Trajan's Bridge
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Trajan's Bridge Serbian: Trajanov most/ Трајанов мост Romanian: Podul lui Traian |
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Artistic reconstruction (1907)
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| Coordinates | 44°37′26″N 22°40′01″E / 44.623769°N 22.66705°ECoordinates: 44°37′26″N 22°40′01″E / 44.623769°N 22.66705°E |
| Crosses | Danube |
| Locale | East of the Iron Gates, in Drobeta-Turnu Severin (Romania) and near the city of Kladovo (Serbia) |
| Heritage status |
Monuments of Culture of Exceptional Importance, and Archaeological Sites of Exceptional Importance,  Serbia
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| Characteristics | |
| Material | Wood and Stone |
| Total length | 1,135 m (3,724 ft) |
| Width | 15 m (49 ft) |
| Height | 19 m (62 ft) |
| No. of spans | 20 masonry pillars |
| History | |
| Architect | Apollodorus of Damascus |
| Construction begin | 103 A.D. |
| Construction end | 105 A.D. |
| Collapsed | Superstructure destroyed by Aurelian |
Trajan's Bridge (Serbian: Трајанов мост, Trajanov Most; Romanian: Podul lui Traian ) or Bridge of Apollodorus over the Danube was a Roman segmental arch bridge, the first bridge to be built over the lower Danube. Though it was only functional for a few decades, for more than 1,000 years it was the longest arch bridge in both total and span length.
The bridge was constructed in 105 AD by instruction of Emperor Trajan by Greek architect Apollodorus of Damascus for the deployment of Roman troops during the conquest of Dacia.
The bridge was situated East of the Iron Gates, near the present-day cities of Drobeta-Turnu Severin in Romania and Kladovo in Serbia. Its construction was ordered by the Emperor Trajan as a supply route for the Roman legions fighting in Dacia.
The structure was 1,135 m (3,724 ft) long (the Danube is now 800 m (2,600 ft) wide in that area), 15 m (49 ft) wide, and 19 m (62 ft) high, measured from the surface of the river. At each end was a Roman castrum, each built around an entrance, so that crossing the bridge was possible only by walking through the camps.
The bridge's engineer, Apollodorus of Damascus, used wooden arches, each spanning 38 m (125 ft), set on twenty masonry pillars made of bricks, mortar, and pozzolana cement. It was built unusually quickly (between 103 and 105), employing the construction of a wooden caisson for each pier.
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