Eleutherna Bridge
The Eleutherna Bridge is an ancient Greek corbel arch bridge near the Cretan town of Eleutherna, Greece.[1] A similar second bridge standing a short distance south of it collapsed toward the end of the 19th century, with only very few traces remaining.[2]
Eleutherna Bridge | |
|---|---|
 View to the south | |
| Coordinates | 35°20′17″N 24°40′15″E |
| Carries | Footpath to Eleutherna |
| Crosses | Confluence of Pharangitis and Chalopota streams |
| Locale | Prines, Crete, Greece |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Corbel arch bridge |
| Material | Limestone |
| Total length | 9.35 m |
| Width | 5.05−5.2 m |
| Height | 4−4.2 m |
| Longest span | 3.95 m |
| No. of spans | 1 |
| History | |
| Construction end | Hellenistic period |
| Location | |
| |
Description
The well-preserved structure has a single span of 3.95 m, which is quite large for a false arch. The opening is cut from the unmortared limestone blocks in the shape of an isosceles triangle, the height of which is 1.84 m. The overall length of the bridge measures 9.35 m. Its width varies from 5.1 to 5.2 m, with the structure converging slightly towards its center point above the arch (5.05 m width there). The height is between 4 and 4.2 m.[3]
History
The bridge, which is still in use, was first described by the Englishman T.A.B. Spratt in his Travels and Researches in Crete, after he had paid a visit to the site in 1853.[4] At the time, another ancient bridge with a triangular arch was still standing a few hundred metres away, but, judging from a later report, was destroyed some unknown time before 1893.[5]
Date
While there is general agreement that the two bridges of Eleutherna date to the pre-Roman period, a more precise dating is hampered by the lack of proper finds.[6] According to Nakassis, the extant, northern bridge was built sometime during the Hellenistic period,[7] while the Italian scholar Galliazzo dates the construction more precisely to the end of the 4th or beginning of the 3rd century BC.[8] For the smaller, now collapsed southern bridge Nakassis cautiously supports a late Classical date.[9]
References
- Briegleb 1971, p. 258; Galliazzo 1995, pp. 37f.; Nakassis 2000
- Nakassis 2000, pp. 360
- All data: Nakassis 2000, p. 358
- Nakassis 2000, pp. 359f.
- Nakassis 2000, pp. 360, 363
- Nakassis 2000, p. 365, fn. 54
- Nakassis 2000, pp. 364f.
- Galliazzo 1995, pp. 37f.
- Nakassis 2000, pp. 364-365
Sources
- Briegleb, Jochen (1971), "Die vorrömischen Steinbrücken des Altertums", Technikgeschichte, 38 (3): 255–260 (258)
- Galliazzo, Vittorio (1995), I ponti romani, Vol. 1, Treviso: Edizioni Canova, pp. 37f., ISBN 88-85066-66-6
- Nakassis, Athanassios (2000), "The Bridges of Ancient Eleutherna", The Annual of the British School at Athens, 95: 353–365, doi:10.1017/s006824540000472x
Further reading
- Bougia, Polyxeni (1996), "Ancient Bridges in Greece and Coastal Asia Minor", Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania
See also
External links
Media related to Eleutherna Bridge at Wikimedia Commons