Chapter 2: Historical Collapses

This chapter considers some catastrophic bridge collapses from the dark ages through to the end of the nineteenth century. These are in the form of a selection of case studies, dating from the fourth to the nineteenth century and with examples from around the world. The case studies not only describe the bridges concerned and provide accounts of the collapses, but they also dwell on the causes of the failures and some of the outcomes. These are the lessons learned which in some cases led to an improved understanding of structural behaviour and longer-term legacies for the profession. In nearly every case, however, a key contribution was the human factor; a point to be addressed in other chapters.