The Pont Ambroix or Pont d'Ambrussum (French for ''Ambrussum Bridge'') was a 1st-century BC Roman bridge in the south of France that was part of the
Via Domitia
The Via Domitia was the first Roman road built in Gaul, to link Italy and Hispania through Gallia Narbonensis, across what is now Southern France. The route that the Romans regularised and paved was ancient when they set out to survey it, and tra ...
Gard
Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Villetelle in the
Hérault
Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...
department.
In the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...
, a chapel devoted to
St Mary
Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loreto. ...
was added to the structure. Only one of the original eleven arches remains in the middle of the river.
Ambrussum contains three archaeological sites of international importance: the Colline de Devès which was first occupied in 2300 BC and settled as an ''
oppidum
An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...
'' between 300 BC and 100 AD; the Roman staging post on the
Via Domitia
The Via Domitia was the first Roman road built in Gaul, to link Italy and Hispania through Gallia Narbonensis, across what is now Southern France. The route that the Romans regularised and paved was ancient when they set out to survey it, and tra ...
which had hotels, a baths and industrial buildings; and the Pont Ambroix.
The bridge was sketched by Anne Rulman in 1620 and the drawing shows only four arches. An 1839 lithograph and a painting by
Gustave Courbet
Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...
(1857) show two arches.
The Vidourlades are violent floods on the Vidourle, in which the water flow increases from a minimum of 3 m3/s to over 3000 m3/s. Floods were recorded 8 October 1723. The floods of 18 November 1745 reduced the bridge from four arches to three. Further major floods occurred 6 October 1812, 21 October 1891, 21 September 1907. The floods of 7 September 1933 reduced the bridge from two arches to the one we see today.
The site was abandoned when transit patterns changed; the Via Domitia became less important and the community relocated to Lunel-Viel which better served a north–south transit pattern, but the bridge continued in use until the late Middle Ages.
The bridge is a Mérimée list National Monument No. PA00103057. The oppidum is Mérimée list National Monument No. PA00103760
File:Pons Ambrussi.JPG, In 1620
File:Pont d'Ambrussium-Lith-Thierry Freres.JPG, In 1839
File:Gustave Courbet, 1857, Le Pont d'Ambrussum, huile sur papier marouflé sur bois, 48 x 63 cm, Musée Fabre.jpg, In 1857
List of Roman bridges
This is a list of Roman bridges. The Roman Empire, Romans were the world's first major bridge builders. The following constitutes an attempt to list all known surviving remains of Roman bridges.
A Roman bridge in the sense of this article in ...
*
Roman architecture
Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical ancient Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are often con ...
*
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 ...
Gustave Courbet
Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...