Roman Architecture

Ar. Maria Lourdes Rigunay, UAP

Rome
The traditional date for the founding of Rome, based on a mythological account, is 21 April 753 BCE. Romulus legendary founder and first ruler

Roman architecture

GEOGRAPHY/ GEOLOGY

GEOGRAPHY/GEOLOGY
Rome had access to the sea for international trade Marshes meant that the first inhabitants congregate on steep hills City's low-lying position explains the lack of high defense towers Towers were substituted by religious domes. Area of volcanic origins Hills were of tufa rock
Sort of hardened rocky sponge used for ancient Roman building and construction

Romans started making concrete

Rome Timeline

Roman Kingdom and Republic 753 BCE According to legend, Romulus founds Rome.

753509 BCE 509 BCE

Rule of the seven Kings of Rome. Creation of the Republic.

390 BCE
264-146 BCE

The Gauls invade Rome. Rome sacked.

Punic Wars.

146-44 BCE

Social and Civil Wars. Emergence of Marius, Sulla, Pompey and Caesar.

44 BCE

Julius Caesar assassinated.

Roman Empire 44 BCE - CE 14 CE 64 69-96 3rd century Augustus establishes the Empire. Great Fire of Rome during Nero's rule. Flavian Dynasty. Building of the Colosseum. Crisis of the Roman Empire. Building of the Baths of Caracalla and the Aurelian Walls.

284-337

Diocletian and Constantine. Building of the first Christian basilicas. Rome is replaced by Constantinople as the capital of the Empire. Definitive separation of Western and Eastern Roman Empire. The Goths of Alaric sack Rome. The Vandals of Gaiseric sack Rome. Fall of the West Empire and deposition of the final emperor Romulus Augustus.

395 410 455 476

6th century

Gothic War (535-554) The Goths cut off the aqueducts in the siege of 537, an act which historians traditionally regard as the beginning of the Middle Ages in Italy

Medieval Rome 608 Emperor Phocas donates the Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV, converting it into a Christian church. Column of Phocas (the last addition made to the Forum Romanum) is erected. The Curia Julia (vacant since the disappearance of the Roman Senate) is transformed into the basilica of SantAdriano al Foro. Constans II visits Rome for twelve daysthe only emperor to set foot in Rome for two centuries. He strips buildings of their ornaments and bronze to be carried back to Constantinople.

630

663 772 800 846 852 962 1000 1084 1144 1300 1303 1309 1347 1377

The Lombards briefly conquer Rome but Charlemagne liberates the city a year later.
Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor in St. Peters Basilica. The Saracens sack St. Peter. Building of the Leonine Walls. Otto I crowned Emperor by Pope John XII Emperor Otto III and Pope Sylvester II. The Normans sack Rome. Creation of the commune of Rome. First Jubilee proclaimed by Pope Boniface XIII. Foundation of the Roman University. Pope Clemen V moves the Holy Seat to Avignon. Cola de Rienzo proclaims himself tribune. Pope Gregory XI moves the Holy Seat back to Rome.

Roman architecture

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

HISTORICAL/SOCIAL BACKGROUND
ETRUSCAN ARCHITECTURE (B.C. 750B.C. 100) Etruscans
Early inhabitants of Central Italy Great builders, and their methods of construction influenced Roman architecture

Etruscan architecture
Use of the true or radiating arch Walls are of solid cyclopean masonry, huge masses of stone piled up without mortar

HISTORICAL/SOCIAL BACKGROUND
Romans owed their Etruscan neighbors and forefathers the knowledge essential for future architectural solutions: arches
Reflected elements of architectural styles of the Etruscans and the Greeks.

Style was modified according to their urban requirements Civil engineering and building construction technology became developed and refined

HISTORICAL/SOCIAL BACKGROUND
Roman cities
Well-planned, efficiently managed and neatly maintained

Town planning
Comprehensive with provisions for
Different activities by the urban resident population Countless migratory population of travelers, traders and visitors passing through their cities

HISTORICAL/SOCIAL BACKGROUND
Palaces, private dwellings and villas, were elaborately designed
80% of the population of ancient Rome lived in the countryside. Landlords resided in cities and their estates were left in the care of farm managers. The plight of rural slaves was generally worse than their counterparts working in urban aristocratic landlords.

The centre of the early social structure was the family. The Roman Empire spread via the roads and bridges beyond the Mediterranean shores

The Forum
Life in the ancient Roman cities revolved around the Forum.

