The bridge likely replaced an earlier wooden structure in the same location. Its length is 21.4 meters, and its width is 6.2 meters. Two arches at both ends, each 7 meters high with a single wide span, are built from the same local stone as the bridge and are wider at the base than at the top. At the corners of the arches are fluted Corinthian pilasters, atop which eagles are carved. Scrolls of acanthus partially extend along the frieze, in the middle of which is an inscription that reads: “Lucius Donnius, son of Gaius Flavos, priest of Rome and Augustus, ordered in his will that this monument be built under the supervision of Gavius Donnius Vena and Gaius Attius Rufius.”

Lucius Donnius Flavos was evidently a rather important figure and likely owned land in the immediate vicinity of the bridge. He was a Romanized Gaul, probably an aristocrat of the Avatici, a local Gallic tribe. He was also likely a significant player in the affairs of the nearby city of Arelate (Arles), as he served the imperial cult, most probably in one of the city’s temples. He may have built his mausoleum nearby, although its location remains unknown.

As the inscription indicates, the bridge was built after Flavos’s death, and its stylistic elements are typical of funerary monuments. The frieze of the arches, decorated with a wavy pattern, symbolizes the eternal renewal of life. The eagles carved above the capitals and the pairs of freestanding lions atop the arches are also common features of tombs and, in the case of the lions, were popular in Provence in the second half of the first century BCE. The combination of arches and bridge may have been intended to symbolize the passage of life. Since Flavos’s bridge was private, its arches were not classical triumphal arches usually associated with Roman arches, and there are no images of Flavos on it.

In the 20s BCE, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa carried out a road-building program in Provence on behalf of Emperor Augustus, constructing the Via Julia Augusta. This gave Flavos the opportunity to leave his mark quite prominently, proclaiming loyalty to Roman values and emphasizing the importance of his own person. Considering the possible dating of the stylistic elements, the Flavian bridge was most likely built sometime between 20 and 10 BCE.

The bridge was actively used until the end of the 20th century. Over these years, it became heavily worn and suffered much damage; by the end of antiquity, the road had become so worn down by constant wagon traffic that the arch stones were exposed. Therefore, to prevent the bridge from collapsing, it was repeatedly covered with new stone and the parapet was replaced. The bridge was a traditional stopping place for the Compagnons du Tour de France, journeyman stonemasons who toured notable monuments across the country and left their graffiti (including signatures and personal symbols such as horseshoes and phalluses) on the bridge.

The western arch was destroyed at least twice; the first time in the 18th century, when the stone lions on its top were destroyed. It was restored in 1763 by Jean Chastel, who also restored the sculptures (the only surviving original lion is on the right side of the eastern arch). The second collapse occurred during World War II, when the arch was first damaged by a German tank crashing into it, and then collapsed when an American truck crashed into it in 1945. It was restored in 1949, and a few years later a modern bridge was built 50 meters to the south to bypass it. The Flavian bridge is now used only by pedestrians. In 1977, before landscaping the surrounding area, archaeological excavations were conducted by Antiquités Historiques de Provence under the direction of Anne Roth Congès.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_Flavien

https://ru.frwiki.wiki/wiki/Pont_Flavien