ANCIENT ROMAN ARCHITECTURE

BY ARC RM DAMEN, MNIA

 INTRODUCTION

 Ancient Roman architecture adopted certain aspects

of Ancient Greek architecture, creating a new
architectural style
 The Romans were indebted to their Etruscan neighbors
and forefathers who supplied them with a wealth of
knowledge essential for future architectural solutions,
such as hydraulics in the construction of arches
 Later they absorbed Greek and Phoenician influence,
apparent in many aspects closely related to architecture
 Roman architecture flourished throughout the Empire
during the Pax Romana.
 Factors such as wealth and high population
densities in cities forced the ancient Romans to
discover new architectural solutions of their own
 The use of vaults and arches, together with a sound
knowledge of building materials, enabled them to
achieve unprecedented successes in the
construction of imposing structures for public use
 Examples include the aqueducts of Rome, the
Baths of Diocletian and the Baths of Caracalla, the
basilicas and Colosseum
 . Some surviving structures are almost complete,
such as the town walls of Lugo in Hispania
Considerateness, or northern Spain.
 The Ancient Romans intended that public buildings
should be made to impress, as well as perform a public
function
 The Romans did not feel restricted by Greek aesthetic
axioms alone in order to achieve these objectives
 The Pantheon is an example of this, particularly in the
version rebuilt by Hadrian, which remains perfectly
preserved, and which over the centuries has served,
particularly in the Western Hemisphere, as the
inspiration for countless public buildings[
 The same emperor left his mark on the landscape of
northern Britain when he built a wall to mark the limits
of the empire, and after further conquests in Scotland,
the Antonine wall was built to replace Hadrian's Wall
 BUILDING MATERIALS
 The Romans used concrete (a mixture of limestone-
derived mortar, gravel, sand and rubble) and fired red
brick (often decorated with colored glazes) as well as
marble and blocks of stone to construct their buildings
 Travertine was used to build the Colosseum and other
buildings. It is a kind of yellowish or grayish white
limestone formed by mineral springs, especially hot
springs, and can form stalactites and stalagmites, but is
also a worthy building material as the Colosseum
testifies
 Many of the buildings that were constructed during the
classical period of Rome were made of soft, porous
local volcanic rock called tuff that was then faced with
marble
 The Romans were well aware that tuff was weak
especially when soaked with water or soaked with
water and subjected to freezing temperatures that
occasionally hit Rome. The construction method
made sense in that the tuff was cheap, available,
close, relatively lightweight and easy to shape.
Much of it was extracted in Rome itself and
covering it with sheaths marble, which was much
easier and cheaper than using heavy, expensive
marble blocks.
 Vitruvius, the 1st century architect and engineer,
wrote: “ When it is time to build, the stones should
be extracted two years before, not in winter but in
summer; then toss them down and leave them in
an open place. Whichever of these stones, in two
years, is affected or damaged by weather should be
thrown in with the foundations. The other ones
that are not damaged by means of the trials of
nature will be able to endure building above
ground.”
 Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of
sedimentary carbonate rock, particularly
limestone, that has been recrystalized as a result of
extreme pressure and heat within the earth over a
long period of time. When polished it gives off a
beautiful shine because light rapidly penetrates the
surface, giving the stone a luminous, vibrant glow.

ROMAN BRICKS
 Roman concrete
 One of the greatest advances the Romans made
was the refinement of concrete. They didn't invent
it, but they were the first to add stones to
strengthen it, and the first to use a volcanic ash
called pozzouli (found near Naples) that enabled
the concrete to harden even underwater. Romans
began using pozzolana in the 3rd century B.C.
Mortar made with it hardened underwater and was
widely employed in the construction of bridges,
harbors, jetties and breakwaters.
 Concrete had been invented about a thousand
years before Roman times to build fortresses. The
Romans were the first to use it on a large scale to
make buildings. Most Roman concrete buildings
had a facade of marble or plaster (most of which
has disappeared today), covering the outsides of
the concrete walls.
 Roman concrete was made from volcanic ash, lime,
water and fragments of brick and stones added for
strength and color. Roman concrete was the first
building material to be hdld up over extended
spaces. Roman arches, domes and vaults would not
have been built without it.
 Many tend to think of the great buildings of
antiquity as being constructed of marble but it was
actually the use of concrete that made it possible to
construct many of them. Concrete was lighter than
stone which made it easier for laborers to work and
also made it possible to raise the walls of building
to great heights. Moreover it could be used to hold
blocks or tuff and sun-dried or kiln-dried bricks
together (a common building material since
Mesopotamia) and it could be molded into
different shapes. ["The Creators" by Daniel
Boorstin]