Central business district

Marketing Shopping Trading Banking

For participating in festivities and ceremonies. Where orators would express themselves to mould public opinion, and elicit support for any particular issue of interest to them or others.

Baths

For comfort in the new Roman centers, they built facilities like baths to emulate life at home Going to a public bath at least once daily was a habit with most Roman citizens. Separate baths for men and women. Women's baths were smaller than the men's, and did not have a frigidarium (cold room) or a palaestra (exercise area).

 Different types of outdoor and indoor entertainment were available, depending on the nature of the events Scheduled during daytime, afternoons, evenings, or late nights Huge crowds gathered to watch events like gladiators, combats between men, or fights between men and wild animals.

Victories were commemorated with triumphal arches and columns.

Roman architecture

CLIMATE

Climate
Rome is susceptible to flooding due to the large drainage area of the Tiber.
Repeated natural destruction of the city had a large influence on the superstitious Roman mind, providing 'evidence' for the displeasure of the gods.

The climate from the end of the republic, throughout the years of the Empire was warm and dry
Up to perhaps between 800 and 1200 A.D.,

Wet period between 1310 and 1320 A.D. Little ice age of 1500 to 1800 A.D.

Roman Architecture

RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND

Religion
Highly religious but polytheistic Archaic religion
The way of the ancestors" or simply "tradition", viewed as central to Roman identity

Priesthoods of public religion were held by members of the elite class

Priests married, raised families, and led politically active lives.

Temples were built by magistrates in fulfillment of a vow to a deity for assuring their military success.

Religion
Religion was a part of daily life.
Each home had a household shrine at which prayers and offerings to the family's domestic deities were offered.

Neighborhood shrines and sacred places such as springs and groves dotted the city. Women formed the state-supported Vestal Virgins, who tended Rome's sacred hearth

This temple is dedicated to Vesta, the goddess of fire. The columns, in peristyle, protect an altar and fire located inside the small cella.

Temple of Vesta, Rome - Circular cella - Supported by Corinthian columns

Heather Pastushok

Roman Architecture

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

Roman Architecture
Romans adopted the columnar and trabeated style of the Greeks and developed the arch, vault, and dome of the Etruscans Romans perfected the use of three architectural elements:
The arch The vault Concrete

Helped to lighten the load carried by Roman structures Maintained both structural strength and stability

Roman Architecture
Column Beam

Arch

Keynote of Roman Style

This combined use of column, beam, and arch is the keynote of the Roman style.

Roman Architecture
Complex civilization of the Romans
Necessitated the use of several storeys which were frequently ornamented by attached half-columns superimposed one above the other

Thermae, temples, amphitheatres, aqueducts, bridges, tombs, and basilicas all testify to the great constructive ability of the Romans, whose majestic buildings are in accord with the grandeur of Roman Imperial power.

Roman Architecture

The arch

The vault

Concrete

Arch
Piers
Two supports

Impost
Platform on top of the piers supporting the arch

Voussoirs [voo-swars]
Arched, curved pattern angled blocks of brick or stone placed on the imposts

Keystone
central block of the arch

Arch: Key To The Structure

An arch was constructed from each end up to the top until the center piece (keystone) was ready to be placed.
The keystone exerted a force on the adjacent stones so that this one stone at the top held the entire arch together.

Arches
Allowed the Romans to create wider, taller, lighter, and stronger structures. Arcade
Row of arches

ARCADE

Roman Architecture

The arch

The vault

Concrete

Vault
The character of Roman architecture depended largely on the extended use of vaulting inherited from the Etruscans and standardised as a structural system. The adoption of concrete and the method of its use was far-reaching in its results, as structures of complicated plan were easily roofed by vaults of various forms

Roman Vaults
Semicircular or wagon-headed vault
Barrel " or " tunnel " vault Borne throughout its length on the two parallel walls of a rectangular apartment Formed by the intersection of two semi-circular vaults of equal span Used over a square apartment and the pressure was taken by the four angles. Used over long halls or corridors
The hall was divided by piers into square bays, each of which was covered with a cross-vault, which allowed of the insertion of windows in the upper part of the walls

Cross-vault

Lines of intersection of these cross-vaults are known as groins. Used over circular structures, and semi-domes for exedra or semicircular recesses.

Hemispherical domes or cupolas (cupa = a cup)

Roman Vaults
CONCRETE was the important factor
Cohesive power Cast in one solid mass Rigid No lateral thrust

VAULT Vaults are extended arches Used them to create large open rooms and high, covered passageways.

