Ever wonder why a bridge is as sturdy as it is? It must be a buried human sacrifice in one of the columns or foundations. This ritual would then ward off evil spirits from crumbling the bridge to smithereens. Before calling the police or going on a personal expedition to dig up the foundation of the bridge for proof (or lack thereof), take a look at where the mythology and ritual of this tradition originated from and if indeed, it still exists today.  

Human sacrifice resembles that of animal sacrifice in ancient religions and people. To the prehistoric and the scientifically uneducated, there is a belief that if misfortune or disaster prevails, it must be punishment from the gods. So, if an animal or human is sacrificed, then the gods will restore the disaster back to its original order. Sacrifice derives from the Latin ‘sacrificium’ meaning ‘to set apart from the profane, to make sacred’. Every culture throughout history is laden with sacrificial stories of death that later restored the order of life. In the ancient Egyptian mythology of Osiris, his brother Set dismembers him and scatters his body parts across Egypt. Osiris’s grieving wife, Isis, finds Osiris’ scattered remains and reconstructs his body. New life is created and harmony is restored. The Greeks, Sumerians, Jews, Hindus, Indonesians, Chinese, Aztecs, and Christians tell stories of sacrifice that then cleansed people and restored order to the community or world. Therefore, the symbolic ritual of creation involves the acts of deconstruction and reconstruction. 

In Western Europe, the documentation of human sacrifice to ensure safe construction of bridges is found in folksongs. These songs hint toward females, usually virgins, sacrificed in order for spring to appear or a building or bridge to successfully be built. These folksongs became the material of legends yet did have some validity to their tune. Evidence of bones and other sacrificial rites have been found near the foundation of buildings and bridges across Europe and Africa. These findings uphold the superstitious belief that sacrifice ensures successful building. Children were also chosen for sacrificial rites. Whether these children were already dead and used as sacrifice or hand-picked is not clear. 

The London Bridge holds the myth that it has fallen down. To successfully rebuild the bridge, someone needs to be sacrificed. That person is ‘my fair lady’.  Sections of the bridge had been crushed and not repaired by the Queen of the time, Eleanor. The townspeople created the song as a jab against the Queen, a possible hint that she should be sacrificed to ensure successful re-building of the bridge. No such thing actually ever occurred.

Less violent rituals to ensure safe bridge building occur today in parts of the world. Supposedly, in Argentina, a ‘sacrifice’ is made to ensure the safety of that building. The concrete is mixed and poured into the foundation with a strict recipe and completed by mid-day. The workers receive a celebratory meal and take the day off (a sacrifice in and of itself). If this is not done, the building would be sure to crumble. 

Next time a bridge is crossed, thank the gods for keeping the bridge strong and safe. A sturdy bridge may be the result of a sacrifice to appease those gods (wouldn’t want to make the gods angry). If it is not a sacrifice, then it must be the work of a very talented engineer.