Role Of Architecture In Roman Architecture

Improved Essays
HIST 1421: GREEK AND ROMAN CIVILIZATION
Written Assignment Unit 7
Introduction
Romans are considered to be the great architects and civil engineers. They used science and advanced technology to make their innovations come to life and revolutions history. Among some of those innovations were the arch and concrete. These two items were so revolutionary to the Romans that they became part every piece of Roman architecture in some way. In this essay, we will talk about these innovations and how important they were to Roman architecture.
The Arch
There is much debate about when the Romans first invented the arch with some scholars and historians saying that the Sicilian Archimedes was the inventor. However, no such evidence can be found throughout
…show more content…
They were used especially for houses, bridges, and aqueducts. The arch allowed for structures like bridges to be built with fewer pillars. This was possible because the arch would distribute loads more evenly with its curved design, making the entire structure extremely strong. During Roman Empire, approximately 1,000 stone arch bridges were constructed (Historyofbridges.com, n.d.). These bridges allowed Roman armies to easily march from territory to territory and allowed water to flow freely and swiftly. Incorporating arches into buildings gave the Romans the ability to build many multistoried buildings for residents to live in. The arches distributed loads evenly, improving the structural load bearing capacity, allowing for more levels. Also, they arches were very pretty.
The Importance of Concrete
Roman concrete was a very versatile building material. It was cheap to produce and therefore affordable to purchase. It hardened quickly so construction could move at a quicker pace. Concrete was flame retardant making it safer than wood and it was flexible enough when soft to take the shape of whatever mold it was placed in. This flexibility gave way to some beautiful designs being embedded into the concrete. But like I said before, Roman concrete was extremely durable and because of that, the Romans were inclined to use it to build everything that needed to be structurally sound.

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Roman Empire Dbq

    • 338 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Concrete played an important part in Roman building, helping them construct structures like aqueducts that included arches (which are still used by architects today). As one reflects…

    • 338 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Greeks and Etruscans had already built columns and arches which were eventually adopted by the Romans. Instead of using only the columns of the Greeks or the arches from the Etruscans, Rome combined the two concepts while adding cultural aspects of their own. Buildings in Rome were built to bring people together and celebrate their ideas on self-glorification, as mentioned before. They were also built to scale of importance and displayed the power they possessed. Greek buildings were built for political, funerary, religious use, and usually celebrated civic power.…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    1. What original (non-Greek) contributions did the Roman Empire make to humanity? The Roman contributed to language, architecture and law and they were also able to absorbed many ideas from the Greeks, the Etruscans and the Phoenicians and make great improvements. A contribution of their own that the Roman made was that they were the first to develop the use of concrete that laid the foundation to the structure they built.…

    • 208 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Arches are a semicircle made of stone and was supported at the middle. This help saved materials because it used less materials. The arch was supported by the keystone which puts force on the arch and not on a single point if it did that the aqueduct would have fell apart. Another innovation that revolutionised the roman way of life was the via appia which was the first national road way.…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Since the Colosseum is an amphitheater the light-source is always external, making the arches use more for structural and decoration then a light-source, as well multiple exit ways. The arches used on the Colosseum are called vaulted Roman arches. Made of concrete, these arches added strength to the building without adding excessive weight. The windows on the courthouse are not vaulted but, keystone. This arch function was to make voussoir, blocks; it presses firmly against the surface of neighboring blocks and conducts loads uniformly, in which central voussoir, keystone, withholds against the gravity.…

    • 654 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Romans discovered that substituting the sand in concrete with volcanic ash would make a very strong cement. The Romans also debris, broken pottery and lighter materials into concrete and mortar. They also used wood,ceramics metal, and mudstone. Aqueducts Rome had 11 different aqueducts.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Concrete is also a useful architectural development of Rome and it was used to make stronger structures. Without it, aqueducts, buildings, bridges, and monuments would not be possible in Rome. Rome has a countless number of fascinating…

