dedicated to the god in the city. During the Medieval period, the temple was converted to a Christian church dedicated to Santa Maria Egyziaca ("St Mary of Egypt"). It remained a church up until the early 20th century, when it was deconsecrated, stripped of all later additions, and returned to its classical appearance, as an archaeological monument. This restoration included the demolition of surrounding medieval and Renaissance era buildings.

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Roman bridge in the context of 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 built over the Tagus River between 104 and 106 AD by an order of the Roman emperor Trajan in 98.

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