The Arkadiko Bridge, also known as the Kazarma Bridge, is believed to be the oldest existing bridge in the world. It is an arch bridge and one of the oldest of this type still used by the local population. Bridge served as a highway between the cities of Tiryns and Epidauros. Was built sometime around 1300 – 1190 BCE and was part of a larger highway in the area.
The Tarr Steps are an ancient clapper bridge. No one knows for sure how old the bride is but the Tarr Steps could date back to at least 1000 BCE. The Tarr Steps consist of 17 giant slabs (total of 180 feet long) and are considered the best example of a clapper bridge and is still in use.
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Although there are a few bridges that are much older, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the bridge over the river Meles is the oldest datable bride in the world still in use. This ancient arched stone slab bridge was built around 850 BCE in Izmir, Turkey. At one point, the Caravan Bridge served as the checked entry point into the city of Izmir.
The Pons Fabricius is the oldest existing Roman bride in its original state. It was built in 62 BCE and spans half of the Tiber River. Pons Fabricius was built to replace a previous wooden bridge that had burned down. Despite its old age, th bridge has remained in continuous use.
Alcántara Bridge is another Imperial Roman bridge that still exists today. The stone arch bridge was built over the Tagus River after the Roman Emperor Trajan issued an order in 98 CE. Construction of Alcántara Bridge began in 104 CE and ended two years later.
Ponte Sant’Angelo is one of the most famous Roman bridges in the world. The bridge was commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian to span the Tiber River from the city center in Rome to his newly constructed mausoleum, which is now known as the Castel Sant’Angelo. was built in 134 CE.
The Cendere Bridge is a Roman bridge dating from the late Imperial Roman period. It is located near the ancient city of Arsameia in southeastern Turkey. While an older bridge may have existed in the same spot, the current Cendere Bridge is dated to around 200 BCE.
The Band-e Kaisar of Bridge of Valerian was a Roman stone arch bridge built in what is now Shushtar, Iran. At the time it was built, around 260 – 270 CE, the bridge was combined with a dam – making Band-e Kaisar the first of its kind in the country. The bridge/dam was the most eastern Roman bridge/dam, lying deep in Persian territory.
The Bridge near Limyra is a unique stone bridge. The bridge is located near the ancient city of Limyra and is the largest civil engineering structure of antiquity in the region. It has been hard to date the construction of the bridge, which is estimated to be sometime in the 3rd century.
The Karamagara Bridge was built sometime in the 5th or 6th century during the era of the Byzantine Empire. The bridge consisted of a single pointed arch and is possibly the earliest known example of a pointed arch bridge. The bridge is no longer usable today because it was submerged after the completion of the Keban Dam in 1975.
Part of the 50-kilometer Nîmes aqueduct, France’s Pont du Gard – a three-level water bridge spanning Languedoc-Roussillon’s Gardon River built midway through the 1st century AD and comprised of 21,000 cubic meters of rock weighing over 50,000 tons – is a marvel of Roman engineering.
Dating back as far as the 2nd century, Spain’s Alcántara Bridge is a spectacular feat of ancient Roman engineering. Constructed under the orders of Emperor Trajan, the six-arched structure crosses the Tagus River and was built to connect the then Roman settlement of Cáceres with Portugal’s historic Beira Alta province.
