Bridge near Kemer
Encyclopedia
The Kemer Bridge was a Roman segmental arch bridge near the ancient
city of Xanthos
in Lycia
, in modern-day southwestern Turkey
. Its remains are located on the upper reaches of the Xanthos river (Koca Çayı), 4 km upstream from the village Kemer, at a site where the gravel river bed reaches a width of 500 m. Only a 29 m long and 4.5 m wide section on the right river bank, outside of the inundation zone, is left today, having once served as approach to the bridge proper. Despite its near-complete destruction, the bridge represents a noteworthy example of the early use of segmental arch
es and hollow chambers in bridge building.
s, and came into widespread use not until the late medieval period
(see e.g. Ponte Vecchio
). The third arch, in contrast, possesses the typically Roman semi-circular shape, with a span-to-rise ratio of 2 to 1.
The arch vaults were constructed from locally hewn limestone
ashlar which was bound by mortar
; the interior of the bridge body was built of a rock-hard mixture of rubble and fluid mortar, which today lays bare at many places, shining through the crumbled facing. The mortar consists of hard building lime with an admixture of fine gravel. The pavement of the roadway has completely disappeared, but the constant gradient of the ramp indicates that the ancient paving stones lay directly on the present-day surface.
Another remarkable feature of the Kemer Bridge is the hollow chamber above the third arch vault, where the 2 m large gap between the arch crest and the roadway is not filled with the mortar mixture, but features in its interior a cut-out chamber measuring 3.5 m in length, 3.2 m in width and 1.5 m in height; its purpose was to reduce the load resting on the arches, and to save building material. A second, smaller inner chamber was found in the upper part of the second pier. Similar hollow chamber systems are known from at least three other Roman bridges in Asia Minor
, such as the Makestos Bridge
, the Aesepus Bridge
and the White Bridge
.
Circular ducts with a diameter of approximately 26 cm, which run through the length and width of the bridge, are interpreted as hollow forms of round construction timber of the Roman scaffolding and falsework
. In the third pier, which stands closest to the river bed, a small, arched floodway is integrated to let water pass. Although the surviving ramp does not allow to determine the number and type of the arches of the bridge proper, the ancient structure must have been a rather impressive engineering feat, judging from its current height of 8 m above the sediments and the 500 m wide river bed which needed to be spanned.
A well-preserved example of an ancient segmental arch bridge in Lycia is the twenty-eight arch Limyra Bridge
which was also investigated by the German
archaeologists Wolfgang W. Wurster und Joachim Ganzert.
in the area which is known to have existed at the beginning of the 3rd century,AD. According to this interpretation, the bridge may have been part of a westward route from Kadyanda (Üzümlü), which descended further upstream into the Xanthos valley. Possibly, the bridge can be also linked with the pass trail to Oinoanda.
Ancient history
Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...
city of Xanthos
Xanthos
Xanthos was the name of a city in ancient Lycia, the site of present day Kınık, Antalya Province, Turkey, and of the river on which the city is situated...
in Lycia
Lycia
Lycia Lycian: Trm̃mis; ) was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire...
, in modern-day southwestern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Its remains are located on the upper reaches of the Xanthos river (Koca Çayı), 4 km upstream from the village Kemer, at a site where the gravel river bed reaches a width of 500 m. Only a 29 m long and 4.5 m wide section on the right river bank, outside of the inundation zone, is left today, having once served as approach to the bridge proper. Despite its near-complete destruction, the bridge represents a noteworthy example of the early use of segmental arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
es and hollow chambers in bridge building.
Structure
The visible remains still allow the identification of some, for their time, unusual construction techniques. The extant ramp features three arches of 4 to 4.45 m clear span, two of which, with an apex height of only 1 m, show a particularly flat profile. Segmental arches are known only from a limited number of Roman bridgeRoman bridge
Roman bridges, built by ancient Romans, were the first large and lasting bridges built. Roman bridges were built with stone and had the arch as its basic structure....
s, and came into widespread use not until the late medieval period
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
(see e.g. Ponte Vecchio
Ponte Vecchio
The Ponte Vecchio is a Medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewellers, art dealers and souvenir sellers...
). The third arch, in contrast, possesses the typically Roman semi-circular shape, with a span-to-rise ratio of 2 to 1.
The arch vaults were constructed from locally hewn limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
ashlar which was bound by mortar
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
; the interior of the bridge body was built of a rock-hard mixture of rubble and fluid mortar, which today lays bare at many places, shining through the crumbled facing. The mortar consists of hard building lime with an admixture of fine gravel. The pavement of the roadway has completely disappeared, but the constant gradient of the ramp indicates that the ancient paving stones lay directly on the present-day surface.
Another remarkable feature of the Kemer Bridge is the hollow chamber above the third arch vault, where the 2 m large gap between the arch crest and the roadway is not filled with the mortar mixture, but features in its interior a cut-out chamber measuring 3.5 m in length, 3.2 m in width and 1.5 m in height; its purpose was to reduce the load resting on the arches, and to save building material. A second, smaller inner chamber was found in the upper part of the second pier. Similar hollow chamber systems are known from at least three other Roman bridges in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
, such as the Makestos Bridge
Makestos Bridge
The Macestos Bridge or Bridge of Sultançayır was a Roman segmental arched bridge across the Macestos River at Balıkesir, in the northwestern part of modern-day Turkey. Its flattened arches, slender piers and the hollow chamber system documented the progress made in late antique bridge building...
, the Aesepus Bridge
Aesepus Bridge
The Aesepus Bridge was a late antique Roman bridge over the Aesepus river in the ancient region of Mysia in modern-day Turkey. It is notable for its advanced hollow chamber system which has also been employed in other Roman bridges in the region, such as the Makestos Bridge...
and the White Bridge
White Bridge (Mysia)
The White Bridge was a Roman bridge across the river Granicus in Mysia in the north west of modern-day Turkey. Presumably constructed in the 4th century AD, it belonged in Ottoman times to the important road to Gallipoli on the Dardanelles...
.
Circular ducts with a diameter of approximately 26 cm, which run through the length and width of the bridge, are interpreted as hollow forms of round construction timber of the Roman scaffolding and falsework
Falsework
Falsework consists of temporary structures used in construction to support spanning or arched structures in order to hold the component in place until its construction is sufficiently advanced to support itself...
. In the third pier, which stands closest to the river bed, a small, arched floodway is integrated to let water pass. Although the surviving ramp does not allow to determine the number and type of the arches of the bridge proper, the ancient structure must have been a rather impressive engineering feat, judging from its current height of 8 m above the sediments and the 500 m wide river bed which needed to be spanned.
A well-preserved example of an ancient segmental arch bridge in Lycia is the twenty-eight arch Limyra Bridge
Limyra Bridge
The Limyra Bridge is a late Roman bridge in Lycia, in modern south-west Turkey, and one of the oldest segmented arch bridges in the world. The long bridge is located near the ancient city of Limyra, and spans the Alakır Çayı river over 26 segmental arches...
which was also investigated by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
archaeologists Wolfgang W. Wurster und Joachim Ganzert.
Dating
A possible starting point for the dating of the Kemer bridge provides a Roman roadRoman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
in the area which is known to have existed at the beginning of the 3rd century,AD. According to this interpretation, the bridge may have been part of a westward route from Kadyanda (Üzümlü), which descended further upstream into the Xanthos valley. Possibly, the bridge can be also linked with the pass trail to Oinoanda.