 Although concrete had been used on a minor scale
in Mesopotamia, Roman architects perfected
Roman concrete and used it in buildings where it
could stand on its own and support a great deal of
weight. The first use of concrete by the Romans
was in the town of Cosa sometime after 273 BCE.
Ancient Roman concrete was a mixture of lime
mortar, sand with stone rubble, pozzolana, water,
and stones, and stronger than previously-used
concrete. The ancient builders placed these
ingredients in wooden frames where it hardened
and bonded to a facing of stones or (more
frequently) bricks.
 When the framework was removed, the new wall
was very strong with a rough surface of bricks or
stones. This surface could be smoothed and faced
with an attractive stucco or thin panels of marble
or other coloured stones called revetment.
Concrete construction proved to be more flexible
and less costly than building solid stone buildings.
The materials were readily available and not
difficult to transport. The wooden frames could be
used more than once, allowing builders to work
quickly and efficiently
 THE ARCH AND THE DOME
 The Roman use of the arch and their
improvements in the use of concrete and bricks
facilitated the building of the many aqueducts
throughout the empire such as the Aqueduct of
Segovia and the eleven aqueducts in Rome itself,
such as Aqua Claudia and Anio Novus
 The same concepts produced numerous bridges,
some of which are still in daily use, for example the
Puente Romano at Mérida in Spain, and the Pont
Julian and the bridge at Vaison-la-Romaine, both
in Provence, France.
 The dome permitted construction of vaulted
ceilings without crossbeams and provided large
covered public space such as public baths and
basilicas
 The Romans based much of their architecture on
the dome, such as Hadrian's Pantheon in the city of
Rome, the Baths of Diocletian and the Baths of
Caracalla
 The use of arches that spring directly from the tops
of columns was a Roman development, seen from
the 1st century AD, that was very widely adopted in
medieval Western, Byzantine and Islamic
architecture
 Art historians such as Gottfried Richter in the 1920s
identified the Roman architectural innovation as being the
Triumphal Arch.
 This symbol of power was transformed and utilised within
the Christian basilicas when the Roman Empire of the West
was on its last legs:
 The arch was set before the altar to symbolize the triumph
of Christ and the afterlife.
 The arch is seen in aqueducts, especially in the many
surviving examples, such as the Pont du Gard, the aqueduct
at Segovia and the remains of the Aqueducts of Rome itself.
 Their survival is testimony to the durability of their
materials and design.
 The Romans first adopted the arch from the Etruscans, and
implemented it in their own building. An arch transmits
load evenly and is still commonly used in architecture
today.
 COMMON BUILDING TYPES
 All Roman cities had at least one Thermae, a popular facility for
public bathing, exercising and socializing.
 Exercise might include wrestling and weight-lifting, as well as
swimming.
 Bathing was an important part of the Roman day, where some
hours might be spent, at a very low cost subsidized by the
government.
 Wealthier Romans were often accompanied by one or more
slaves, who performed any required tasks such as fetching
refreshment, guarding valuables, providing towels, and at the end
of the session, applying olive oil to their masters' body which was
then scraped off with a strigil, a scraper made of wood or bone.
 Romans did not wash with soap and water as we do now.

