The document discusses various architectural elements used in Roman structures such as arches, barrel vaults, groin vaults and domes. It explains how arches work by converting tensile stresses into compression, allowing Romans to span greater distances with stone than previous builders. It then provides examples of specific Roman architectural features like Roman concrete and various temple designs.

1. Arch:
It is significant because it converts tensile stresses in
spanning structural members into compression stresses
only. Stone is weak in tension and cannot span
significant distances without collapsing under its own
weight. By configuring it into an arch, significant spans
can be achieved.
The Roman round arch contains "voussoirs"
(voo/swars'), or bricks. The "keystone" is the center
voussoir that supports the other bricks. The push or
thrust of the cemented voussoirs push outward and
downward in the arch.
A row of arches is called an "arcade."
If a person takes the legs of an arch and stretches them
length-wise, this is called a "barrel vault." Barrel
vaults are used today as entrances and exits in
stadiums. Before you arrive at your seat at a baseball or
football game, you probably will have to walk through
a barrel vault.

2. In a tall building, such as a church, where two
barrel vaults meet and divide each other into half,
this is a "groin vault." A groin vault supports high
ceilings and allow a building to have several
entrances and exits, at least four.
A dome is a common structural element of
architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of
a sphere. Domes do not have to be perfectly
spherical in cross-section, however; it is sufficient
that they simply be curved surfaces. A dome can be
considered as an arch which has been rotated around
its vertical axis. As such, domes have a great deal of
structural strength.
Take an arch and rotate the one leg in a circle (360
degrees). You have made a "dome."

4. What is Roman concrete and how did the development of this technique contribute to the
creation of a new mode of space-making and architectural thinking?
Roman concrete (opus caementicium), like modern concrete, is an artificial building material
composed of an aggregate, a binding agent, and water.
Aggregate is essentially a filler, such as gravel, chunks of stone and rubble, broken
bricks, etc.
Historically lime or gypsum, mixed with rubble stones, have been used as binding
agents in making a strong mortar. Roman contribution to this basic structural mixture
was the addition as primary binding agent pozzolona, a special volcanic dust found in
central Italy.
Concrete, as the Romans developed it, had some very definite technical and practical
advantages over the traditional, and mainly Greek, methods of enclosing space by the use of
cut-stone and post-and-beam structures.
1. it was exceptionally strong and could span great distances when shaped into
arches, vaults and domes.
2. it had greater flexibility in molding space since concrete was virtually "poured" (or
layered) into a formwork and took the shape of its container
3. it did not requite special, skilled labor, therefore, it was cheaper;
4. it was much faster to construct than laboriously cut ashlar masonry.
5. since concrete-vaulted roofing was fireproof, unlike the wooden-beamed roofs of
traditional systems, it was safer

5. •Temple of Fortuna Virilis (temple of Portumnus)
While the Greek temple is a sculptural building on all sides, Roman rectangular temples
are built to be seen from the front. Normally they sit high on a raised platform, with a long
stairway leading up to the portico. The side walls have attached half-columns (engaged
columns)which are called pseudo-peripteral. Primarily used as a treasury, the celIa is the
width of the building. In general Roman, architecture employs columns for decoration
instead of support.

7. This characteristic Roman style came from Etruscan
temple style. The early Roman temple style
composed with Etruscan composition and Greek
detail and concepts.

9. •The aqueducts and bridges in Roman period exist in Rome, Merida, Segovia, Tarragon in Spain and
Nimes in France.
Pont du Gard in Nimes is one of the famous one which preserve original style of Augustus era. Now the
bridge exists about 300m long, 49m above of the river.
•The pont is thought to have been built around 19 BC. It was part of a nearly 50 km (31 mi) aqueduct,
bringing water from springs near Uzes to the Roman city of Nemausus (Nimes).. The pont itself was
built so that the water could cross the small Gardon river valley, delivering 20,000 cubic meters (44
million gallons) of water daily to Nîmes.
•It was constructed entirely without the use of mortar, the stones - some of which weigh up to 6 tons -
being held together with iron clamps. The masonry was lifted into place by block and tackle with a
massive human treadmill providing the power for the winch. A complex scaffold was erected to support
the aqueduct as it was being built. The face of the aqueduct still bears the mark of its construction, in the
form of protruding scaffolding supports and ridges on the piers which bore the semicircular wooden
frames on which the arches were constructed. It is believed to have taken about three years to build,
employing between 800-1,000 workers.
The bottom arches, which spans are 15.75m to 21.5m, are about 155m long, 20m high.
On the top of the bottom arches is a 7m wide road which has expanded for the trafic of cars in 1743.
The middle arches are same spans of the bottom arches and the length is about 265m in total. The height
of middle part is about 21m and width is 5m.
On the top of the 35 small arches, about 8.5m high 3m wide, support the waterway.
The big arch, the bottom arch and middle arch, have 3 times or 4 times of the small arch in span and 6
times of the small arch in height.

