Alconétar Bridge, Garrovillas de Alconétar, Spain

The Alconétar Bridge (Puente de Alconétar), also known as Puente de Mantible, was a Roman segmental arch bridge in the Extremadura region, Spain. The ancient structure, which featured flattened arches with a span-to-rise ratio of 4–5:1, is one of the earliest of its kind. Due to its design, it is assumed that the bridge was erected in the early 2nd century AD by the emperors Trajan or Hadrian, possibly under the guidance of Apollodorus of Damascus, the most famous architect of the time.

The almost 300 m long Alconétar Bridge served as a crossing point for the Roman Via de la Plata, the most important north–south connection in western Hispania, over the Tagus, the longest river of the Iberian peninsula. It presumably remained in service until the Reconquista, after which numerous early modern reconstruction attempts by Spanish engineers failed. The ruins, which were mainly to be found on the right river bank, were relocated from their original position in 1970 when the Alcántara reservoir was created.

References:

Wikipedia

Prehistoric and archaeological sites in Spain

User Reviews

sylvain CAMPAN (11 months ago)
Very beautiful ruin of Roman bridge with Inès structure without mortar

Eric Sellekaerts (2 years ago)
How the Romans could make this bridge with heavy weight blocks....but they had a good reason. The "Via The La Plata" or silver Road was a main trade road that linked Sevilla with Merida, Cáseres...Extramadura has so much history

Myroslava Buzova (2 years ago)
A beautiful building in a deserted place. It is interesting to see how they built it before and why the bridge stood for much more than a thousand years. It's easy to get to the bridge from the highway; it won't take much of your time.

Peser (3 years ago)
It must have been a great Roman bridge, even so, the remains that remain are important and allow us to see the great work that the Romans did and thinking that it should last a long time, the photos show its current state and the grandeur of the manufacture, in his style.

CAHTUU (3 years ago)
Since I was little, I have seen it when passing by on my visits to Cáceres, and it has always fascinated me. You can think like the archaeologists that moving it from its original location loses the answer, or you can think that it was better out and in plain sight than hidden and possibly destroyed. I prefer the second

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Following Hadrian

Historic Site of the week

Walls of Constantinople

The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.

Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.

Alconétar Bridge

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Walls of Constantinople