 No information on the bridge survives from ancient sources . The first descriptions appear in European travellers ' accounts from the 19th century . The British archaeologist Charles Fellows was the first to explore the region of Lycia , and visited the bridge in May 1840 . Fellows , as well as T.A.B. Spratt and Edward Forbes , who visited the site two years later , describe it as having 25 arches . In 1882 , an Austrian expedition , including Otto Benndorf , interpreted the structure as part of an ancient road that connected Limyra with the city of Attaleia ( modern Antalya ) to the east . However , this mission failed to produce any plans or sketches of the site . 
