After over 3,000 years, world's oldest bridge is still perfectly usable

A stone bridge in Greece is the oldest such structure in the world and has nothing that keeps the rocks stuck to each other. Despite this, it has managed to stay upright for 3,354 years and is so strong that it is still used today. The Arkadiko Bridge in the Peloponnese, Greece, connects Tiryns and Epidauros - popular archaeological sites - in Argolis. The bridge is 72 feet long and 18.4 feet wide. According to estimates, it was built around 1330 BC, Express UK reported.

It was constructed without the use of any binder, like mortar or cement. Yet, it was sturdy enough for the use of horse-drawn chariots. Today, over 3,000 years later, cars can safely pass through it. It belongs to the Greek Bronze Age and is the oldest preserved bridge in Europe.

Its speciality lies in its alignment and the layout. The bridge is made of limestone blocks. Their weight and the symmetrical alignment on the vertical axis play a key role in keeping it in its place. Its design has made it stable enough to endure heavy vehicles, or the chariots in those days.

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Most of the boulders are of natural shape. Some of them have some hammering done on them. Over the years, smaller pieces of the stone have been put in the gaps to add more strength to it.

The Arkadiko Bridge is not the only one in the region that has endured the test of time. Three more Mycenaean corbel arch bridges have been standing for almost the same time as Arkadiko in Argolis.. The Petrogephyri bridge is one of them and is a kilometre away from Arkadiko.

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There is another Mycenaean bridge at Lykotroupi in northern Argolis. It was a part of another Mycenaean main road. The bridge measures 17.1 feet wide at the bottom and 7 feet 10 inches at the top.

The Mycenaean civilisation was the last phase of the Bronze Age in ancient Greece. It was the first advanced Greek civilisation in mainland Greece with an urban organisation system, sophisticated art and a writing system.

The civilisation ended after the Bronze Age culture collapsed in the eastern Mediterranean. Several reasons have been cited for its end, including the Dorian invasion, a hypothesis that the Dorians moved into the Peloponnese. However, this proposal is believed to be merely a myth.

Some experts believe that climate change and other natural disasters likely killed them.