Trajan’s Bridge reconstruction – Drawing
Trajan’s bridge from Drobeta was built in only three years (103-105), following the plans of the architect Apolodorus of Damascus, the craftsman of Trajan’s Column in Rome.
Wooden Scale model of Trajan’s bridge
Apollodorus of Damascus, the architect of Trajan’s Bridge
It was the biggest bridge of the antiquity, ingenious in its technique and shape. Today, its remains work visitors into enthusiasm. Massive blocks of stone together with the oak wood coming from 200 hectares of forest were used to build only its piers. The bridge was 1,155 m long, 18.6 m high and 14.55 m wide.
It was this bridge which allowed the entire Latinity – with its splendor and complexity – to cross the Danube and reach its northern banks.
The Roman town of Drobeta which was erected near the stronghold and bridge borrowed the name – of the ancient Dacian settlement of DRUBETA.
In the middle of the 3rd century, the town was lying over a surface of 60 hectares and had about 40,000 inhabitants. It was the first town in Dacia which, during Emperor Hadrian’s reign, bore the title of ,,municipium”, while during Septimius Severus’ time, it became a “Colonia”. The name of the town, together with the appellative ,,splendidissima colonia Drobeta” was discovered on a honorary altar stone. The life of the town could be traced back to the 6th century when it fell a pray to migratory peoples, thus sharing the fate of other imperial towns.
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