Constantine's Bridge
Encyclopedia
Constantine's Bridge was a Roman bridge
over the Danube
. It was completed or rebuilt in 328 and remained in use for no more than four decades. With an overall length of 2437 m, 1137 m of which spanned the Danube's riverbed, Constantine's Bridge is considered the longest ancient
river bridge and one of the longest of all time.
n town Corabia
, Olt County
- then the city of Sucidava
and the Bulgaria
n Gigen
Village, Pleven Province
(ancient Oescus
), by Constantine the Great
. The bridge was apparently used until the mid 4th century, the main reason for this assumption being the fact that Valens
had to cross the Danube using a bridge of boats
at Constantiana Daphne
during his campaign against the Goths
in 367.
The bridge had two abutment
piers at each end, serving as gates for the bridge.
worked in the nineteenth, the first real scientific discoveries were performed by Grigore Tocilescu
and Pamfil Polonic in 1902. In 1934 Dumitru Tudor published the first complete work regarding the bridge, and the last systematic approach on the north bank of the Danube was performed in 1968 by Octavian Toropu.
Roman bridge
Roman bridges, built by ancient Romans, were the first large and lasting bridges built. Roman bridges were built with stone and had the arch as its basic structure....
over the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
. It was completed or rebuilt in 328 and remained in use for no more than four decades. With an overall length of 2437 m, 1137 m of which spanned the Danube's riverbed, Constantine's Bridge is considered the longest ancient
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
river bridge and one of the longest of all time.
Construction
It was a construction with masonry piers and wooden arch bridge and with wooden superstructure. It was constructed between the present-day RomaniaRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n town Corabia
Corabia
Corabia is a small Danube port located in Olt County, Romania, which used to be part of the now-dissolved Romanaţi County before World War II...
, Olt County
Olt County
Olt is a county of Romania, in the historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia . The capital city is Slatina.- Demographics :In 2002, it had a population of 489,274 and the population density was 89/km²....
- then the city of Sucidava
Sucidava
Sucidava is a Dacian and Daco-Roman historical site, situated in Corabia, Romania on the north bank of the Danube...
and the Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n Gigen
Gigen
Gigen is a village in northern Bulgaria, part of Gulyantsi Municipality, Pleven Province. It is located near to the Danube River, close to the place where the Iskar River empties into it, opposite the Romanian town of Corabia....
Village, Pleven Province
Pleven Province
Pleven Province is a province located in central northern Bulgaria, bordering the Danube river, Romania and the Bulgarian provinces of Vratsa, Veliko Tarnovo and Lovech. It is divided into 11 subdivisions, called municipalities, that embrace a territory of 4,333.54 km² with a population, as...
(ancient Oescus
Oescus
Oescus, or Palatiolon Palatiolum, was an ancient town in Moesia, northwest of the modern Bulgarian city of Pleven, near the village of Gigen. It is a Daco-Moesian toponym. Ptolemy calls it a Triballian town, but it later became Roman...
), by Constantine the Great
Constantine I
Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...
. The bridge was apparently used until the mid 4th century, the main reason for this assumption being the fact that Valens
Valens
Valens was the Eastern Roman Emperor from 364 to 378. He was given the eastern half of the empire by his brother Valentinian I after the latter's accession to the throne...
had to cross the Danube using a bridge of boats
Bridge of boats
A "bridge of boats" istype of bridge which floats on water instead of having permanent pillars. It is built by linking boats and the first and last being anchored to the shores. It was used as a military technique since ancient times, being the fastest method for an army to construct a water crossing...
at Constantiana Daphne
Constantiana Daphne
Daphne was a Byzantine fortification inaugurated, most probably in 327, on the left bank of the Danube, across Transmarisca, in the delta of the Arges river. In 367, emperor Valens crossed the Danube at Daphne using a pontoon bridge....
during his campaign against the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
in 367.
Technical Data
The length of the Bridge was 2434 m with a wooden deck with a width of 5.70m at 10 meters above the water.The bridge had two abutment
Abutment
An abutment is, generally, the point where two structures or objects meet. This word comes from the verb abut, which means adjoin or having common boundary. An abutment is an engineering term that describes a structure located at the ends of a bridge, where the bridge slab adjoins the approaching...
piers at each end, serving as gates for the bridge.
Researches
While Marsigli attempted to locate the bridge in the 17th century and Alexandru Popovici and Cezar BolliacCezar Bolliac
Cezar Bolliac or Boliac, Boliak was a Wallachian and Romanian radical political figure, amateur archaeologist, journalist and Romantic poet.-Early life:...
worked in the nineteenth, the first real scientific discoveries were performed by Grigore Tocilescu
Grigore Tocilescu
Grigore George Tocilescu was a Romanian historian, archaeologist, epigrapher and folkorist, member of Romanian Academy....
and Pamfil Polonic in 1902. In 1934 Dumitru Tudor published the first complete work regarding the bridge, and the last systematic approach on the north bank of the Danube was performed in 1968 by Octavian Toropu.
See also
- List of Roman bridges
- Roman architectureRoman architectureAncient Roman architecture adopted certain aspects of Ancient Greek architecture, creating a new architectural style. The Romans were indebted to their Etruscan neighbors and forefathers who supplied them with a wealth of knowledge essential for future architectural solutions, such as hydraulics...
- Roman engineeringRoman engineeringRomans are famous for their advanced engineering accomplishments, although some of their own inventions were improvements on older ideas, concepts and inventions. Technology for bringing running water into cities was developed in the east, but transformed by the Romans into a technology...
- List of crossings of the Danube