Editing Roman bridge (section)

== Typology ==
[[File:Ponte Quattro Capi.jpg|thumb|left|[[Pons Fabricius]] in Rome]]
There were three major types of Roman bridges. These were wooden, pontoon, and stone bridges.  A list of Roman bridges compiled by the engineer Colin O'Connor features 330 [[List of Roman bridges#Masonry bridges|stone bridges]] for traffic, 34 [[List of Roman bridges#Timber and stone pillar bridges|timber bridges]] and 54 [[List of Roman bridges#Aqueduct bridges|aqueduct bridges]], a substantial number still standing and even used to carry vehicles.<ref name=":153"/> A more complete survey by the Italian scholar Vittorio Galliazzo found 931 Roman bridges, mostly of stone, in as many as 26 different countries (including former [[Yugoslavia]]; see right table).<ref name=":143"/> A segmental arch is an arch that is less than a semicircle.<ref name="beall" /> The Romans built both single spans and lengthy multiple-arch [[Roman aqueducts|aqueducts]], such as the [[Pont du Gard]] and [[Segovia Aqueduct]]. Their bridges often had flood openings in the piers, e.g. in the [[Pons Fabricius]] in Rome (62 BC), one of the world's oldest major bridges still standing.

There were two main types of wooden bridge in Britain. Small timber bridges with [[girder]]s, and large ones made of stone and wood. Throughout the rest of the Roman  world, except for northern Europe, arched bridges made of stone were common. This was likely due to the climate and rivers of the regions. Rivers were much calmer and water levels were lower in the southern parts of the Empire. This ensured foundations were easy to construct. While in the northern parts it was much harder to lay down foundations due to the high water level, muddy water, and substantial waterflow.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harrison |first=David Featherstone |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AE4VDAAAQBAJ&dq=types+of+Roman+bridges&pg=PA99 |title=The Bridges of Medieval England: Transport and Society, 400–1800 |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-927274-7 |pages=99 |language=en}}</ref>