First buildings

To find the oldest bridge ever built in the history of mankind, it is necessary to go back to the period of the maximum splendor of the Babylonian civilization, during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who ordered the construction of a bridge over the Euphrates River to permanently connect the various districts of the city of Babylon, which were separated by the course of the river.


This bridge, according to the testimony of Greek historians, was more than 900 m long, a figure that also indicates the width of the river at that point, and had 100 stone pillars supporting a platform, built of palm beams closely linked together with lianas and covered by a roof.

The large number of pillars and the small distance between them, about 5 m, resulted in a notable irregularity in the flow of the river waters, frequently causing obstructions and flooding in times of flood.

Only some time later, in Mesopotamia, with the adoption of arched openings, it was possible to improve the construction of bridges, avoiding technical problems of serious repercussions.

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