Piercebridge Roman Bridge is the ruin of a
Roman bridge over the
River Tees
The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has be ...
, northern England. It is near the villages of
Cliffe (
North Yorkshire) and
Piercebridge,
County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...
.
The most recent excavations were by Channel 4's
Time Team in 2009.
History
The bridge carried
Dere Street Roman road
Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
across the river.
guarded the bridge.
The first bridge was built around 90 AD, but this may have been replaced by a second bridge after it was washed away. The Tees has narrowed and changed its course over the centuries and as a result the remains lie in a field around south of the current course of the river, and about east of Piercebridge.
Remains
What remains of the bridge are massive masonry blocks that formed at least five piers. The lower courses of one of the abutments still stand, partially complete, and it is possible to see the holes into which the wooden structure of the bridge would have fitted. All of the timber has disappeared in the nearly 16 centuries since the end of the Roman occupation. The remains were discovered in 1972 during gravel quarrying.
The stone blocks are up to long and the total bridge structure was long.
Artifacts from the excavation of the bridge and fort are held in the
Bowes Museum.
Alternative interpretation
Whilst the majority opinion among archaeologists is that the structure is a bridge, an alternative interpretation has been proposed by archaeologist Raymond Selkirk, who contends that the structure is a navigation dam with an overspill channel. From this, and other evidence he argues that the Romans made far greater use of river transport than is generally recognised. His views are set out in his books ''The Piercebridge Formula'' (1983), ''On the Trail of the Legions'' (1995) and ''Chester-le-Street & Its Place in History'' (2000).
See also
*
List of Roman bridges
*
Roman architecture
*
Roman engineering
The ancient Romans were famous for their advanced engineering accomplishments. Technology for bringing running water into cities was developed in the east, but transformed by the Romans into a technology inconceivable in Greece. The architecture ...
References
External links
{{Roman bridges, state=collapsed
English Heritage sites in North Yorkshire
Bridges in Roman Britain
Roman sites in North Yorkshire
Tourist attractions in North Yorkshire
Scheduled monuments in North Yorkshire
Crossings of the River Tees