ROMAN VAULTING SYSTEMS

A: Barrel Vault B: Cross/Groin Vault The barrel vault, cross vault, and domical C: Pavilion Vault structure are the most prominent vaultings in D: Sail Vault Roman architecture. E: Domical Vault F: Umbrella Dome

Barrel vault

Cross vault

Cross Vaults

Buttresses Dome on a drum

Basilica Nova of Maxentius, Rome Utilizes the barrel vault Round arch

Roman Architecture

The arch

The vault

Concrete

Concrete
Greatest Roman contribution to architecture. A manufactured article which gave uniformity and similarity to the buildings, whose character was thus largely independent of local conditions. Roman concrete was made with a special Roman mortar or cement called caementa Water, lime, and a special volcanic ash sand, called pozzolana, were mixed together, giving Roman caementa its special strength. Roman cement was special not only because it was strong but because it was also hydraulic.

Factors that led to the discovery of new architectural solutions

Wealth and high population densities in cities The use of arches and vaults A sound knowledge of building materials, enabled them to achieve unprecedented successes in the construction of imposing structures for public use.

Factors that led to the discovery of new architectural solutions

Examples include the
Aqueducts of Rome Baths of Diocletian Baths of Caracalla Basilicas Colosseum

Ancient Romans intended that public buildings should be made to impress, as well as perform a public function.
The Pantheon is an example as rebuilt by Hadrian

THE ROMAN ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE

The Roman Orders of Architecture

The Orders of architecture which were essentially constructive were frequently employed by the Romans as decorative features The Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian Orders of architecture were used by the Greeks, and the Romans added the Tuscan and Composite.

The Roman Orders of Architecture

Tuscan Order A simplified version of the Doric Order 7 diameters high With base Unfluted shaft Simply moulded capital Plain entablature Composite Order Capital is a combination of the Corinthian and Ionic capitals Was used largely in triumphal arches to give an ornate character

Tuscan Column
Plain, without carvings and ornaments
Features Shaft sets on a simple base Shaft is usually plain, not fluted Shaft is slender, with proportions similar to a Greek Ionic Column Smooth, round capitals No carvings or other ornaments

Composite Order

Combines the Ionic and the Corinthian orders of architecture Highly decorated capitals.

Roman architecture

BUILDING TYPES

Roman amphitheatres large, circular or oval open-air venues with raised seating for gladiator combats chariot racing venationes (animal slayings) executions Amphitheatres are different from circuses from hippodromes, which were usually rectangular and built mainly for racing events from stadia, built for athletics from theaters, traditionally semicircular

The word amphitheatrum means "theatre all around

Roman Ampitheater
Large, circular or oval open-air venues with raised seating
Gladiator combats Chariot racing Venationes (animal slayings) Executions

Different
from circuses from hippodromes, which were usually rectangular and built mainly for racing events from stadia, built for athletics from theaters, traditionally semicircular

Amphitheatrum means "theatre all around

Colosseum

A famous example of Roman amphitheater is the Roman Colosseum - 50,000 spectators The Flavian emperors Vespasian and Titus built the Colosseum, or Coliseum, in 70 and 82 AD. Sometimes called the Amphitheatrum Flavium (Flavian Amphitheater)

Levels of the Colosseum corresponding to the Roman Orders

Level 1: Doric Level 2: Ionic Level 3: Corinthian

Colosseum
Greatest work of architectural engineering left to us by the ancient Romans Largest amphitheater Elliptical shape 80 arched entrances (called vomitoria) Ramps and vaulted corridors used to move crowds of over 50,000 spectators Arches are repeated throughout the building, from the sub-floor to the top
Also served to ventilate and light the building.

Colosseum
Gleaming marble and statues stood in every arch of the second and third levels Decorative element: Roman tradition of attaching Greek-style columns to the walls of the arches. Three different styles of columns:
Ground floor entrances have Doric columns Second level has Ionic columns Third level has more elaborate Corinthian

Roman Circus
An ancient Roman chariotracing stadium and mass entertainment venue The Circus Maximus located in Rome, Italy.
First and largest stadium in ancient Rome. 621 m (2,037 ft) in length;118 m (387 ft) in width, accommodates about 150,000 spectators. Model for circuses throughout the Roman Empire.

