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Trajanās Bridge
bridge, Romania
Trajanās Bridge, first bridge spanning the Danube River, built east of the Iron Gate Rapids at Turnu Severin by the Roman emperor Trajan (reigned 98ā117 ce) to guarantee the supply line of his legions in conquered Dacia. The engineer, probably Trajanās lieutenant, Apollodorus of Damascus, used timber arches mounted on masonry piers to span the 800-metre- (0.5-mile-) wide river. A century and a half later the emperor Aurelian withdrew from Dacia and demolished the bridge, which is memorialized on Trajanās Column in Rome. Its 52-metre (170-foot) spans were the longest built for more than a thousand years.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.
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