1Road and Bridge Department, Lublin University of Technology
2University of Cape Town, South Africa
American Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture.
2017,
Vol. 5 No. 6, 237-244
DOI: 10.12691/ajcea-5-6-3
Copyright © 2017 Science and Education PublishingCite this paper: Karas Slawomir, Nien-Tsu Tuan. The World’s Oldest Bridges - Mycenaean Bridges.
American Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture. 2017; 5(6):237-244. doi: 10.12691/ajcea-5-6-3.
Correspondence to: Karas Slawomir, Road and Bridge Department, Lublin University of Technology. Email:
s.karas@pollub.plAbstract
The ancient bridges and their remnants located in the vicinity of and Arkadico villages are considered to be the world's oldest bridges. The bridges were built with massive irregular limestone blocks, called Cyclopean boulders, in the Bronze Age. Two of the four objects discussed here are still in operation, occasionally used for the needs of local agriculture. The bridges are classified as clapper schemes, but a lot points to the parallel use of the arch bridge technology. The remnants of the bridge in the vicinity of the modern , due to the significant width of the riverbed, suggest that it might have been the longest among Mycenaean bridges. Probably, it was a multi-span bridge. The structures of the discussed bridges have flat bottom platforms that stabilize the walls of the bridge openings and protect them against washing out. The technological problem of the bridge keystone installation was investigated in the cases of corbel and arch systems.
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