The Saint-Bénézet bridge at Avignon : archaeology, history, geomorphology, environment, 3D reconstruction – PAVAGE

The Saint Benezet Bridge, the so called Avignon Bridge, is located outside of the city. It was built (or rebuilt) in the last decade of the 12th Century and nowadays just four remnant arches are still visible. The total length was about 920 meters and the width was around 4 meters, it was formed by 22 arches and allowed to connect the medieval cities of Avignon to, at first, Saint Andre abbey then Villeneuve on the right banks.
There is no major reference studying the different aspects (architecture, history, palaeolandscape) of the bridge and of its small castle located on the right bank of the Rhône River (Philippe-le-Bel tower). Just some hypotheses (most of them are descriptive and were not well developed) were advanced around Saint Benezet’s figure, the builder of the monument.
This project will be a major contribution to better understand the history of an important historical site and to virtually (3D modeling) reestablish the relationships between the left and the right bank of the Rhone R. Indeed, after the destruction of the roman bridge in Arles and before the construction of the Pont-Saint-Esprit Bridge in 1309, the Avignon Bridge was the only bypass between the city of Lyon or Vienne and the sea.
The study of the bridge is closely related to the history of the Rhone River. Indeed, the river, used as navigable channel, was strongly affected by important lateral migrations during the last centuries and along the 20th century the works undertaken to improve the navigability were the most spectacular and the most efficient. The Rhone was also the geographical/natural boundary between the German Empire and the Kingdom of France. During the 14th Century, the Avignon Bridge connected the so called “Popes city” (located on the west bank) to Villeneuve-lès-Avignon (located on the right bank), holiday resort of the pope assembly.
The virtual reconstruction of the building during its main phase of use will take into account the several collapses caused by the human activities (fires, wars, etc.) or by natural effects (flood events) and the different steps of refurbishment (using materials like wood or blocks). The digital modeling of the historical site must be completed by the integration of the palaeoenvironmental settings and until now, no works have been completed on this topic. An important part of the work will be dedicated to the palaeogeographic reconstruction of the fluvial dynamics. As a final step of the multidisciplinary project, the scientists will propose various fluvial landscape reconstructions with the help of the digital modeling. The creation of a GIS (Geographic Information System) will consist in the most innovative part of the program.
This program will be included in the main objectives of the “Plan Rhône 2007-2013” and will mainly concerns the “fluvial heritage” part. It will also put forward, in its historical dimension, the easily flooded areas of the territory related to the changes of the Rhone River course.
In addition to the synthesis of the accumulated results, of the articles, of the communications and of the establishment of a perennial GIS, one of the main aims is to create a visitor centre where the acquired data could be presented. The Philippe Le Bel Tower is located in front of the city of Avignon and could host the visitor centre. The modeling of the palaeolandscape evolution could improve the actual digital supports and refresh the cultural tourism possibilities developed by the local politics.