13. The statue represents a Roman patrician (member of a leading family),
dressed in a tunic, over which is draped the toga, or cloak.
Although the head is ancient, it does not belong and has been heavily
restored in modern times.
The figure carries in his hands two portrait busts of old men.
* these busts stop just below the neck
* that in his right hand rests on a support in the form of a palm tree
trunk
* the other is held freely in his left hand
* both are probably to be imagined in reality as having been made in a
material much lighter than the marble used for this structure
* wax is a possibility - writers describe the Republican practice of
creating wax death-masks for funerals and for display in the family
home/ but these are not death-mask faces
* a more durable material, clay or bronze, is more likely
Since the busts are of old men they must represent the patrician's
ancestors rather than his children;
* it is now considered that the bust in his left hand is in the style of
ca.50BC, and probably represents the man's grandfather
* the other bust is in the style of ca.40-30BC and may be that of his
father
Only patricians had the right to have portrait images of their ancestors.
The more one had, the longer and more illustrious one's pedigree; they
were in effect, status symbols, which any newcomer to the patrician
class would have lacked

14. Roman sculpture sought truthfulness -- verism -- in art beyond all
else, at least initially. Roman sculpture, with the proverbial "warts
and all," was determined to portray the individual as he or she
actually looked, whether an ordinary person or an emperor. That
the appearance of an individual was important says something about
the value of the individual in Roman society.
Romans believed that each family had a unique genius, or
spiritual gift. Caesar claimed his family was descended from the
Trojan hero Aeneas, and from the goddess Aphrodite. These are
impressive ancestors indeed! This pedigree was meant to
impress Romans that his genius was truly divine and was
associated with the foundation of Rome itself.
The whole family--dead and alive--were brought to be present at
important occasions. Romans loved commemorative portrait
busts to honor the departed ancestors, a tradition with a long
history in Western Civilization.
Most surviving Roman portraits of the Republican period
(i.e. down to the time of Julius Caesar) have been carved out
of marble
* they were made in the 1st century AD so that various
members of a family might have their own copies for display
in their own houses

17. The statue of Augustus from Livia's villa at Prima
Porta is a marble copy of a bronze statue that
celebrates the return in 20 BCE of the military
standards captured by the Parthians in 53 after the
defeat of Crassus at Carrhae. It was probably set up in
15 CE, the year after Augustus' death. It is 7 ft. (2.08
m.) tall (Augustus was 1.70 m., about 5'7") and shows
him as a young man. He is barefoot (a sign of divine
status) and Cupid (riding on a dolphin beside his right
foot) reminds the viewer of Venus, the divine
ancestress of the family of Augustus, the gens Iulia.
Augustus holds a spear in his left hand, and his right
hand is extended as he addresses his armies. His
stance is that of the Doryphoros (spear-bearer) by the
fifth century Greek sculptor, Polyclitus
. The shoulder-clasps of the cuirass (breastplate)
are in the form of sphinxes: the Sphinx was the
image on Augustus' seal (later he used an image of
Alexander, and finally his own portrait).