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Roman Arches

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The volcanic sand and lime were mixed to create to produce a very strong and durable type of concrete. These types of arches were made to support a lot of weights due to its compatibility and strong nature. Arches made of concrete are very strong that it could help the Romans to build aqueducts for the provision of water to the cites. It increased and expanded the works of art and architectural works as well. This Roman discovery of the new method of producing strong and reliable arch went round the neighboring countries.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Etruscans are thought to have used arches and vaults in their later architecture. (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2009, 6Th edition, p1-2, 2p) The sequence of buildings in Rome shows how the Romans developed their own building styles, based on the Estrsucan and the Greek method. The styles combined columns, arches, and vaults. They were long, think bricks of clay which would be made to a standard size that gave more of a characteristic appearance to the city.…

    • 1547 Words
    • 7 Pages
    • 4 Works Cited
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The architecture allowed the Romans to give their people a better quality of life. The aqueducts allowed them to “deliver over forty million gallons of water per day” (Fiero 152). Having the aqueducts allowed the Romans to give the citizens water more easily, and this technology allowed the rest of the world to advance further in having fresh water. The Romans themselves, “considered their most significant technological achievement” (Fiero 152) to be the public works. The technology of being able to produce roads in Rome, and being able to build long roads to other places also helped surrounding cultures.…

    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Roman Concrete

    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Concrete was a major contribution to the growth of the Roman civilization. Without it, the Roman architecture that is still seen today, like the Coliseum or the pantheon, would not still be standing. The idea of concrete first came from the Etruscans, but with Roman ingenuity they perfected the mixture and made it revolutionary. Concrete was used largely in the Roman Empire and greatly improved the architecture. It was sturdy, flexible, and was easy to use which made it a staple in Roman Civilization.…

    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Colosseum Research Paper

    • 598 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Colosseum is considered one of the biggest achievement of the Roman people because of the engineering and architecture of colosseum, the colosseum was the place of sport events. Roman engineering and architecture of the Colosseum monument, was greatly influenced by two of their greatest inventions: concrete and arches. The concrete was a newborn invention when the Colosseum was built and the Romans were still learning, and trying to figure out on how to use it; However, concrete was a really new technology for the romans because they had no understanding on how durable it was or how greatly it would last. The Romans figured out that combination of concrete together with stone could lead intro great architectural construction. Concrete was a combination of a strong volcanic material (called pozzolana) that was mixed with rubble, sand and some combination of limes.…

    • 598 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After the age of the First Civilizations, Rome, along with China and others, started into a new era of second- and third-wave civilizations. As the Roman population grew rapidly in numbers, so did the city itself expand with new technological innovations and advancements. Rome went from being a city-state to an empire over the course of about 500 years, before the current era, as technological advances grew with the Agricultural Revolution, Industrial Revolution, and further into the future. In the Roman Empire, aqueducts and roads were technological achievements in civil engineering and construction that “considerably enhanced human potential for manipulating the environment” (Strayer 82). Roman roads were very important to the development of the Roman state and were built through the expansion of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire.…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ancient Roman Concrete

    • 160 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Concrete is the combination of small stones, volcanic sand, lime, and water (Abercrombie & Whiton, 2007). Concrete made construction easier, faster, and most important more economical. Without the development of concrete, architecture would not have been able to advance at such a vast pace. While the ancient Egyptians had post-and-lintel, which in turn the Greeks reproduced and evolved trusses, the ancient Romans adapted and revolutionized the construction technique with the arch. Concrete, along with arches, allowed for more shapes to be introduced into the design, contradictory to prior styles.…

    • 160 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Roman Aqueducts

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The people of Rome used these aqueducts, that were located in mainly rivers with the purpose of transporting water to areas in which otherwise had none. Aqueducts were designed to be flat bottomed, arched sectioned buildings made to withstand hazardous weather. In Rome, these cement waterways were also capable of being used as a bridge , so they could be a multi-purpose structure. These conduits were used where geographical obstacles, such as a valley or ravine, created arid conditions due to the lack of water.…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays