Pont Ambrois – an elegant legacy of antiquity (7 photos + 1 video)

The Pont d'Ambrus, also called the Pont d'Ambrussum, was a major Roman bridge across the Vidourle River, connecting the end of Villette to Gallargues-les-Montues in present-day Lunel, France.





The bridge was part of the Via Domitia, the first Roman road built in Gaul to connect Italy and Spain via Gallia Narbonensis, through what is now southern France.



The bridge in 1839

The Pont d'Ambrois was built in the first century BC and originally consisted of 11 arches. For 13 centuries, the bridge carried traffic west of Nîmes until a major flood swept away one of the arches, rendering it inoperable. Unfortunately, it was never repaired.





The Vidurle River is subject to floods, which the locals call vidourlades, and the bridge with its supporting arches was carried away piece by piece over the centuries. A sketch of the bridge made by Anna Ruhlmann in 1620 shows four arches. A lithograph from 1839 and a painting by Gustave Courbet from 1857 show two arches. The flood of 1933 reduced the bridge to the last arch, which has survived to this day.



The bridge in 1857

The history of the Ambrois bridge is a vivid example of how a combination of factors of various natures can destroy even the most durable and solid architectural structure.