18. Recent photo taken
outside of Caesar’s
Palace, Las Vegas.
What a laugh!

19. The reliefs on the cuirass focus on the return of
the standards. In the center the Parthian king
hands over a standard with the eagle on its end
and embellished by military decorations,
coronae (garlands) and phalerae (disks). The
Roman receiving the standard may represent
Romulus or Tiberius, Livia's son and the
commander of the Roman expedition in 20 BCE.
Beside him is a canine, perhaps the wolf of
Romulus. To the right and left of the central
figures are women representing conquered
Roman provinces, perhaps Gaul (with a boar and
a trumpet in the form of a dragon) on the
viewer's right and Spain on the left (this figure
may also represent client tribes in Germany and
the east). At the top of the cuirass the Sky
(Caelus) unfolds the canopy of the heavens: to
the left Apollo drives the chariot of the Sun, and
to the right Aurora (the Dawn) holds her urn, and
above her is Luna (the Moon) holding a torch. At
the bottom, in the center, reclines Mother Earth
(Terra Mater) holding a cornucopia: to her right
Diana rides a stag and to her left Apollo rides a
griffin

21. The Altar of Peace was dedicated to pietas and the pax romana of Augustus on July 4, 13 BC, near
Campus Martius on the Via Flaminia. Replacing a temporary structure of wood and paintings, this
beautiful altar was later rebuilt in Luna marble (covering a tufa and travertine base). It has been
reconstructed near its original site on the Tiber in Rome. Remarkable for its classical style (it was
perhaps the work of Greek sculptors), the Altar is decorated with reliefs representing allegorical,
historical and mythological scenes. On the flanks can be seen processions of the First Family &
friends--both alive and deceased--who were present at first sacrifice, as well as senators, magistrates,
priests, Vestal Virgins and ceremonial attendants. All of them were depicted in the classically idealized
manner that was deliberately appropriated from the reliefs of fifth century BC Periclean Athens, an
which Augustus and his age unquestionably emulated.
The Emperor himself makes mention of
the altar in his autobiography:
¨When I returned to Rome from Spain
and Gaul in the consulship of Tiberius
Nero and Publius Quintilius, after
successfully settling the affairs of those
provinces, the senate, to commemorate my
return, ordered an altar of the Augustan
Peace, to be consecrated in the Campus
Martius, on which it decreed that the
magistrates, priests and Vestal Virgins
should make an annual sacrifice.¨

23. . It was consecrated on the Campus Martius in 9 BC with solemn ceremony. It consists of a rectangular
marble precinct wall on a podium with two doors, each reached by a staircase. Inside, at the top of three
steps, is the richly decorated altar. The precinct wall has magnificent sculptural decorations both inside
consisting of festoons with paterae (vessels) and bucrania (ox skulls) - and on the outside, where it is
divided into two sections horizontally. The lower band has an elegant repeating frieze of acanthus
volutes with swans and animals, while the upper band portrays four mythological scenes (one on each
side of the doors) and the procession to mark the consecration of the altar, divided between the two
shorter sides.

24. While the one on the north side is badly damaged and less important, the group of characters on
the south side is of great interest because it includes Augustus together with priests, magistrates
and members of the imperial family.. The procession is headed by two of the lictors, followed by
Augustus between two consuls; then come the four Flaminian priests and the Flaminian lictor.
This scene shows Agrippa, his son Gaius Caesar( Caligula) and the former's wife Julia,
Augustus' daughter; Tiberius; Antonia the Younger (Augustus' niece) and her husband Drusus,
Tiberius' brother, with his son Germanicus;Antonia the Elder (Augustus'niece) with her children
Domitius and Domitia, and finally her husband, Domitius Ahenobarbus.

27. Roman frescoes are the closest examples of extant Greek
monumental paintings. Ancient authors write that the
wealthy men of Rome liked to fill their homes with
reproductions of Greek masterpieces. The original
paintings were copied freehand and adapted for the
Roman home.
The most complete and majestic Roman frescoes are
found in the houses at Pompeii and Herculaneum that
were buried and preserved under 15 to 20 feet of hot ash
and debris when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 C.E.
Astounding landscapes, complex vistas of architecture,
narrative scenes from mythology, and even still lifes
decorate the walls of these cities.
Styles range from great detail and precision to quick,
almost impressionistic, brushstrokes. Shading is used,
although the light doesn't come consistently from one
direction. Textures are carefully rendered so that a piece
of fruit and a glass full of water are clearly
distinguishable. In a famous series of scenes from the
Odyssey, the colors of the mountains in the background
decrease in intensity to indicate that they are farther away
— an early attempt at atmospheric perspective.

