Record-low Danube water levels exposed the foundations of Emperor Constantine the Great's bridge — the longest bridge of antiquity

The anomalous heat in Europe in the summer of 2026 led to a critical drop in the water levels of major rivers. As reported by Reuters, stone piers of Constantine's Bridge emerged from the water near the Bulgarian village of Gigen. Employees of the Regional Historical Museum in Pleven, led by researcher Pavel Popov, conducted aerial photography of the object using drones. This allowed scientists to document the visible elements of the foundations in their real environment and to fix the line of the crossing.

Павялічыць

Павялічыць

Solemnly opened on July 5, 328, in the personal presence of Emperor Constantine the Great, the bridge connected the ancient city of Ulpia Oescus (near the modern Bulgarian village of Gigen) with the fortress of Sucidava (territory of the modern Romanian city of Corabia).

The total length of the crossing was 2434 meters, of which 1137 meters spanned directly over the Danube riverbed. A wooden platform, 5.7 meters wide, was mounted on massive stone piers, standing 10 meters above the water.

At both ends of the bridge, there were supporting pillars that served as gates. Researchers name the Roman engineer Theophilus Patricius, who was inspired by the earlier Trajan's Bridge, as the architect of the structure.

Павялічыць

Павялічыць

The construction of the longest river bridge of antiquity was documented on special bronze medallions, minted in Rome in 328. Only two copies of this medallion, 37.5 millimeters in diameter, are known worldwide, one of which is housed in the Vienna Museum of Art History. The obverse features a bust of the emperor with the inscription CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG. The reverse depicts a detailed three-arched stone bridge with a watchtower, over which the emperor walks with trophies, accompanied by the goddess Victoria, a kneeling barbarian figure, and the river god Danubius (with the inscription DANVBIVS).

The bridge functioned for only about four decades. Researchers suggest that the wooden superstructure was destroyed before 376, when the Goths crossed the Danube, as the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus no longer mentioned the crossing, or around 367, when Emperor Valens was forced to use a pontoon bridge of boats near Constantiana Daphne during a military campaign. However, the stone piers continued to be recorded by cartographers until the 18th century.

Павялічыць

In addition to the ancient bridge, the record-low water level exposed a number of other historical objects. In Serbia, near Prahovo, the remains of dozens of German warships, sunk in 1944 during the retreat of Nazi troops, surfaced, creating obstacles for river traffic. In Budapest, the water uncovered the metal structures of Franz Joseph Bridge, destroyed in 1945, as well as the remains of Wehrmacht soldiers and a military motorcycle. Near the Hungarian island of Szalk, archaeologists found part of a Roman altar dedicated to Jupiter, in Virť, Slovakia — a naval mine, in Visegrád — a medieval catapult projectile, and in Ruse, Bulgaria — bones and tusks of Ice Age mammoths.

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