Roman Theatre
Built upon their own foundations and enclosed on all sides Hosted events such as plays, pantomimes, choral events, and orations. Semicircular form enhances the natural acoustics

Interior view of the auditorium 1) Scaenae frons 2) Porticus post scaenam 3) Pulpitum 4)Proscaenium 5)Orchestra 6)Cavea 7) Aditus maximus 8) Vomitorium

Parts of the Roman Theatre

Scaenae frons
A high back wall of the stage floor Supported by columns Originally not part of the building Constructed to provide sufficient background for the actors.

Proscaenium
Wall that supported the front edge of the stage with ornately decorated niches off to the sides

Podium
Supported the columns of the scaenae frons.

Parts of the Roman Theatre

The theatre itself was divided into Orchestra Stage Auditorium Seating section Vomitoria Entrances and exits

Forum
A marketplace A gathering place of great social significance Scene of diverse activities
Political discussions Debates Rendezvous Meetings, etc.

Basilica
A Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town A large roofed hall erected for transacting business and disposing of legal matters

Basilica
Nave
Wide central aisle was higher than the flanking aisles

Interior colonnades divided the space Aisles or arcaded spaces on one or both sides Apse at one end (or at each end)
Where the magistrates sat, often on a slightly raised dais

Light penetrates through the clerestory windows

Aqueduct
Conductor of water Brought water into cities from vast distances. Supplied public baths, latrines, fountains and private households.

Aqueduct
Bridge over the Gard River in France
a 30 mile-long aqueduct

Considered one of the greatest of all the aqueducts First level is a road Top third level contains a covered water conduit Bridge consists of three tiers of arches, with smaller arches on the top tier

Pons
Roman bridges made of stone serve as part of the road system.

Pons Fabricius (Ponte Fabricio) is an ancient Roman bridge, leading from the western shore of the Tiber to the Isola Tiberina, the island in the river. It is the oldest original bridge still in use today in Rome, having been built in 62 BC.

Triumphal arches
Monuments that commemorated victories in war Ornamental version of a city gate Moved to the center of the city
To permit triumphal processions to enter the citys central forum or town square.

Arch of Titus stands near the entrance to the Roman Forum and is an example of the earliest style of triumphal arch.

Arch of Constantine Situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. Erected by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantines victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312. Arch is 21 m high, 25.9 m wide and 7.4 m deep. Three archways, the central one being 11.5 m high and 6.5 m wide Lateral archways 7.4 m by 3.4 m each. Top (attic) is brickwork reveted with marble. Staircase is entered from a door at some height from the ground

Rostral Column
A type of victory column to commemorate a naval military victory. Rostra
The prows or rams of captured ships were mounted on the columns.

Victory Column: Monumental Column

Monument in the form of a column Erected in memory of a victorious battle, war or revolution Stands on a base Crowned with a victory symbol, such as a statue.

Column of Marcus Aurelius

A Roman victory column in Piazza Colonna, Rome, Italy. A Doric column featuring a spiral relief Built in honor of Marcus Aurelius and modeled on Trajans village.

Building types

ROMAN TEMPLES

Roman Temples
Public religious ceremonies took place outdoors, and not within the temple building. Ceremonies were processions Animal sacrifices would take place at an open-air altar within the templum.

Roman Temple: Parts

Cella Main room which housed the cult image A small altar Room for storage of equipment and offerings

Maison Carree, Nimes, France

Use of corinthian columns Sense of space and direction Small cella Post-lintel structure

Comparison
Floor plan of the Pantheon Circular/honeycomb/tholos Floor plan of Maison Carree Basilica (based on megaron)

The Pantheon
Temple of all the gods Crowning achievement of Roman architecture Best preserved ancient Roman building
Circular plan Rectangular porch in front Triangle-shaped roof gable called a pediment Columns only at front Dome
Sets the Pantheon apart from all other buildings

The Pantheon
First temple to combine concrete construction (a Roman innovation) with Greek decorative elements. Originally built as a temple to all Roman gods: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Saturn and Venus.

Pantheon: Interior
Circular-shaped interior Roofed with a hemispherical vaulted roof Oculus
30 foot opening in the domes center (the only natural light source)

Rotunda
Round interior space

Coffered ceiling
Repeating recessed rectangular shapes Served to reduce the domes weight and mass

Eight niches repeat around the room Eight concrete columns support the major weight of the dome. Walls and floor are decorated with colored marble Columns carved from a single block of granite.

