ANCIENT ROME

ROMAN ARCHITECTURE

Roman architecture stands today as a testament to the ability and

grandeur of this once great civilization that ,at one time, covered

three continents

A unified architecture form gave the Roman empire a common

thread and Roman ruins can be found in places

CULTURE AND SOCIETY

• Ancient Roman culture existed throughout the almost 1200-year history of the civilization of

Ancient Rome.

• Life in ancient Rome revolved around the city of Rome, its famed seven hills, and

its monumental structures such as the Flavian Amphitheatre (now called the Colosseum),

the Forum and the Pantheon.

• The language used was latin; an Italic language in the Indo-European family.

• In the initial stages, the ancient Roman architecture reflected elements of architectural styles

of the Etruscans and the Greeks. Over a period of time, the style was modified in tune with

their urban requirements, and the civil

engineering and building construction technology became developed and refined

ARCHITECTURAL

CHARACTER

� Romans perfected the use of three

architectural elements: the arch, the

vault, and concrete. Each of these

three important elements helped to

lighten the load carried by Roman

structures while maintaining both

structural strength and stability.

� The arch consists of two supports,

called piers, each topped by a

platform called an impost. platform called an impost.

� Vaults are extended arches and the

Romans used them to create large

open rooms and high,covered

passageways

� Concrete was probably the greatest

Roman contribution to architecture.

Roman concrete, called opus

caementicium [o-pus see-men-tic’-

ee-um], was made with a special

Roman mortar or cement, called

caementa [see-ment’-a],

ARCHITECTURAL

CHARACTER.

� Romans adopted the columnar and

trabeated style of the Greeks, and

joined to it the Arch, the Vault and the

Dome,

� The Colosseum at Rome is a good

example of this union in which the piers

between the arches on the different

stories are strengthened by the semi-stories are strengthened by the semi-

attached columns which act the part of

buttresses ; thus becoming part of the

wall, and no longer carrying the

entablature unaided.

� The Thermae or Baths, Temples,

Amphitheaters, Aqueducts, Bridges,

Tombs, Basilicas, and Fora, are all

monuments of Roman greatness

VAULTS AND

DOMES

� Made it simple and practical by

the employment of concrete, by

which they covered the largest

areas even now in existence

� The vaults being of Any form, and

easily constructed on rough

centres or temporary Supports till

the concrete was set.the concrete was set.

� The kinds of vault employed were

as follows :

� (a.) The semicircular or waggon

headed vault.

� (b.} The cross vault.

� (c.) The dome (hemispherical and

semidomes).

TEMPLES

The Roman temples were the result of the amalgamation of the Etruscan and Greek types, for they resembled in many respects Greek examples, but their prostyle arrangement and the use of the podium was derived from Etruscan temples.

� The characteristic temple is known as pseudo-peripteral and had no side colonnades as was used in greek examples

� The order of columns being attached to the flank walls and arranged as a to the flank walls and arranged as a prostyle portico towards the front only.

� Steps were provided at the principal end, between projecting wing walls, which often supported groups of statuary, and were continued along the flanks and back of the temple as a podium or continuous pedestal

� Roman temples were specially intended to be seen from the forum or open space upon which they usually faced, the front being therefore made important by the deep portico and flight of steps. No consideration was given to orientation

BATHS AND THERMAE

� The bath complex covered

approximately 25 hectares (33 ac).

The bath building was 228 metres

(750 ft) long, 116 metres (380 ft)

wide and 38.5 metres (125 ft)

estimated height, and could hold

an estimated 1,600 bathers.

� Principal dimensions

� Precinct maximum: 412x393 m

� Internal: 323x323 m� Internal: 323x323 m

� Central Block overall: 218x112 m

� Swimming Pool: 54x23 m

� Frigidarium: 59x24 m, height c. 41

m

� Caldarium: 35M diameter height c.

44 m Internal courts: 67x29 m

� The entire bath building was on a 6

metre (20 ft) high raised platform

to allow for storage and furnaces

under the building.

THEATRES AND

AMPHITHEATRES

� The auditorium, instead of being

rather more than a semicircle as in

the Greek theatres, was here

restricted to a semicircle,

� consisted of tiers of seats one above

the other, with wide passages and

staircases

� At the ground level, separating the � At the ground level, separating the

auditorium of sloping seats from the

stage, was a semicircular area which

was occupied by the Senators

� stage thus becoming all important,

was raised considerably and treated

with great richness, and became

connected more completely with the

auditorium.