 Roman bath-houses were also provided for private villas, town

houses and forts. They were normally supplied with water from
an adjacent river or stream, or by aqueduct. The design of
thermae is discussed by Vitruvius in De Architectura.
 Roman architecture was often at its most beautiful and
impressive when adapted to the needs of Roman
religion. The Pantheon in Rome has survived
structurally intact because it has been continuously
used for worship since it was built, over 2000 years ago
Although its interiors were altered when worship
changed from paganism to Christianity, it is the finest
and largest example of a dome built in antiquity still
surviving.
 Some of the most impressive secular buildings are the
amphitheatres, over 220 being known and many of
which are well preserved, such as that at Arles, as well
as its progenitor, the Colosseum in Rome. They were
used for gladiatorial contests, public displays, public
meetings and bullfights, the tradition of which still
survives in Spain.
 Every city had a forum of varying size. In addition
to its standard function as a marketplace, a forum
was a gathering place of great social significance,
and often the scene of diverse activities, including
political discussions and debates, rendezvous,
meetings, etc. The best known example is probably
in Rome, Italy,[1] and is the site of the earliest
forum of the empire.
 Many lighthouses were built around the
Mediterranean and the coasts of the empire,
including the Tower of Hercules at A Coruña in
northern Spain, a structure which survives to this
day. A smaller lighthouse at Dover, England also
exists as a ruin about half the height of the original.
The light would have been provided by a fire at the
top of the structure.
 HOUSING

 The Ancient Romans were responsible

for significant developments in housing
and public hygiene, for example their
public and private baths and latrines,
under-floor heating in the form of the
hypocaust, mica glazing (examples in
Ostia Antica), and piped hot and cold
water (examples in Pompeii and Ostia).
 Multi-story apartment blocks called insulae
catered to a range of residential needs. The
cheapest and darkest rooms were at the
bottom; the lightest and most desirable at
the top.
 Windows were mostly small, facing the
street, with iron security bars. Insulae were
often dangerous, unhealthy, and prone to
fires because of overcrowding and
haphazard cooking arrangements . There are
examples in the Roman port town of Ostia,
that date back to the reign of Trajan.
External walls were in "Opus Reticulatum"
and interiors in "Opus Incertum", which
would then be plastered and sometimes
painted.
To lighten up the small dark rooms, tenants
able to afford a degree of luxury painted
colourful murals on the walls. Examples
have been found of jungle scenes with wild
animals and exotic plants. Imitation
windows (trompe l'oeil) were sometimes
painted to make the rooms seem less
confined
 House in Ostia Antica
 Dome of the Pantheon, inner view
 The Aqueduct of Segovia, Spain
 The Colosseum in Rome, Italy
 Roman theatre of Aspendos, Turkey
 Panoramic view of the Forum Trajanum with the
Trajan's Column on the far left.
Tower of Hercules
 Frigidarium of Baths of Diocletian, today Santa Maria
degli Angeli
 The Pantheon
 The Pantheon is a magnificent ancient temple in Rome that was
later converted into the church of Santa Maria ad Martyres.
Dating from 125 AD, this is the most complete ancient building in
Rome and one of the city's most spectacular sights.

 The Emperor Hadrian who reigned from 117-138 AD was

responsible for the Pantheon, one of the most influential buildings
in western architecture

