The Pont Flavien is a Roman bridge

Roman bridge

Roman bridges, built by ancient Romans, were the first large and lasting bridges built. Roman bridges were built with stone and had the arch as its basic structure....

 across the River Touloubre

Touloubre

The Touloubre is a river in the southeast of France. It runs from Venelles to the Étang de Berre, over 59 kilometers. Other places along its course are Pélissanne, Salon-de-Provence, Grans and Saint-Chamas. It flows into the Étang de Berre, which is connected to the Mediterranean Sea, near...

 in Saint-Chamas

Saint-Chamas

Saint-Chamas is a commune in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France.-Geography:...

, Bouches-du-Rhône

Bouches-du-Rhône

Bouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:...

 department, southern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. The single arch bridge is noted for its fine triumphal arch

Triumphal arch

A triumphal arch is a monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crowned with a flat entablature or attic on which a statue might be...

es standing at each entrance.

The bridge inscription refers to a certain C. Donnius Flavos, a priest from Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 in the reign of Augustus

Augustus

Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

, as bridge builder. The structure is thus dated to around 12 BC, when work on the Via Julia Augusta

Via Julia Augusta

The Via Julia Augusta is the name given to the Roman road formed by the merging of the Via Aemilia Scauri with the Via Postumia. The road runs from Placentia to Arelates through Derthona , Vada Sabatia , Albingaunum and Album Intimilium .It was begun in 13 BC by Augustus, and originally stopped...

began.

L(ucius) Donnius C(ai) f(ilius) Flavos flamen Romae

et Augusti testamento fierei iussit

arbitratu C(ai) Donnei Venae et C(ai) Attei Rufei