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The 'Alconétar bridge' may be the oldest surviving Roman stone segmental arch bridge in the world, predating other examples such as the Zhaozhou Bridge in China and Ponte Vecchio in Europe. The bridge's construction is attributed to Trajan's architect Apollodorus of Damascus, who also built the timber-arched Trajan's Bridge in the early 2nd century.
The bridge was relocated from its original position across the Tagus when the Alcántara reservoir was created in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain ^[1]. Two original segmental arches were preserved, of 6.7m and 7.2m span, and a span-to-rise ratio of between 4 and 5, as were segmental arches from a later date ^[2]. There is evidence from the position of piers that segmental spans up to 10m may have been present in the original construction.

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References

1. Troyano, Leonardo Fernández, "Bridge Engineering - A Global Perspective", Thomas Telford Publishing, 2003
2. "A brief analysis of the Roman bridges of the way La Via de la Plata", Limón, Hortelano & Fernández

External links

★ Dimensioned elevations showing the surviving arches

★ Photograph showing three of four surviving arches