 In what has been called an architectural revolution, the architect's

of Hadrian transformed the traditional Roman temple plan into a
centrally plan structure employing vaulted architecture and
concrete as well as more traditional building materials.
 It best exemplifies the importance of space in Roman architecture.
 Hadrian, who was strongly influenced by Greek
culture, dedicated the temple to "All Gods" using a
Greek (Pan=All; Theon: Gods) rather than Latin
name
 . With its hemispherical dome and orderly division
of the interior walls into different levels, the
Pantheon becomes an architectural embodiment of
the Greek idea of cosmos
 The dome with its central oculus and original
bronze rosettes in the coffers was understood as
the vault of heaven. The universal aspects of this
design and dedication appealed to Hadrian's
conception of the Empire as embracing all the
lands under the heavens.
 The Pantheon (in central Rome between Trevi
Fountain and Piazza Navona) is the best preserved
building from ancient Rome and one of the few
buildings from the ancient world that looks pretty
much the same today as it did in its time (nearly
2,000 years ago). Based on the profound effect it
had on buildings that were built after it, the
Parthenon is regarded by some scholars as the
most important building ever built. The reason it
survived and other great Roman buildings did not
is that the Parthenon was converted into a church
while other building were scavenged for their
marble.
A plan of the attic space, as well as a reflected ceiling
plan, showing the inside surface of the dome.
PLAN OF THE PANTHEON
The interior
Interior towards the entrance
Interior towards the north entrance with pool of light
from the oculus
Interior towards the north entrance with pool of light from the
oculus
 WHAT TO SEE IN THE PANTEON
 The Pantheon is widely praised for its feats of
architecture and concept of space. At 43m (142 ft)
wide and 43m (142 ft) high, it is a perfect sphere
resting in a cylinder.
 The Pantheon's huge dome is a perfect
hemisphere of cast concrete, resting on a solid ring
wall. Outside, the dome is covered in almost
weightless cantilevered brick.
 With a span of 43.2 m (142 feet), it was the largest
dome in the world until Brunelleschi's dome in
Florence of 1420-36.
 The portico (porch) is made of 16 monolithic
Corinthian columns topped by a pediment. The
inscription
M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIUM·FECIT means:
"Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, during his third
consulate, built this."
 The bronze doors leading into the building
(which are original and were once covered in gold)
weigh 20 tons each. The walls of the Pantheon are
7.5m (25 ft.) thick.
 The oculus, the only source of natural light in the
Pantheon, is a round opening in the center of the
dome. It is 27 feet in diameter and open to the sky
(the floor is gently sloped to allow for runoff of
rainwater).
SECTIONS OF THE PANTHEON
Elevation OF THE PANTHEON
Perspective OF THE PANTHEON
 CONFIGURATION OF THE PANTHEON

 Michelangelo the great painter of the Sistine chapel

once described the design of the Pantheon as an
"Angelic and not human design."4 Rightly so, for it
is indeed one of the most unusual structures ever
built by human hands. The ancient Roman's ability
to draw the intricate plans and select only the most
successful time-proven construction techniques
made this complex building possible. Again, it is
truly a credit to their mental prowess and
organizational skills.
 The building design is one of a large round shape very much
like a large barrel with a dome covering the top. There is a
light-well in the center of the dome. Layers of beautiful thin
brickwork cover the outside, round walls. Small access holes
appear occasionally in the wall which were used during
construction to frame interior voids.
 The main entrance is thoroughly impressive: double bronze
doors 21 feet high (6.4 meters), a lasting and fitting
contribution from their metal smiths.
 These doors are protected by a high, broad porch, made
with 16 well arranged granite columns supporting a gable
styled roof.
 The beams in the roof structure of the porch are wooden.
They were substituted for bronze members stripped-out by
those in later years needing metal for their canons.
 Professional Roman surveyors located the inlaid marble
floor to conform with a convex contour which drained away
the rain from the oculus for these hundreds of years.
 The rotunda has a rather awesome inner diameter of
142.4 feet (43.4 m), made mostly of concrete.
 Comparatively speaking, this distance represents about
one half the length of our football field.
 from the floor to the top of the opening in the dome is
the same distance. As a matter of fact, we could think
of the design of this building as one that could contain
a theoretical ball some 143 feet in diameter.
 The design is not entirely unusual because there are
other Roman buildings which have a similar
configuration, but the size is unusual.
 Other buildings such as the Temple of Mercury (71
feet/21.5 m diameter) at Baiae and Domitian
Nympheaum at Albano (51 feet/15.6 m diameter) have
domes of this type.
 The Pantheon still has the longest span constructed
before the 19th Century.
Pantheon Sections
 Foundation OF THE PANTHEON