Pantheon: Interior
Floor is curved so rain water from oculus runs off to the edge First storey contains altars Second storey contains 14 blind windows and drum that supports the dome Third storey is the dome made up of coffers

Oculus
The only light source for the structure

For a building dedicated to all the gods, it should only admit light from the heavens

Floor patterns of Pantheon

Floor patterns emphasize Romans fascination with geometry and symmetry.
squares are finite and measurable circles are infinite and immeasurable.

The opposition creates a symmetry.

Coffer Method
Series of indented squares (five rows of 28 coffers each) Squares become smaller towards the top of the dome for proper support Each square painted blue with a star in the center of each Creates optical illusion that dome is wider than it actually is

Roman Baths
Thermae
A popular facility for public bathing, exercising and socializing Includes wrestling and weight-lifting, swimming.

Balneum
Bath-houses provided for private villas, town houses and forts. Normally supplied with water from an adjacent river or stream, or by aqueduct.

Parts of a Thermae
Apodyterium
A room just inside the entrance where the bather stored his clothes For undressing and dressing, usually unheated, but furnished with benches and often with compartments for the clothes

Frigidarium
Cold room

Tepidarium
Warm room

Caldarium
Hot room, heated by a brazier underneath the hollow floor

Parts of a Thermae
Unctorium
Room for the rubbing and anointing with oil that finished the bath

Laconium
Dry, resting room where the bather completed the process by resting and sweating

Palaestra or courtyard
An open-air garden used for exercise

Sometimes the paleastra held a swimming pool

A colonnade outlined the palaestra's edges

Baths of Diocletian (Thermae Diocletiani) in Rome were the grandest of the public baths. It was also the largest. It was dedicated in 306.

Roman architecture

HOUSING

Houses of Early Etruscans

Simple, even for the wealthy or ruling classes. Small huts constructed on the axial plan Central hall with an open skylight Made of mud and wood Thatched roofs Center opening for the hearth's smoke to escape
The beginnings of the atrium

Houses of Early Etruscans

Domus
House

Atrium
Entrance to house

Outside plain, inside elaborate. Homes were considered sanctuaries Atrium would often have sculptures of family members

Parts of a Domus
Vestibulum
Entrance hall

Atrium
Large central hall Focal point of the domus Contained a statue of an altar to the household gods
Compluvium - rainwater could come, draining inwards from the slanted tiled roof Impluvium, a drain pool, a shallow rectangular sunken portion of the Atrium to gather rainwater, which drained into an underground cistern. Alae - open rooms on each side of the atrium

Parts of a Domus
Fauces
Hallways

Tablinum
Living room or study

Cubicula
Bedrooms

Tabernae
Shops on the outside, facing the street

Triclinium
Dining room where guests could recline on couches and eat dinner while reclining. The area had Klinai (three couches)

Culina
Kitchen

Posticum
Servants' entrance also used by family members wanting to leave the house unobserved.

Insula
Apartment building Ground-level floor was used for tabernae, shops and businesses Living space upstairs Running water and sanitation Built in timber, mud brick, and later concrete Prone to fire and collapse Living quarters
Smallest in the building's uppermost floors Largest and most expensive apartments located on the bottom floors.

Up to six or seven stories high Few reached eight or nine stories.

Roman Villa
A Roman country house built for the upper class. Two kinds of villas: Villa urbana
Could easily be reached from Rome (or another city) for a night or two

Villa rustica
Farm-house estate permanently occupied by the servants in-charge of the estate

Roman Walls
Use concrete Concrete was a material which required a facing, both for protection and decoration Sheathed externally and internally with marble, stone, brick, or mosaic
Merely formed an appropriate finish to the structure, thus differing essentially from the homogeneous marble walls of Greek architecture.

Roman Wall Finishes

Colored marbles, cements and stuccoes ("opus albarium) Marble, alabaster, porphyry, and jasper were attached to the walls by iron or bronze cramps Mural paintings on prepared stucco
Fresco Tempera Varnish Caustic painting

Roman Wall Finishes

Mosaics were used to ornament
Walls Vaults Floors

Glass mosaics used to decorate walls and vaults, but not floors. Gilded bronze covered roofs Semicircular or rectangular wall niches for statues from Greece
Flanked by columns supporting a pediment Fronted by a screen of columns

Mosaic
An art form which uses small pieces of materials placed together to create a unified whole Materials used are marble or other stone, pottery, mirror or foil-backed glass, or shells Term for each piece of material is Tessera Opus (Latin for work)
Way in which the pieces are cut and placed varies and is known. The laying down of the tesserae

Different opus result in a different flow or look of the piece.

