Editing Roman bridge (section)

== History ==

Following the conquests of [[Tarquinius Priscus]], [[Etruscan architecture|Etruscan engineers]] migrated to Rome, bringing with them their knowledge of bridge-building techniques. The oldest bridge in [[ancient Rome]] was the [[Pons Sublicius]].<ref name="aldrete">{{Cite book |last=Aldrete |first=Gregory S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zHE4UJQ0XRIC |title=Floods of the Tiber in Ancient Rome |date=5 March 2007 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-0-8018-9188-5 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="whitney">{{Cite book |last=Whitney |first=Charles S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ryW-Qo3Hr3sC |title=Bridges of the World: Their Design and Construction |date=1 January 2003 |publisher=Courier Corporation |isbn=978-0-486-42995-3 |language=en}}</ref>  It was built in the 6th century BC by [[Ancus Marcius]] over the [[Tiber River]].<ref name="whitney" /><ref name="corbishley">{{Cite book |last=Corbishley |first=Mike |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uo4JN29FNPEC&dq=Bridges+in+Ancient+Rome&pg=PA24 |title=Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ancient Rome |date=2004 |publisher=Getty Publications |isbn=978-0-89236-705-4 |pages=24 |language=en}}</ref> The Romans improved on [[Etruscan architecture|Etruscan architectural]] techniques. They developed the [[voussoir]], stronger [[keystones]], [[Vault (architecture)|vaults]], and superior arched bridges.<ref name="bunson">{{Cite book |last=Bunson |first=Matthew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T5tic2VunRoC&dq=Construction+of+Roman+bridges&pg=PA194 |title=Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire |date=2014-05-14 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-1027-1 |pages=194 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Robertson |first=D.S. |title=Greek and Roman Architecture |date=1943 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |edition=2nd |page=231 |quote=The Romans were the first builders in Europe, perhaps the first in the world, fully to appreciate the advantages of the arch, the vault and the dome.}}</ref> Roman arched bridges were capable of withstanding more stress by dispersing forces across bridges.<ref name="oleson" /> Many Roman bridges had semicircular arches, but a few were [[Segmental arch|segmental]], i.e. with an arc of less than 180 degrees.<ref name="beall">{{cite web |last=Beall |first=Christine |date=1 September 1988 |title=Designing the segmental arch |url=https://www.concreteconstruction.net/_view-object?id=00000154-2575-db06-a1fe-777dacdc0000 |access-date=21 March 2022 |publisher=The Aberdeen Group |via=Concrete Construction}}</ref> 

[[File:Roma-Ponte rotto02.jpg|thumb|[[Pons Aemilius]], the oldest stone bridge in Rome]]
By the 2nd century BC, the Romans had further refined their bridge-building techniques, using stronger materials such as [[volcanic ash]], [[Limestone|lime]] and [[gypsum]]. Also, they began to use [[Clamp (tool)|iron clamps]] to hold together bridges, constructing midstream arches, and [[pentagon]]al stones to allow for wider [[Vault (architecture)|vaults]].<ref name="dupre">{{Cite book |last=Dupré |first=Judith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=om5FDgAAQBAJ&q=History+of+Roman+bridges |title=Bridges: A History of the World's Most Spectacular Spans |date=2017-11-07 |publisher=Running Press |isbn=978-0-316-47380-4 |language=en}}</ref> According to Canadian classicist [[John Peter Oleson]], no known stone bridges existed in Italy before the 2nd century BC.<ref name="oleson">{{Cite book |last=Oleson |first=John Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jrsVDAAAQBAJ&q=Bridges+in+Ancient+Rome |title=The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World |date=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-973485-6 |pages=259, 456, 569–571 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Oleson |first=John Peter |date=June 13, 2018 |title=BRIEF BIOGRAPHY |url=http://web.uvic.ca/~jpoleson/#toc }}</ref> This view is not supported unanimously: Spanish engineer [[:es:Leonardo_Fernández_Troyano|Leonardo Fernández Troyano]] suggested that stone bridges have existed since [[Italic peoples|Pre-Roman Italy]].<ref name="troyano">{{Cite book |last=Troyano |first=Leonardo Fernández |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0u5G8E3uPUAC |title=Bridge Engineering: A Global Perspective |date=2003 |publisher=Thomas Telford |isbn=978-0-7277-3215-6 |pages=86, 94, 100–107 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=main |url=https://www.cfcsl.com/en/ |access-date=2022-03-12 |website=CFCSL |language=en-US}}</ref> 

Between 150 and 50 BC, many stone Roman bridges were built, the [[Pons Aemilius]] being the first.<ref name="aldrete" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Proske |first1=Dirk |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8m1I6ERB0HEC&dq=Construction+of+Roman+bridges&pg=PA37 |title=Safety of historical stone arch bridges |last2=Gelder |first2=Pieter van |date=2009-09-18 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-540-77618-5 |pages=37–38 |language=en}}</ref> Engineers began to use stone instead of wood to exemplify the ''[[Pax Romana]]'' and to construct longer-lasting bridges.<ref name="bove">{{Cite book |last1=Bove |first1=L. |title=The Stone Bridges in Southern Italy: From the Roman Tradition to the Middle of the 19th Centuries |last2=Bergamasco |first2=I. |last3=Lippiello |first3=M. |publisher=Dipartimento di Costruzioni e Metodi Matematici in Architettura Università degli Studi di Napoli – Facoltà di Architettura |year=2004 |pages=3–4 |language=English}}</ref> These were the first large-scale bridges ever constructed.<ref name="dupre" /> Bridges were constructed by the Roman government to serve the needs of the [[Military of ancient Rome|military]] and the empire's administration. Sometimes roads and bridges were used for commercial purposes, but this was rare as boats better served the needs of the [[Roman economy]].<ref name="ruddock">{{Cite book |last=Ruddock |first=Ted |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ulsPEAAAQBAJ&dq=History+of+Roman+bridges&pg=PR21 |title=Masonry Bridges, Viaducts and Aqueducts |date=2017-05-15 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-91928-9 |pages=XXI, 15–23 |language=en}}</ref>

By the 2nd century Roman techniques had declined, and they had been mostly lost by the 4th century.<ref name="whitney" /> Some Roman bridges are still used today, such as the [[Pons Fabricius]], and even after the [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire]], engineers copied their bridges.<ref name="maynard" /> Roman bridge-building techniques persisted until the 18th century:<ref name="whitney" /> for example, the prevalence of arches in bridges can be attributed to the Romans.<ref name="ruddock" />