 The Pantheon was built on marshy, unstable earth

which gave a serious supporting problem to its
builders.
 The Jutland Archaeological Society described in
detail various aspects of the ring foundation; they
found it rested on a bed of bluish colored river clay.
 This condition invited disaster, and in the final
construction phase, the foundation cracked at the
two ends of the North-South axis.9
 As you can imagine, if one section of a building settles
slightly faster and lower than an adjacent section, very
large bending stresses are initiated at a point between
these two sections which can crack the concrete.
 uneven settling was the problem given to the builders.
 The present-day engineering solution to this type of
foundation problem is to drive piles through the clay to
bedrock so the building will be firmly supported all the
way around.
 The Roman builders chose a different approach.
 They built a second ring to hold the first ring from
cracking further and to give the clay more area to
support the structure.
 It worked because the building has lasted over 1800
years.
 In addition to keeping the crack from extending,
the builders placed buttress walls on the south side
opposite the massive porch.
 This acted as a clamping device; and although the
structural projection appears to be an additional
room, it only serves the purpose of being part of
the clamp.
 Initially, the width of this ring foundation was 23'-
7" (7.2 m) wide, only about 3 feet (0.9 m) greater
than the walls it supported. The second ring that
binds the original together is 10 feet (3.0 m) wide
making the total width of the foundation about 34
feet. From the floor level to the bottom of the
foundation is 15'-4" (4.7 m).10
 These rings are made of pozzolan concrete
consisting of travertine pieces in layers held
together by a mortar of lime and pozzolan.
Interestingly enough, investigation showed the
foundation material had become "rock hard,"
 Wall OF THE PANTHEON

 The round wall may best be described as one

containing many cavities and chambers on different
levels.
 There is no evidence that a staircase system existed
between these upper chambers, and we can assume
their function along with other niches was to reduce
construction materials together with the weight.
 This wall can be thought of structurally as a series of
concrete piers separated at floor level by 8 very large
niches equally spaced along the inner perimeter.
 The thick wall acts much like a buttress in supporting
a thrust from the dome.
 To locate these niches, view the circular plan of the
rotunda with a set of axes at the major compass points,
one of these niches is at each end of a major axis (4 in
number).
 They are semi-circular in shape except the one at the
main door which is somewhat square.
 The other 4 niches are located at the ends of the
diagonal set of axes.
 These are a large rectangular shape with the long side
following the curvature of the wall.
 Two granite columns help support the ceiling in the
niches. It is interesting to note that within these niches
lie great kings of Italy, important popes, and at one
time the famous painter Raphael.
 The niches, as well as all other wall openings, have an
archway of bricks, known as a relieving arch, to
support the upper wall over the openings.
 The relieving arch is a semicircle of thin bricks
standing radially on end extending in the concrete wall.
 This arch distributes upper loads to the piers during
the long time the pozzolan concrete is curing, but after
curing, it becomes an integral part of the wall.
 This archway of bricks was only part of the wall and did
not extend into the dome. This type of arch is
customary with Roman construction for that period.
 It is shown together with the niches and their columns
in the following figure:
 THE DOME OF THE PANTHEON
 The dome is an interesting and difficult feature to
describe because its configuration is so unusual on
both sides.
 The radii of the dome is 71'-2" (21.7 m) which serves as
the basis for the original design. However, G. Cozzo (an
Italian engineer) cast doubts on this figure and claimed
it to be more like 82 feet (25.0 m).15
 This is pointed out to show there are conflicts among
the specialists who continue to study the Pantheon. In
this case the former figure appears adequate.
 The relative thickness of the dome is reduced from 19'-
8" (5.9 m) at the base to nearly 5 feet (1.5 m) at the
top.16
 On the outside surface, there is a series of seven
step- rings half way up the dome, and then the
dome line changes into a circular line.
 On the inside surface the dome contains a series of
5 bands made of waffle-like depressions called
coffers.
 There are 140 coffers which required special
forming for the waffle shape.
 At mid-point the dome contour changes from
these coffers to a circular line.
 In the center of the dome is a large opening, the
oculus.
 The outside rings are not uniform, there are 7 rings,
and the measurements scaled from drawings of the
dome are meant to be purely descriptive.
 The first ring has its outside edge resting on the center
of the main wall. It appears to be some 7.5 feet (2.3 m)
