Medieval Bridge Construction

Stages in Building a Medieval Stone Bridge

1. Construct a cofferdam in the river using two rings of wooden stakes
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2. Fill the space inside the timber walls with 1 to prevent water leaking in
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3. Drain the workspace using a mechanical 2 rather than buckets
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4. Drive foundation piles made of 3 down through the silt
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5. Build the stone pier using a special 4 designed to harden underwater
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6. Erect a curved wooden structure called 5 across the gap
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7. Position the central 6 to lock the stones together and support the arch