DISCLAIMER : This thread is by no mean official or supposed to offend anyone. I only want to give my opinion on this subject and share it with everyone.
Salutations everyone,
I and @Oberanio had a discussion yesterday about the utility of bridges on the Great West road in Anorien. The starting point of this conversation was a bridge being five times the size of the stream, which we both agreed was too much. However Oberanio made it smaller, I didn't wish it this way, I wanted to have a ford (not the car). To make it clear, this is a ford :
Thus we asked ourselves : Where were fords used ? But in fact this question was double, as we wondered how they were formed and if carts could use them easily.
To begin with, bridges are very strong and fast to cross, I will take as example of European cities, which have bridges everywhere. Think London, Berlin, Rome or Paris, where bridges happen every 200 metres. And even if most of these are recent, some are still very old and were major passage points. Out of towns, they could be found where trade was important or to link the two sides of a river. The most impressive medieval bridge coming to my mind is the Avignon bridge (pronounced like avinion (onion)), well known in France for its amazing 920 metres length, crossing the Rhone river and using some islands in the middle to get on the other side easier. Yet, as you can see, it is now broken, which might be explained by its expensive
maintenance, and the subsequent absence of it. Although, bridges could also be smaller, such as this Mycenaean bridge from the 13th century BCE. Here, the river sides were too steep to make a ford, so ancient Greek made a bridge, nothing too fancy though.
Furthermore, bridges were a symbol of power. In the medieval period, they were mainly built over hard to not crossable passages, and local lords raised crossing taxes whenever you needed to go through it. They were strategic points, as the only passage in miles, but also in war time, again, as a crossing point. Battles were fought for their control, such as the battle of the Stirling Bridge during the First war of Scottish independence.
Nevertheless, they were not always used, especially where the river flew slow and the river bed laid high. We have clear evidence that Tolkien himself made fords in Middle Earth. The Ford of Bruinen on the Great East road is the best example. Look at the films or books for further details. Fords were very commons, since they were free to pass and to build.
In my opinion, it is okay to have fords on main roads, as long as the river/stream isn't too wide and deep. Here is a quick ford I made for 3 meters wide river :
This is made to be an alternative to this bridge on the Anorien road:
Alright, thank you for your attention, and get to vote.
Salutations everyone,
I and @Oberanio had a discussion yesterday about the utility of bridges on the Great West road in Anorien. The starting point of this conversation was a bridge being five times the size of the stream, which we both agreed was too much. However Oberanio made it smaller, I didn't wish it this way, I wanted to have a ford (not the car). To make it clear, this is a ford :
A simple road getting through a river where its bed lays high enough
Thus we asked ourselves : Where were fords used ? But in fact this question was double, as we wondered how they were formed and if carts could use them easily.
To begin with, bridges are very strong and fast to cross, I will take as example of European cities, which have bridges everywhere. Think London, Berlin, Rome or Paris, where bridges happen every 200 metres. And even if most of these are recent, some are still very old and were major passage points. Out of towns, they could be found where trade was important or to link the two sides of a river. The most impressive medieval bridge coming to my mind is the Avignon bridge (pronounced like avinion (onion)), well known in France for its amazing 920 metres length, crossing the Rhone river and using some islands in the middle to get on the other side easier. Yet, as you can see, it is now broken, which might be explained by its expensive
Nevertheless, they were not always used, especially where the river flew slow and the river bed laid high. We have clear evidence that Tolkien himself made fords in Middle Earth. The Ford of Bruinen on the Great East road is the best example. Look at the films or books for further details. Fords were very commons, since they were free to pass and to build.
In my opinion, it is okay to have fords on main roads, as long as the river/stream isn't too wide and deep. Here is a quick ford I made for 3 meters wide river :
It will look better when we get to 1.13 and we have slabs put on the bed. Rivamp coming ?
Alright, thank you for your attention, and get to vote.
