Ancient Roman Civilization:

Architecture and Engineering

City of Rome

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Architecture and Engineering

What

type of innovations came from the

Ancient Roman Civilization?

What

influences can we see in our society

today?

Can

you give two examples?

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Roman Cities
The

typical Roman city of the later Republic and

empire had a rectangular plan and resembled a
Roman military camp with two main streetsthe
cardo (north-south) and the decumanus (eastwest)a grid of smaller streets dividing the town
into blocks, and a wall circuit with gates.

Older

cities, such as Rome itself, founded before

the adoption of regularized city planning, could,
however, consist of a maze of crooked streets.
The focal point of the city was its forum, usually
situated at the center of the city at the intersection
of the cardo and the decumanus.
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Plan of the City of

Rome

By the time of Augustus, Rome

had grown from a tiny
settlement on the Tiber River
to a metropolis at the center of
an expanding empire. Under
the republic Rome became the
political capital of the
Mediterranean and a symbol of
Roman power and wealth.

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All Roads Lead to Rome

Why do you think a system of roads was important to the

survival of the Empire?

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Appian Way

An expanding network of
roads helped to link Rome's
distant territories. One of the
most important paved military
roads was the Appian Way,
commissioned by the Roman
official Appius Claudius
Caecus. It became the major
route from Rome to Greece.
Although these large lava
blocks may not be the original
material, the route itself has
remained unchanged and in
use since it was first paved
more than 2200 years ago.
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Forums
The

forum, an open area bordered by

colonnades with shops, functioned as the
chief meeting place of the town. It was
also the site of the city's primary religious
and civic buildings, among them the
Senate house, records office, and basilica.

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When archaeologists began

excavating the city of
Pompeii, which had been
covered with ash and mud
by the eruption of Mount
Vesuvius in ad 79, they
found the remains of
people, ancient buildings,
and other artifacts preserved
amid the volcanic debris.
Among the structures
uncovered was The Forum
of Pompeii, pictured, a
group of temples, courts,
and palaces that served as
the citys legislative center.
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Basilica
The

basilica was a roofed hall with a wide

central areathe naveflanked by side aisles,
and it often had two or more stories. In Roman
times basilicas were the site of business
transactions and legal proceedings, but the
building type was adapted in Christian times as
the standard form of the Western church with an
apse and altar at the end of the long nave. The
first basilicas were put up in the early 2nd
century b.c. in Rome's own Forum, but the
earliest well-preserved example of the basilicas
(circa 120 b.c.) is found at Pompeii.
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This Roman basilica was

begun by the emperor
Maxentius between 307
and 310 and completed
by Constantine the Great
after 312. Although it
was one of the most
important monuments in
classical antiquity,
almost all that remains
of the building are these
three huge, barrelvaulted bays

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Roman Temples
The

chief temple of a Roman city, the

capitolium, was generally located at one
end of the forum. The standard Roman
temple was a blend of Etruscan and Greek
elements; rectangular in plan, it had a
gabled roof, a deep porch with
freestanding columns, and a frontal
staircase giving access to its high plinth, or
platform.
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By the 1st century b.c, the extensive conquests of the Romans led
them to regard the Mediterranean as mare nostrum (our sea). Roman
influence went far beyond politics. Roman art, architecture, and
language were among the cultural traits that slowly took hold in many
of Rome's conquered territories. Ruins of ancient temples in Baalbek,
Lebanon, include the Temple of Jupiter, built by the Romans after they
took control of the territory that included what is now Lebanon in 64 12
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b.c.

Pantheon
Roman

temples were erected not only in

the forum, but throughout the city and in
the countryside as well; many other types
are known. One of the most influential in
later times was the type used for the
Pantheon (ad 118-28) in Rome, consisting
of a standard gable-roofed columnar porch
with a domed cylindrical drum behind it
replacing the traditional rectangular main
room, or cella.
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The Pantheon in Rome is one of the most famous buildings in the

world. It was commissioned by Hadrian in 118 and completed in 128.
At one time it had a colonnaded court leading to the portico. The
dome of the rotunda behind the portico is 43.2 m (142 ft) in diameter.
The oculus (a round opening) at the top is 8.5 m (28 ft) in diameter
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and provides the only source of light for the interior.

