Alconetar Bridge

BridgeLusitania · Near Garrovillas de Alconetar, Caceres Province, SpainBuilt 106 CE

About

A roughly 300-meter segmental-arch bridge carrying the Via de la Plata across the Tagus, distinctive for its flat, shallow arches — a sophisticated design often linked stylistically to Trajan's engineer Apollodorus of Damascus, and generally dated on that basis to the early 2nd century CE. Distinct from the map's existing 'Turmulus' road-station entry, which sat beside the bridge as a mansio/checkpoint. Its remains were physically relocated about 6 kilometers in 1970 during construction of the Alcantara reservoir; coordinates here mark the relocated site, not the original crossing point.

What happened here

Piers are set on cofferdams — a ring of driven piles, pumped dry, filled with concrete that sets under water. They are built with a cutwater pointing upstream to split the current and the ice. The span above may be stone arches or timber on stone, and timber is not a poor relation: it is cheaper, faster, and replaceable. Roads approach on an embankment so the crossing stays level. Tolls are common, shrines at either end are usual, and the inscription names whoever paid. Floods are the enemy; a bridge is inspected after every big one, and the scour around the piers is packed with rubble. A bridge fixes a town's position for a thousand years, which is why so many are still standing.