Abstract

VACA LORENZO, Ángel. El puente romano de Salamanca en la Edad Media. Cuad. hist. Esp. [online]. 2007, vol.81, pp.7-38. ISSN 0325-1195.

A historical study of the Roman bridge in Salamanca, referring to the period running from its construction, at an indeterminate moment between the rules of the Roman emperors Augustus (27 B.C.-14 A.D.) and Vespasianus (69-79 A.D.), to the end of the Middle Ages (c. 1500). This study seeks to tackle, more precisely, the origins of the construction of the more modern or non-Roman sections of the bridge, today comprising the eleven southern arches and the buttress or central fortified tower, none of which correspond to either the construction process nor building materials employed by the Romans, features apparent in the bridge from the buttress or central fortified tower to the right-hand bank of the Tormes river, that closest to the city, making a total of fifteen arches. In contrast to what was originally believed, that the origins of the bridge's modern section date back to the restorative work completed following the damage caused by the San Policarpo flood of 1626, this study proves that the aforementioned section actually dates back to a much earlier era, to that of the Middle Ages. As such, the origins of this section can be seen to hark back to the Difuntos flood of 1256, which, together with the Santa Bárbara flood of 1498, were possibly, the first two events to cause fractures in the Roman bridge.

Keywords : Roman bridge; Floods of Tormes river; Salamanca; Middle Ages.

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