30. The First Style Roman wall painting,
"Incrustation" (right) is thought to
imitate Greek painting that created
flat areas of color and 'faux" finishes
(like a fake marble or oak finish).

32. Many theories, but probably shows the mystical
marriage of a female worshipper into a cult of
Dionysus, god of wine.
Scenes on north and south walls seem to
culminate in central east wall; gazes of figures
from wall to wall suggests that frescoes should
be read as a unified program .
Cinnabar produces brilliant "Pompeii" red,
but is not usually used, because it is the most
expensive and has a tendency to turn black; it
is found in the Villa of the Mysteries and at the
House of Vetii in Pompeii.
Second Painting Style - In the second style Roman
wall painting, called the "architectural style,"
space extends beyond the room with various
perspective ("illusion of three-dimensional
space on a flat two-dimensional surface)
devices. Roman artists came close to
developing a true linear perspective

34. Apart from the statue of Augustus, the most well-known find from the Villa of Livia are the spectacular
garden frescoes, often referred to in works on Roman painting. Once attached to the walls of a large
underground room measuring 5 x 11 meters, these frescoes were moved to the National museum in 1955..
The frescoes exhibit not so much a cultivated garden as a subtle flourishing landscape, rich in trees,
flowers and birds of all kinds.
In the foreground we find a low wickerwork fence running around the whole room; behind this comes a
grassy walk, bordered on its far side by a stone parapet. This stone enclosure have recesses at some points
for single trees — one pine, one oak and four spruces. The background consists of a great variety of
vegetation, where the laurel is omnipresent in different shapes, ranging from shrubs to tall trees. In the
midst of the leaves, nightingales, orioles, magpies, swallows, blackbirds and many more species of birds
can be identified. According to ancient sources, Augustus owned a talking magpie, as well as a raven and
a parrot. More important is the fact that all the flowers in the fresco bloom simultaneously and can directly
be associated with love and fecundity. In the age of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the motif of the fresco can be
seen as a celebration of Augustan perpetual peace.

37. In the Third Style Roman Wall
Painting, called the "Ornate Style,"
pictorial illusion is confined to
"framed" images, where even the
"framing" is painted on. The overall
appearance is flat rather than a 3-D
illusion of space

39. The Fourth Style Roman Wall Painting, called
the "Intricate Style," confines full three-dimensional
illusion to the "framed images,"
which are placed like pictures in an exhibition.
The images themselves do not relate to one
another nor do they present a narrative, as in
the Second Style.
The Fourth Style is also characterized by the
open vistas and the use of aerial perspective, as
well as the elaborate architectural framing

40. Portrait of husband and wife, Pompeii,
House VII, 70-79AD
This is a portrait of Paquius Proculus and his wife. This painting was once part of a fourth
style painting but has been cut and placed in a frame in the National Gallery in Naples. He
holds a scroll and the wife holds a stylus and wax writing tablet. Roman marriage portraits
tended to show the couple with symbols of a fine education. The portraits are a sensitive
rendition of what the couple actually looked like.

44. The Arch of Titus is a triumphal arch that
commemorates the victory of the emperors
Vespasian and Titus in Judea in 70 CE, which
lead to the conquest of Jerusalem and the
destruction of the Jewish temple there, and the
triumphal procession the two held in Rome in
71 CE.
The arch was definitely erected sometimes after
after the death of Titus in 81 CE, since Titus is
referred to as Divus in the inscription. The
deification of an emperor only happened
posthumously after decision by the senate. It
was most probably erected by emperor
Domitian who succeeded his brother Titus in
81 CE, but it has also been suggested that it was
built later, by Trajan, because of stylistic
similarities with the Arch of Trajan at
Benevento.
The Arch of Titus is a single arch, measuring
15.4m in height, 13.5m in width and 4.75m in
depth, originally constructed entirely in Pantelic
marble, with four semi-columns on each side.

