Roman Architecture Advancements

Romans had many architectural and engineering achievements, but the perfections that the Romans had on the arch and dome were astounding its time period. The Romans improved the arch by now allowing the arch to support large amounts of weight. The Romans improved the dome by increasing the size and distance of a dome. These achievements on the arch and dome were extraordinary feats at that time period and to this day are still used by many architects and engineers.

The Roman arch was an architectural breakthrough at that time period. Even though the Romans didn’t create the arch they still heavily improved the arch from the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Greeks. The traditional arch before the Romans was usually made out of stone, which wasn’t
able to support a sufficient amount of weight. The Romans improved the arch by using the newly found resource of concrete. In order for the Romans to create the concrete, the Romans created a mixture involving limestone and volcanic sand. When an arch is in middle of being created it uses a wooden frame in order support the arch, but when you finish and take off the frame and the two sides of the arch lean against the keystone. The keystone is a wedge shaped stone that is put in last in the creation of the arch. What made the arch capable of holding a large amount of weight was how it led the pressure of its weight down and out.

Since the Romans used concrete for the arches, the arches were now capable of supporting a larger degree of weight. These new and improved arches were now used to build bridges, aqueducts, amphitheaters, sewers, temples and palaces. The construction of bridges using arches unified Rome as an Empire, so to the aqueducts helped transport water throughout the Empire. The concrete arches allowed the Romans to also build huge arenas, including the famous Coliseum; the Coliseum was made using a different form of an Arch called a vault. A vault is an arch that has a ceiling. A barrel vaults was another form of an arch, which resembles a tunnel and was used to construct roofs and ceilings. A triumphal arch was only created to commemorate a victory at war and triumphal arches were usually very decorative. One of the most well known triumphal arches is the “Arch of Titus.” At around 100 A.D.
Roman engineers discovered that by rotating an arch in a circle would create a dome. Domes were mainly used for temples, including the famous Pantheon. Pantheon is the most preserved building throughout Ancient Rome because of its continues use over the years. The Pantheon is both 140 feet wide and tall perfect circle. The only source of light throughout the Pantheon is found at the top of the dome, where there is a circular opening to the sky called an Oculus. The Pantheons size and features makes it one of the greatest architectural breakthroughs.

Roman architecture especially the dome is highly praised and influenced in modern time. The Capitol Building in Washington, DC was influenced by the Roman architecture and engineering. The Capitol Building contains arches, pillars, vaults and domes, which were all used in Roman Architecture. The Taj Mahal in India was also influenced by Roman architecture and engineering for its high arches and large domes. The beautiful gothic cathedrals constructed around the renaissance era, were heavily influenced by the Roman architecture especially arch. The dome and arch influenced many buildings and structures during the ancient and even modern times. Architects and engineers will forever use the improvements that the Romans had on the arch and
dome.