Makestos Bridge

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Coordinates: 39 ° 51 '55 "  N , 28 ° 9' 53"  E

Makestos Bridge
Makestos Bridge
Side and top views of the Makestos Bridge
Convicted Street Hadrianutherai -Miletopolis
Crossing of Makestos ( Susurluk Çayı )
place Near Balıkesir ( Turkey )
construction Segment arch bridge in composite construction
overall length 234 m (without driveways)
width 6.35 m
Number of openings 13
Pillar spacing Approx. 17.80 m
Clear width 14.20 m
Arrow height 4.30 m
Pillar strength 3.60 m
Arrow ratio 3.3 to 1
Flow profile 4 to 1
construction time Probably 4th century AD
Status 13 of 15 sheets preserved (as of 1902)
location
Makestos Bridge (Turkey)
Makestos Bridge
Old map of Mysia
Wiegand Mysia 1902.jpg
The Makestos Bridge is roughly in the middle of the picture ("Roman Bridge").
p1

The Makestos Bridge or Bridge of Sultançayır was a Roman segment arch bridge over the Makestos River ( Susurluk Çayı , also Simav Çayı ) in Balıkesir in what is now northwestern Turkey . With its flat arches, slender pillars and the hollow chamber system, the structure documented the progress made in late antique bridge construction. The 234 m long construction was the subject of first cursory investigations at the beginning of the 20th century, but has since been forgotten; Only a few pillars and breakwaters remain from the bridge. The rest of it has completely decayed in the last hundred years (as seen in June 2009).

exploration

Located in the historical Mysia landscape , the bridge leads across the Makestos from today's Sultançayır , where it served as a connection between Hadrianutherai ( Balıkesir ) and Miletopolis in ancient times . The archaeologist Theodor Wiegand found the building on his exploratory trips through Mysia in 1902 in an excellent state of preservation; only the fourth pillar from the eastern bank had been blown up 30 years earlier in an unsuccessful attempt to make the river passable for larger ships. Another brief description can be found by the English archaeologist Frederick William Hasluck , who was also visiting the region at the time.

construction

Remains of the Makestos Bridge in 2009

The Makestos Bridge is 6.35 m wide and around 234 m long without ramps. The axis width of its thirteen preserved segmental arches is each approx. 17.80 m, the clear span 14.20 m and the pillar width only 3.60 m. The piers reinforced upstream with triangular breakwaters offer the current relatively little surface to attack (ratio of clear width to pillar thickness of almost 4: 1). The elevation from the spur line to the keystone is only 4.30 m, the resulting span of 3.3 to 1 places the Makestos Bridge in the round dozen well-known flat arch bridges from Roman times.

Hollow chambers are cut out in the interior of the bridge body, which serve to save material and reduce weight; the cavities are 4.40 m wide, 2.05 m long and all lie across the longitudinal axis of the bridge. Similar hollow chamber structures can also be found in other late antique bridges in Asia Minor , such as B. the Aiseposbrücke , in which the narrow, slot-like channels, however, point in the direction of the road.

On the outside there are pairs of arched niches in the arch spandrels, between which a niche that is twice as large is located downstream in the center of the pillar. Bridge formwork and baffles were built with carefully hewn limestone blocks.

The outer vaulted stones consist of an alternating bond of bricks and wedge stone blocks, while the inner vaulted area was built entirely from bricks, according to Hasluck. As further materials, Wiegand mentions marble - presumably as a cladding - and mortar , which must have been used for masonry, but could also indicate that the bridge body was filled with Roman concrete . Apparently , ancient spoils were not used.

Dating

According to Wiegand, the use of flat arches made of brick and stone suggests a late Roman to early Byzantine era. Based on the constructive parallels with the bridges over the neighboring rivers Granikos ( White Bridge ) and Aisepos ( Aisepos Bridge ), Hasluck dates the building to the era of Constantine the Great († 337 AD). A late Byzantine height fortification 300 m away documents the use of the bridge until at least the beginning of the 14th century.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Makestos Bridge  - collection of images, videos and audio files

proof

  • Theodor Wiegand : Travels in Mysia . In: Communications of the German Archaeological Institute, Athenian Department , Issue 29 (1904), p. 300 f. (254–339)
  1. a b c d e f g Wiegand (1904), pp. 300–301
  2. a b c d Wiegand (1904), leaflet (appendix)
  3. a b Wiegand (1904), pp. 300–301 (leaflet)
  4. a b Hasluck (1905/06), p. 188
  5. Hasluck (1905/06), p. 185
  6. Hasluck (1905/06), p. 189