Roman Flashcards
Features of the Roman Empire
- Longevity
- System of Rule and Bureaucracy
- Laws
- Built Infrastructure
Common Roman Building Materials
Stone
Clay
Wood
Cement
Materials chosen based on
- local environment
- climate
- purpose of structure
- budget
- labour supply
- point in history (available technology)
How they developed engineering
- labour: large slave work force and soldiers returned from war
- financial resources: conquered many large overseas empires
- materials: worldwide access and knowledge
- neccessity: growing population
Types of lime
- hydraulic
2. non-hydraulic
Making cement 1. (quicklime)
CaCO3 —(heat)–> CO2 + CaO
Heating Limestone
- fuel: small and dry (pinecones, olive and fruit pits, almond shells)
- 900oC needed
- modern days: furnace
- gallo-roman: kiln
what makes a good kiln
- dig kiln down into ground (or into side of hill)
- no wind in stokehole
- tend fire and keep it going at all times
Making Cement 2. (slaking)
CaO + H2O –> Ca(OH)2
Making Cement
Ca(OH)2 + sand/aggregate + H2O + air –> concrete
Hydraulic Lime
- sets in water
- has more than 8% clay
- romans added volcanic tuff or crushed pottery to non-hydraulic lime to make it hydraulic
Roman Wall
SANDWICH
- concrete core
- stone facing
- stucco or plaster
- paint (fresco, on plaster)
Opus incertum
random stone arrangement
Opus reticulatum
regular pattern diamond shape
Opus testaceum
brick
Quoins
edging at end of walls etc.
Opus latericium
parallel rows of bricks
Opus mixtum
different styles in one wall
Roman Scaffolding
used putlog holes (had scaffold in structure as they built and then removed later)
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio
- architect, likely to have been praefectus fabri (prefect of the works) in Julius Caesar’s army
Vitruvius’ fundamental principles of architecture
- Strength/durability
- utility/function
- delight/beauty/design
Development of the arch
- corbelled arch
- true arch
- keystone or voussoir arch
corbelled arch
triangle above entrance way
- non load bearing (must be butressed)
- earliest arches known in the greek world
Keystone arch
true arch
- can be made without mortar
- directs forces directly downwards rather than diagonally into structure as with corbelled arch
Barrel vault
extended arch
- incredibly strong
- can run up a slope
- can go around in a circle
- distribute weight better than a flat or pitched roof
Roman “architectural revolution”
- use of concrete to extend concept of arch to vaults
- development of dome and half dome
cross vault
- intersecting barrel vaults
- useful for roofing extremely large buildings
- useful for intersecting passageways
Collosseum
- used barrel vaults and ring vaults to support seating for thousands
corbelled dome
- not a true dome
domes
- hemisphere resting on masonry or brick drum
- an arch rotated 360o
- self supporting
