Pont Julien

Pont Julien
Pont Julien
Coordinates	43°51′45″N 5°18′28″E
Carries	Via Domitia
Crosses	Calavon
Locale	Near Bonnieux, Vaucluse, France
Characteristics
Design	Arch bridge
Material	Limestone
Total length	85 m
Width	5.50 m
Longest span	16.3 m
No. of spans	3
Clearance below	9 m
History
Construction end	3 BC
Location

The Pont Julien (French pronunciation: [pɔ̃ ʒyljɛ̃], Julian Bridge) is a Roman stone arch bridge over the Calavon river, in the south-east of France, dating from 3 BC. The supporting columns are notable for openings to allow floodwater to pass through. It is located in the territory of the commune of Bonnieux, north of the village of the same name, and 8 km west of Apt. Originally, it was built on the Via Domitia, an important Roman road which connected Italy to the Roman territories in France. It was used for car traffic until 2005, when a replacement bridge was built to preserve it from wear and tear. It is still used as bike- and footpath. This amounts to approximately 2000 years of uninterrupted use.

Gallery

• 
  View of the Pont Julien
• 
  View of the underside of one of the arches
• 
  The modern bridge crossing the Cavalon upriver of the bridge
• 
  View of the bridge on an old postcard
• 
  The dry riverbed of the Calavon and the main arch of the bridge
• 
  Pont Julien in March

See also

• List of bridges in France
• List of Roman bridges
• Roman architecture
• Roman engineering

References

• Murati, Philippe (1994). Ponts de Provence. Nice. pp. 19–20.
• O’Connor, Colin (1993), Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, pp. 96f. (G5), ISBN 0-521-39326-4

External links

• Media related to Pont Julien at Wikimedia Commons
• Pont Julien at Structurae
• Traianus – Technical investigation of Roman public works