The oldest bridge in the world: No need for mortar for more than 3,300 years and still works well

Arkadiko Bridge, also known as Kazarma, located near the modern road from Tiryns to Epidauros on the Peloponnese, Greece is one of the world’s oldest bridges still in use today. According to the giants, the Arkadiko arch bridge was built during the Greek Bronze Age, about 1,300 BC (about 3,322 years ago). This means that this is one of the oldest bridges in the world.

Arkadiko was built using Cyclopean masonry, with limestone boulders, smaller stones and small pieces of tiles тιԍнтly fitted together without mortar.

The bridge is 22 meters long, 5.6 meters wide and 4 meters high. At the foot of the bridge there is a small culvert, about one meter wide. The width of the bridge is about 2.5 meters, allowing a modern car to comfortably pᴀss, although the path leading to the bridge is currently mostly covered with weeds and trees.

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Based on its design and construction method, archaeologists believe that this bridge was originally used to serve horse-drawn carriages. Arkadiko Bridge is one of four shell arch bridges of the ancient Mycenaean Greek civilization. All four of these bridges were on a Bronze Age highway between the two cities. All have similar designs and ages. Another of these bridges is the Petrogephyri Bridge which crosses the same stream 1 km west of the Arkadiko Bridge. Although similar in size and form, the Petrogephyri Bridge has a larger span and a slightly higher arch. Petrogephyri Bridge is also still in use today.

The fifth Mycenaean bridge, located in the larger area at Lykotroupi north of Argolis, is also very well preserved today. The Mycenaean measurements are comparable to the Arkadiko Bridge: 5.20 meters wide at the base; 2.40 meters at the top with a cantilevered arch span over 1 meter long. The bridge still has curbs that are said to guide fast-moving horse-drawn carriages.

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