L. Carmona López: Low multiple-arch river-crossing masonry bridges during the Middle Ages

L. Carmona López: Low multiple-arch river-crossing masonry bridges during the Middle Ages

A variety of aspects were involved in constructing a masonry bridge, such as the economic situation, geographical context, material resources or technological development at the time. This project focuses on the construction of masonry bridges that were built to cross riverine waters, composed of multiple arches and with their foundations placed in the riverbed. The low, multiple-arch river-crossing bridges were often placed in a significant urban area, which in many cases remains. They served not only as a pathway across the riverine waters but had many other relevant implications. They were representative of the status of the city and had a key role in its defense, for which many of them were equipped with towers or were prone to destruction.
The study aims to get a deeper understanding of the construction techniques and technological development during the Middle Ages primarily in Southern France, spreading to North Spain and Italy. The remaining fabric of the bridges constitutes the main source of information, in which special attention is paid to individual constructional elements or traces of construction site methods. Particularly significant is the evidence of falseworks that will provide new hints to the on-site construction procedures. The research is developed through on-site visits and State-of-the-Art methodologies, complemented with literature and archival research.

The dissertation is part of the project "The Medieval masonry bridge: Towards a construction history of arch bridges built before 1550", funded by the external page Swiss National Science Foundation

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