THE COLOSSEUM

The amphitheatres are characteristic

Roman buildirigs, being found in every

important settlement, and in addition to

their normal purposes were used for

naval exhibitions, the water drains for

flooding the arena still existing in many

examples.

� consisting of a vast ellipse 620 feet by

513 feet, having externally eighty

openings on each story,

� The arena proper is an oval 287 feet

by 180 feet, surrounded by a wall 15

feet high.

� The seats, in solid stone, rise up from

the arena, having underneath them

corridors and staircases

� The dens for the wild beasts were

immediately under the lowest tiers of

seats, and consequently opened on to

the arena,

THE COLOSSEUM

BASILLICA

� erected as halls of justice and as

exchanges for merchants, comprise

some of the finest buildings erected

by the Romans, and bear witness to

the importance of law and justice in

their eyes.

� usual plan was a rectangle, whose

length was two or three times the length was two or three times the

width

� Two or four rows of columns' ran

through the entire length, resulting in

three or five aisles, and galleries were

usually placed over these.

BASILLICA

� Ranged round the apse were seats

for the assessors, that in the centre,

which was elevated above the rest,

being occupied by the Praetor or

Questor

� In front of the apse was the altar,

where sacrifice was performed

before commencing any important

business

CIRCUS OF

MAXIMUS

� Built by Maxentius A.D.311

� It is the most perfect example of a

roman circus existing.

� Consisted of a long open

� Circular-ended arena with a "spina"

along its axis

� Surrounding this were rows of marble

seats supported by raking vaults and

an external wall of concrete faced

with "opus mixtum”

� At one end were the " carceres” or

stalls for horses and chariots,

� With a central entrance for

processions and two side entrances,

� The semicircular end was the “ Porta

triumphalis."

THE PANTHEON118-128 CE, stone, marble, concrete

and bronze, Rome, Italy

� The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment.

� A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to with a central opening (oculus) to the sky.

� The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft).

� As with most Roman architecture, the building is symmetrically balanced with equal numbers of design elements on either side of the central axis.

THE PANTHEON

oculus

THE PANTHEON

FORUMS

� The Roman Forum (Latin: Forum

Romanum, Italian: Foro Romano) is

a rectangular forum (plaza)

surrounded by the ruins of several

important ancient government

buildings at the center of the city of

Rome.

� Citizens of the ancient city referred

to this space, originally a

marketplace, as the Forum marketplace, as the Forum

Magnum, or simply the Forum.

� the site of triumphal

processions and elections, venue for

public speeches, criminal trials,

and gladiatorial matches, and

nucleus of commercial affairs.

AQUEDUCTS

� The combined length of the aqueducts

in the city of Rome is estimated

between 490 to a little over 500 miles.

However, only 29 miles (47 km) were

above ground

� The combined length of the aqueducts

in the city of Rome is estimated

between 490 to a little over 500 miles

� Great skill and training were needed

to ensure a regular grade so that the to ensure a regular grade so that the

water would flow smoothly from its

source without the flow damaging the

walls of the channel

� Horizontal levels were checked using

a chorobates

� The aqueducts required very careful

planning before building, especially to

determine the water source to be

used, the length of aqueduct needed

and its size

AQUEDUCTS

� Roman aqueducts were extremely

sophisticated constructions, built

to remarkably fine tolerances

� the gradient on an average is only

34 cm per km (3.4:10,000),

descending only 17 m vertically in descending only 17 m vertically in

its entire length of 50 km (31 mi).

� Powered entirely by gravity, they

could carry large amounts of water

very efficiently.

Source:

Wikipedia.org.

http://www2.visalia.k12.ca.us/teachers/sdelgado/PDFs/Rome/Roman%20Arch

itecture.pdf

http://www.lrneely.com/idol/roman-architecture.pdfhttp://www.lrneely.com/idol/roman-architecture.pdf

And the books…

THANK YOU

By:MD ARIF RAZA BHARATI

SHAFQUAT AYUB

SHAGUFTA ANJUM

AAQUIB MAHFUZ