45. The inside the archway the monument is decorated with
reliefs in marble. The S. side shows the beginning of the
triumphal entry into Rome of the victorious emperor and his
troops. The soldiers, walking left to right, are carrying the
spoils of war, which include the seven armed candelabrum
and the silver trumpets from the temple of Jerusalem. The
signs carried by some soldiers displayed the names of the
conquered cities and people. To the right the procession is
entering the city through the Porta Triumphalis.
The N. side of the arch is decorated with a relief of the
emperor in the triumphal procession. The emperor is riding
a quadriga, which is lead by the goddess Roma, and he is
crowned by Victoria flying above him. The lictors are
walking in front of the chariot with their long ceremonial
axes. After the emperor follow as a young man, who
represents the Roman people, and an older man in toga,
representing the senate. In the middle, under the vault a
small relief shows the apotheosis of Titus, flying to the
heavens on the back of an eagle.

48. It was dedicated to the emperor in 113 AD and had a
height of one hundred and twenty eight feet. Trajan was
depicted on top but replaced with St. Peter. The base
contains his ashes.
The tale begins above the base in the countryside of a
place called Dacia (Hungary/Romania) and on the banks
of the might Danube River. The Dacians wanted to be free
and independent, but the Romans insisted that they
become another piece in their huge jigsaw puzzle.
The historical episodes take the form of 155 vignettes,
which run together and sweep around the huge column,
giving it the feel of a sweeping and continuous narrative.
Trajan is shown over and over again in many different
contexts, but always majestic and larger-than-life. It was a
story about him, his power, courage, and
accomplishments, and the artists carved his image with
this in mind. The detail given to the clothes, armor, and
shields of both armies allows the viewer to easily
differentiate between the Romans and the Dacians.
Although no mistake can be made about who the victors
were in the Dacian campaigns, the cruelty had no part to
play on this monumental piece of art.. His column told the
details of an historical event and was used to promote his
position within a great empire.
Apollodurus, Column of Trajan,
113 AD, 128’ high

49. Low relief carving makes imagery easier to view (less shadows). Narrative emphasizes military
Fortifications, architecture, bridges in order to show technical superiority over foe. A pontoon
bridge was built amazingly over the Danube River.

50. Trajan speaks to the troops.

52. The Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheater was begun by Vespasian,
inaugurated by Titus in 80 A.D. and completed by Domitian.
Located on marshy land between the Esquiline and Caelian Hills, it
was the first permanent amphitheater to be built in Rome. Its
monumental size and grandeur as well as its practical and efficient
organization for producing spectacles and controlling the large
crowds make it one of the great architectural monuments achieved
by the ancient Romans.
The amphitheater is a vast ellipse with tiers of seating for 50,000
spectators around a central elliptical arena. Below the wooden arena
floor, there was a complex set of rooms and passageways for wild
beasts and other provisions for staging the spectacles. Eighty walls
radiate from the arena and support vaults for passageways, stairways
and the tiers of seats. At the outer edge circumferential arcades link
each level and the stairways between levels.
The three tiers of arcades are faced by three-quarter columns and
entablatures, Doric in the first story, Ionic in the second, and
Corinthian in the third. Above them is an attic story with Corinthian
pilasters and small square window openings in alternate bays. At the
top brackets and sockets carry the masts from which the velarium, a
canopy for shade, was suspended.
The construction utilized a careful combination of types: concrete
for the foundations, travertine for the piers and arcades, tufa infill
between piers for the walls of the lower two levels, and brick-faced
concrete used for the upper levels and for most of the vaults.

55. The Pantheon is one of the great spiritual buildings of the world. It was built as a Roman
temple and later consecrated as a Catholic Church. Its monumental porch originally faced a
rectangular colonnaded temple courtyard and now enfronts the smaller Piazza della Rotonda.
Through great bronze doors, one enters one great circular room. The interior volume is a drum
above which rises the hemispherical dome. Opposite the door is a recessed semicircular apse,
and on each side are three additional recesses, alternately rectangular and semicircular,
separated from the space under the dome by paired monolithic columns. The only natural light
enters through an unglazed oculus at the center of the dome and through the bronze doors to
the portico. As the sun moves, striking patterns of light illuminate the walls and floors of
porphyry, granite and yellow marbles.
The portico consists of three rows of eight columns, 14 m (46 feet) high of Egyptian granite with
Corinthian capitals. They support an entablature facing the square, which bears the famous
inscription in Latin, attributing the construction to Agrippa, although the extant temple was
rebuilt later by Hadrian.
The dome has a span of 43.2 m (142 feet), the largest dome until Brunelleschi's dome at the
Florence Cathedral of 1420-36.
The interior volume is a cylinder above which springs the half sphere of the dome. A whole
sphere can be fit in the interior volume, with the diameter at the floor of the cylinder of 43.3 m
(143 feet) equaling the interior height.
Five rows of twenty-eight square coffers of diminishing size radiate from the central unglazed
oculus with a diameter of 8.7 m (29 feet) at the top of the dome.