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Roman engineers
completed the Pantheon,
a temple to all the gods,
in ad 128. Its interior
was conceived as a
single immense space
illuminated by a single
round opening, called an
oculus, at the highest
point in the dome. The
interior is decorated with
colored marble, and
lined with pairs of
columns and carved
figures set into niches in
the wall.
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Roman Theaters
Roman

theaters first appeared in the late

Republic. They were semicircular in plan
and consisted of a tall stage building
abutting a semicircular orchestra and tiered
seating area (cavea). Unlike Greek
theaters, which were situated on natural
slopes, Roman theaters were supported by
their own framework of piers and vaults
and thus could be constructed in the hearts
of cities.
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The Roman emperor

Augustus founded the
city of Aosta during the
1st century b.c near the
junction of natural
transportation routes
from Italy through the
mountains to France and
Switzerland. The city
has many remnants of
Roman architecture,
including wall segments
from this theater.

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Amphitheater
Amphitheaters

(literally, double theaters)

were elliptical in plan with a central arena,
where gladiatorial and animal combats
took place, and a surrounding seating area
built on the pattern of Roman theaters. The
earliest known amphitheater (75 bc) is at
Pompeii, and the grandest, Rome's
Colosseum (ad70-80), held approximately
50,000 spectators, roughly the capacity of
today's large sports stadiums.
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The Colosseum in Rome (70-82) is best known for its multilevel

system of vaults made of concrete. It is called the Colosseum for a
colossal statue of Nero that once stood nearby, but its real name is the
Flavian Amphitheater. It was used for staged battles between lions
and Christians, among other spectacles, and is one of the most famous
pieces of architecture in the world.
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Aqueduct
Among

the other great public building

projects of the Romans, the most
noteworthy are the network of bridges and
roads that facilitated travel throughout the
empire, and the aqueducts that brought
water to the towns from mountain sources
(Pont du Gard, late 1st century bc or early
1st century ad, near Nimes).
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The Roman aqueduct at Pont du Gard near Nmes, France, was built
between the late 1st century bc and the early 1st century ad. The
Romans built extensive systems of aqueducts to carry water to their
residential areas from distant sources.
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Summary
A clear

picture of Roman architecture can

be drawn from the impressive remains of
ancient Roman public and private
buildings.
Many of our modern government
institutions are modeled after the Roman
system, as is much of our public
architecture.
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Builders laid the cornerstone for the United States Capitol in 1793,
and the building has been the seat of the countrys Senate and the
House of Representatives since 1800. The Rotunda stands 66 m
(180 ft) high and is the symbolic center of both Capitol Hill and
Washington, D.C.
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Lincoln Memorial

Jefferson
Memorial
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Review
What

type of innovations came from the

Ancient Roman Civilization?

What

influences can we see in our society

today?

Can

you give two examples?

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Vocabulary1
Amphitheater:

circular building, a round or oval

building without a roof that has a central open
space surrounded by tiers of seats, especially one
used by the ancient Romans for public
entertainment
Aqueduct: A complex system of channels built to
carry water from one place to another.
Basilica: a type of ancient Roman building that
had a central nave with an aisle on each side
formed by two rows of columns, and typically a
terminal semicircular apse. It was used as a court
of justice, an assembly hall, or an exchange.
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Vocabulary 2
Forum:

a public square or marketplace in

ancient Roman cities where business was
conducted and the law courts were situated

Oculus:

an architectural feature that is

round or eye-shaped, for example, a round
window, a round opening at the top of a
dome, or the central boss of a volute.
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Homework
Complete

Lesson Handout

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Where to Get More Information

Ancient Rome
What Life Was Like: When Rome Ruled the World: The Roman
Empire 100 bc to ad 200.
Time-Life, 1997.
Adkins, Lesley, and Roy A. Adkins. Handbook to Life in
Ancient Rome. Facts on File, Reprint, Oxford University
Press, 1997. 1998. A comprehensive reference covering more
than 1,200 years of the Roman Empire; includes 150
illustrations.
Amery, Heather, and Patricia Vanags. Rome and
Romans. Educational Development Center, 1998. A volume
in the popular Time-Traveler series.
Connolly, Peter, and Hazel Dodge. The Ancient City: Life in
Classical Athens and Rome. Oxford University
Press, 1998. Details what it was like to live in the capital
cities of the classical world.

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