An abridged history

STEPPING stones were the earliest means of crossing streams and rivers without getting wet, long before the first bridges appeared.

- Stephen Guy

Our ancestors improved this arrangement by laying planks or tree trunks across the stones.

This was done for countless centuries until the ancient Egyptians and Greeks developed rudimentary bridges to meet their needs.

These basic bridges were made from sets of pillars with gaps spanned by timber beams or large flat stones.

Arches had been known for a long time before they were applied to bridge construction by the Romans from about 127 BC.

As the Roman Empire expanded, so did bridge building, enabling easier movement between territories.

The art of bridge building ceased with the fall of Rome, only to be revived in the 11th century before once again failing to develop.