59. The Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch, erected c. 315 CE to commemorate the
triumph of Constantine I after his victory over Maxentius in the battle at the Milvian
Bridge in 312 CE. Constantine entered Rome victoriously, and the senate awarded him a
triumphal arch. Construction began immediately, and the arch was finished in a few years,
to be consecrated in 315/316 CE on the tenth anniversary of Constantine's rise to power.
The arch is located in the valley of the Colosseum, between the Palatine Hill and the
Colosseum, along the road taken by the triumphal processions.
The decorative elements on
the monument are from
different periods and are
generally considered to be
spolia, that is, parts taken
from earlier monuments. The
arch has parts from the reigns
of Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus
Aurelius and Constantine
himself. Some of the older,
reused parts have been
changed to give the images of
former emperors the
semblance of Constantine.

60. Constantine is addressing the people and surrounded by his entourage in this relief.
These figures are non-classical in their lack of proportionality, and do not move with
any sense of nature. The repeated stance and gestures leave the figure mechanical or
like puppets in comparison with traditional classical relieves. The forms are not
modeled but incised.
The reliefs that were executed expressly for the arch tell of episodes from the
life of Constantine. These works, which form a band around the monument, can
easily be differentiated from the earlier sculptures by their lack of realism -- the
standards of artisanship had declined during the continual civil wars of the
previous century.

63. The biggest single structure still standing in the Roman Forum is the remaining part of the Basilica
of Maxentius, also known as the Basilica of Constantine. It has a double name, because it was one
of the many projects started by Maxentius that were completed by Constantine after Constantine
trashed co-Emperor Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian bridge in 312 AD. Like the earlier
basilicas, this one was built to provide space for political and commercial wheeling and dealing. It
is likely that it also was used, as were the others, as a court for civil law cases: the magistrate
(perhaps even the Emperor, although he soon moved his venue to Constantinople) would have sat
in one of the apses.
We're talking about a really big building here. The platform on which it was built is solid concrete
100 meters long and 65 meters wide and nobody knows how thick. The central nave was a single
open space 80 meters long, 25 meters wide, and 35 meters high. The side aisles, each with their
three barrel-vaults, were 16 meters wide and 24.5 meters high. The skeleton of the Basilica was
good late-Roman concrete faced with brick.. In front of the piers supporting the central and side
vaults were eight marble monolithic-shaft columns. The ceiling was decorated with hexagonal and
octagonal coffers and was probably modeled on the inside of Hadrian's Pantheon dome. The gilded
bronze tiles, which covered the roof, were reused on the first Saint Peter's Basilica.

64. These marble fragments are from a colossal seated statue
of Constantine, about 30 feet high. The body was made of
less valuable materials, while the exposed parts (head,
hands, feet) were made of marble. Like the colossal statues
of gods placed in Greek temples, this statue of the Emperor
was originally placed in the west apse (apse of the short
end) of the Basilica Nova of Maxentius and Constantine in
the Roman Forum.
Earlier portraits of Constantine depict him with a cropped
beard; here he is beardless, the "archetypal Roman general
of the distant imperial past, a new Augustus, a new
Trajan" (Stylistically, this image still has some elements of
individualistic portraiture (the hooked nose, for example);
at the same time it illustrates the trends in late Roman
works to focus on symbolic and abstracted elements: the
"image" of authority or the "image" of spirituality, as
indicated by the large otherworldly eyes.
(For comparison, the statue of
Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial
in Washington, D.C., on the same
kind of throne, is six meters high.)