Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 July 2016
The famous single-arch stone bridge over the Neretva River in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was built in 1557–1566 by the order of Ottoman Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. During the reconstruction of the Old Bridge, which was destroyed during the war in 1993, remnants of 2 older wooden bridges were found at the same location. Six wood and 2 charcoal samples were dated using the radiocarbon method. Wood samples with visible tree rings were taken for dendrochronological dating. The results point to several periods of construction and repairs to the bridge and the towers at each end, spanning from the 12th to 18th century. Calibrated 14C and dendrochronological ages were in good agreement.