thick with a horizontal distance to the next ring about
this same distance.
 The remaining 6 step-rings are stepped inward much
like placing a series of machine washers, one above the
other with their diameters decreasing as they are
stacked.
 The height of these 6 rings vary, and they are estimated
to be 2'- 6" (0.8 m) on the average.
 The horizontal distance to the next of these smaller
rings is estimated to be 4 feet (1.2 m).
 There is an exterior stairway leading through these
rings to the oculus.
 The ancient construction practices must have been
applied to building this dome. It is known that the very
old Mycenaean tombs in Greece were made by
corbeling stone slabs over one another. Following this
example in history, it is likely that the Romans used
this principle in placing one step-ring on another in
building this section of the dome.
 This work took a long time. The cementing materials
properly cured and gained strength to support the next
upper ring.
 The smaller step-rings are faced with semilateres
(bricks)16 which gives credibility to the corbeling
method. Each ring was built like a low Roman wall. The
circular part of the upper dome was likely placed by
using wooden scaffolding.
 The compression ring (oculus) at the center of the
dome is 19'-3" (5.9 m) in diameter and 4'-7" (1.4 m)
thick. The ring is made of 3 horizontal rings of tile,
set upright, one above the other; the ring is 2
bricks thick.16/17 This ring is effective in properly
distributing the compression forces at this point.
 There is a bronze ring covering the lip dating back
to the original construction, but other bronze
plates on top of the roof have been removed and
later replaced with lead plates.
 According to the Jutland Archaeological Society
investigations, the lower section of the dome is made of
concrete with alternating layers of bricks and tufa; both
have good affinity with the lime-pozzolan mortar which
filled the voids.
 The upper dome above the step-rings (the top 30
feet/9.1 m) is concrete comprising about 9 inch lumps
of light tufa and porous volcanic slag in alternating
layers bonded with mortar.18
 It was customary for the Romans to use larger stones in
the dome concrete than in the walls.
 Selecting light stones for the aggregate is another case
of gradation to get light-weight concrete, a process that
seems to have been evolved about the middle of the
first century B.C.
The following figures show the various features such as the
step-rings, dome stairway, coffers, lead plates.
 Until the 20th century, the Pantheon was the
largest concrete structure in the world.
Michelangelo studied its great dome before
starting work on the dome of St. Peter's Basilica.
 The Pantheon was dedicated to pan theos, "all the
gods." When it became a church, it was dedicated
to the Virgin Mary and all the martyrs.
 The Pantheon is the burial place of several
important Italians (including the artist Raphael),
and it remains an active church. It is a major
tourist destination and a popular place for
weddings.
 What are some differences between Greek and
roman architecture?
 Columns were an important architectural element in both the
Roman and Greek cultures but the two groups used them
differently.
 While the Greeks favored the Doric and Ionic style of column,
the Romans liked the Corinthian and the Composite styles.
 The Greeks surrounded their temples and public buildings
with a ring of columns but the Romans only used them in the
front of their buildings.
 Another difference was in the materials used to build private
homes.
 The Romans used durable materials such as brick and stone;
 The Greeks used stone for the foundations of their houses, but
constructed the upper floors and inner walls of mud brick,
which have not endured over time.
 Greek vs. Roman

 Architecture
Greek Roman

 Construction method/material: Post and lintel/marble. =True arch (barrel/groin

vaults)/concrete.

 Preferred architectural order: Doric, Ionic. =Corinthian.

 Most famous temple: Parthenon. =Pantheon.

 Dedicated to: Athena. = "All the gods" (7 planetary

gods).

 Location: Athens. =Rome.

 Ceremonies took palace: Outside, in front of temple. =Inside.

 Summary of differences

 There are many differences between Greek and Roman

architecture.
 The Greeks built many structures on top of hills,
 The Romans changed the hills into architectural
structures.
 Early Greeks used the post and lintel system,
 Romans extensively used the arch, vault and dome.
 Concrete was a major building material for the
Romans,
 the Greeks were always trying to find better building
materials and used huge stones held together with
clamps and dowels.
 In theatre design, both Greeks and Romans
preferred to use hillsides,
 But because of large cities the Romans were forced
to build their theatres on flat ground.
 This practice brought on the revolutionary design
of a freestanding theatre structure.
 The Greeks took their religion seriously and built
their temples for the gods.
 The Romans took the view, brought it inside the
temple interior and declared that what went on
inside was very important so the temple must look
good on the inside too.
Thank you

BY
ARC RM DAMEN,MNIA