An ancient wooden bridge built without a single nail.
Image credit: Kulturologia
According to skeptics, this bridge is no more than 200 years old, dating back to the 19th century, but many locals claim that this wooden structure has been standing there longer – about 700-800 years old, according to what they’ve heard from their ancestors. But there’s something even more interesting than the fact that this wooden bridge has survived for centuries: not a single nail was used for building it.
The bridge is located near the village of Gulli (another pronunciation is Juli) of the Tabasaran region of Dagestan, and it can rightfully be considered a historical monument, as well as an architectural monument.
Few people know about this unique attraction. Image credit: Zori Tabasarana
Despite its age and the building materials used, the design of the bridge looks grandiose – and it has also proved to be extremely reliable. Old people in the area recall that bulls pulling heavy carts used to regularly walk across the bridge without problems, and indeed, it can easily withstand the weight of a passenger car even today.
The 10-meter-high structure was made using wooden logs and thick beams – but no nails. Why? Because local residents only had wood and stone at their disposal when building it. The metal bracket, which can be seen on one side of the bridge does not play any functional role and clearly appeared later than the structure itself. We do not actually know why it was placed there.
The bridge is ten meters high. Image source: Kulturologia
The bridge was built by the Tabasarans, a people living in Dagestan. A number of researchers believe that this name has an Iranian origin, while others think that Tabasarans, as a separate people, originate in Caucasian Albania, a large empire that arose back in the first centuries BC.
Anyway, this is what the Tabasaran region of Dagestan typically looks like.
Image credit: Travel Ask
According to legend, the Tabarasans were good warriors, but when they no longer had to fight, they switched to peaceful professions like cattle breeding, various types of crafts, and (in flat spots) gardening and grape cultivation.
Since the Tabasaransky district is the leader in the number of forests in Southern Dagestan (in fact, half of the territory is forested), the architects who built the wooden bridge did not lack building materials.
Image credit: Welcome Dagestan
Image credit: Welcome Dagestan
Image credit: Welcome Dagestan
An amazing feat indeed. They nailed it without nails.
