Early Roman Architecture

Words: 513
Pages: 3

Rome has some of the world’s most famous ancient structures ever built such as the Colossuem and the Pantheon. Engineers, geologists and archaeologists have all wondered as to how these structures still stand today despite what it’s been through (Wayman, 2011).
Roman concrete is different from modern concrete. It is a mixture of volcanic ash and lime paste that created a durable mortar, which in turn is combined with chunks of brick or volcanic rocks called tuff (Wayman, 2011). The Romans used it in great quantity for various public works projects around Rome and the provinces. Volcanic ash was excavated from the Alban hills volcano. 12 miles southeast of Rome and mix with limestone, found in abundance around Rome and Greece (Wayman, 2011). The ability to use concrete to build monuments and walls were extremely consequential for the Roman Empire.
It allowed a strong durable material that was relatively cheap to be used to build great structures dedicated to the Gods and also allowed arenas such as the Colossuem. It standardized building materials throughout the empire thus ensuring that quality was consistent in different regions of the empire. Augustus helped standardized the building process of concrete and
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Some maintain that Arichimedes of Sicily was the inventor of the arch, but to whoever the glory of the invention is due, it is certain that Romans were one of the first to make a practical application of its great qualities (tirbunesandtriumphs, N.D). The arch helped facilitate an infrastructure boom in ancient Rome that allowed it to build bridges, sewers, and amphitheaters but most importantly, aqueducts that brought water to the citizens of Rome. The vast use of arches is still evident today in modern Rome. The arches allowed structures such as the Colossuem and the Pantheon to still stand. As the romans were developing concrete around the same time, they combined both to great