page_title: Bridge near Limyra
section_title: Arches
hierarchical_section_title: Bridge near Limyra / Construction / Materials / Arches
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Die römische Brücke bei Limyra in Lykien in der Türkei. Neunter Bogen Südseite. Der in der Spätantike errichtete Ingenieurbau ist eine der ältesten Segmentbogenbrücken der Welt. Auf einer Länge von 360 m überspannen insgesamt 28 Bögen den Fluss Alakır Çayı, darunter 26 Segmentbögen mit einer durchschnittlichen Überhöhung von 5,3 zu 1. Die Brücke ist heute bis zu den Bogenansätzen von Flussablagerungen verschüttet. English: The Roman Bridge near Limyra, Lycia, Turkey. Ninth arch southside. The late antique structure is one of the oldest segmental arch bridges in the world. The 360 m long bridge crosses on 28 arches the Alakır Çayı, 26 of which being segmental arches with an average span to rise ratio of 5.3 to 1. Today, the structure is buried up to the vaults by river sedimentation. Ελληνικά: η γέφυρα των Λιμύρων στη Λυκία (σημερινή Τουρκία), μια από τις παλαιότερες γέφυρες με καταβιβασμένα τόξα στον κόσμο Español: El Puente romano de Limyra en Licia (Turquía), uno de los puentes de bóvedas escarzanas mas antiguos del mundo Français&#160;: Le Pont romain de Limyra à Lycie (Turquie), un des plus vieux ponts en arc surbaissé dans le monde Italiano: Il Ponte romano di Limira in Licia, Turchia, uno dei più antichi ponti ad arco ribassato del mondo Nederlands: De Romeinse Brug bij Limyra in Lycië in Turkije: een van de oudste bruggen ter wereld met segmentbogen Polski: Most rzymski Limyra w Licji w Turcji, jeden z najstarszych mostów łukiem odcinkowym na świecie Русский: Римский мост Кирк Гёз Кемери около Лимиры в Ликии, Турция. Он один из старейших сегментных арочных мостов мира. Türkçe: Roma döneminden kalma ve Likya kenti olan Limyra yakınlarında bulunan Kırkgöz Kemeri. Dünyadaki en eski segment kemerli köprülerden biri. 中文: 古罗马的利米拉桥, 土耳其, 世界上最古老的坦弧圆拱桥之一
context_page_description: The Bridge near Limyra is a late Roman bridge in Lycia, in modern south-west Turkey, and one of the oldest segmented arch bridges in the world. Located near the ancient city of Limyra, it is the largest civil engineering structure of antiquity in the region, spanning the Alakır Çayı river over a length of 360 m on 26 segmental arches. These arches, with a span-to-rise ratio of 5.3:1, give the bridge an unusually flat profile, and were unsurpassed as an architectural achievement until the late Middle Ages. Today, the structure is largely buried by river sediments and surrounded by greenhouses. Despite its unique features, the bridge remains relatively unknown, and only in the 1970s did researchers from the Istanbul branch of the German Archaeological Institute carry out field examinations on the site.
context_section_description: The bricks of the segmental arches are made of yellow-red clay, mixed with fine brick fragments. The bricks are rectangular plates, measuring ca. 40 cm × 50 cm (15.7 in × 19.7 in) and 5 cm (2.0 in) thick. They are placed with the shorter side upright facing outwards, so that the total thickness of the arches measures ca. 80 cm. The bricks are bound with grout of lime mortar mixed with brick shards and fine gravel, forming 4 cm (1.6 in)-thick joints. The two later semi-circular arches were built with smaller bricks, although surviving bricks from the original arch were re-used at places. The abutment stones are dressed limestone ashlar blocks, and form a sloping surface to support the arches.
  The double-layer technique facilitated a more effective use of the falsework, since they could be removed and used elsewhere as soon as the lower course was finished:
  The construction of the two layers of the double brick-arches in two separate phases had two advantages. In the first phase, the falsework only had to carry the weight of the lower course, so that it could itself be of lighter construction. In the second phase, the weight of the upper layer could be already borne by the lower vault; the falsework was thus already available for use in a different arch.
caption: Arch closeup: double layer of bricks bound with mortar.
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