OPUS REGULATUM
Tesserae is laid out in a regular gridboth horizontally and vertically. A Roman technique and was used to fill in large expanses of background.

OPUS SECTILE
One tessera forms a complete shape - cut into shapes to form the pattern Opus Alexandrinum - a very rich variety

OPUS TESSELLATUM
Uses tesserae in straight rows either horizontally or vertically. Results in a "brick wall" effect.

OPUS PALLADIANUM
An irregular laying down of the tesserae. Sometimes called "crazy paving. Important to have a regular width of the gaps.

OPUS VERMICULATUM
Outlines the shape of the mosaic motif to create a haloor aura effect. Emphasizes the design and gives it a bit more of its own energy. Vermis is the latin word for worm.

OPUS MUSIVUM
Opus vermiculatum is extended out so that the entire area is filled Vermiculatum extends throughout the entire background. Gives the piece a lively sense of movement.

OPUS CLASSICUM
Combines opus tessellatum with opus vermiculatum. Creates a very strong, sharp and clear image

OPUS CIRCUMACTUM
Laid in overlapping semicircles or fan shapes

OPUS SPICATUM
Made of paving bricks set in herring-bone pattern

OPUS REGULATUM All tesserae align both vertically and horizontally

OPUS SECTILE A major shape (e.g. heart, letter, cat) is formed by a single tessera

Opus sectile OPUS ALEXANDRINUM

OPUS TESSELLATUM Tesserae form vertical or horizontal rows, but not both

OPUS PALLADIANUM Instead of forming rows, tesserae are irregularly shaped. Crazy paving

OPUS VERMICULATUM One or more lines of tesserae follow the edge of a special shape (letters or a major central graphic).

OPUS MUSIVUM Vermiculatum extends throughout the entire background

OPUS CLASSICUM Vermiculatum is combined with tessellatum or regulatum

OPUS CIRCUMACTUM Tesserae are laid in overlapping semicircles or fan shapes

Roman architecture

ROMAN BRICK WALLS

Roman Walls
Large blocks of stone without mortar Used concrete
Hard composition which consists of small fragments of stone, such as tufa, peperino, marble, pumice-stone, or even broken bricks, mixed with lime

Concrete, both unfaced and faced Unfaced for foundations Faced for walls Walls are of special character
Opus quadratum
Rectangular blocks of stone, with or without mortar joints but frequently secured with dowels or cramps

OPUS LATERICIUM Course laid brick work

OPUS INCERTUM Irregular shaped and random placed uncut stones inserted in a core of Opus caementicium

OPUS INCERTUM Irregular-shaped stones Mainly used in the first and second centuries B.C.

OPUS RETICULATUM (also known as reticulated work) Diamond-shaped bricks of tuff placed around a core of opus caementicium. The diamond-shaped tufa blocks were placed with the pointed ends into Cement core at an angle of roughly 45 degrees Square bases formed a diagonal pattern Pattern of mortar lines resembled a net Reticulatum is the latin term for net .

Opus reticulatum joints were in diagonal lines, like the meshes of a net (reticulum)

OPUS TESTACEUM Bricks (testee) triangular on plan and about 1 1/2 in thick

OPUS MIXTUM Bands of tufa introduced at intervals in the ordinary brick facing

OPUS SPICATUM Made of paving bricks set in herring-bone pattern

ROMAN WALLS

Roman Wall

Roman brickwork in opus latericium

CYCLOPEAN MASONRY

A type of stonework found in Mycenean architecture Built with massive limestone boulders Roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones No use of mortar.

Difference between Cyclopean masonry, shown in the blue rectangle, and ashlar masonry, outside the rectangle

Conclusion
Position of each structure with respect to adjacent structures emphasizes the importance of direction, space, and ritual Geometrical shapes are present in the construction and dcor of each building

There are two orders of columns, but Corinthian is the most prominent in Ancient Rome

The majority of the Roman population lived in insulae, which were located in the city, poorly built, yet a comfortable living space.

Conclusion
The most popular vaults, the barrel, cross, and domical vaults, all come from the idea of the round arch Arches were not sturdy because of mortar, but because of the keystone

Triumphal arches had a different purpose depending on who they were built for

Two major floor plans in Roman architecture are the basilica and circular plan

Roman architecture was about: POWER PLEASURE

PRACTICALITY

Thank you!