Moorish Bridges of Andalucia
ABSTRACT
This paper presents original research on bridges built in southern Spain during the eighth through the twelfth centuries AD. I travelled to eleven existing bridges in Andalucia in January 2005 to collect information about their geometry and structural characteristics. These bridges, built between 711 and 1400 are of particular interest because of their cultural and geographical location. Andalucia was for many years the locus of a peaceful and fertile collaboration between Muslim and Christian scholars(Collins 200-207). As such, it was a prime interface in the transfer of knowledge between two empires. A bridge is a technological expression of a culture. I hope that this field research will lay the groundwork to appreciate the transfer of advanced knowledge and method from the Muslim to the Christian world in the area of bridge design.
Link to Moorish Bridges of Andalucia in 2nd International Conference on Construction History