Karamagara Bridge
| Karamagara Bridge | |
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The single pointed arch of 17 m span
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| Coordinates | 38°55′30″N 38°39′31″E / 38.924961°N 38.658486°ECoordinates: 38°55′30″N 38°39′31″E / 38.924961°N 38.658486°E |
| Carries | Roman road to Melitene |
| Crosses | Arapgir Çayı |
| Locale | Near Ağın, Elâzığ Province, Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Pointed arch bridge |
| Material | Stone |
| Longest span | 17 m |
| No. of spans | 1 |
| History | |
| Construction end | 5th or 6th century AD |
 Karamagara Bridge
Location in Turkey
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The Karamagara Bridge (Turkish: Karamağara Köprüsü, "Bridge of the Black Cave") is a Byzantine or late Roman bridge in the ancient region of Cappadocia in eastern Turkey, and possibly the earliest known pointed arch bridge.
The single arch of 17 m spans between the cliffs of the rocky gorge of the Arapgir Çayı, an affluent of the Euphrates. The bridge, along with much of the Arapgir Çayı valley, has been submerged since the completion of the Keban Dam in 1975, as a result of which the water level in the Euphrates valley and some of its upstream tributaries dramatically rose.
The structure belonged to the Roman road to Melitene, which was cut into the rock near the bridge at both sides of the river. Its name Karamağara ("black cave") probably derives from an artificially widened cavern on the southern bank which was carved into the darkish rock 75 m above the structure and served for protection of the crossing point. The bridge was quite frequently mentioned by early European travellers.
As with other monuments in the region, the site was examined by the Middle East Technical University of Ankara prior to its flooding. Further downstream, at the village of Bahadın, the remains of another now submerged Roman bridge may indicate the existence of an older crossing point.
The pointed arch rib was built without mortar between the voussoirs. On its eastern, downstream side a nearly intact Christian inscription in Greek runs along most of its length, citing almost verbatim Psalm 121, verse 8 of the Bible. The text reads:
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Wikipedia