Were the ancient Romans good at buliding things?

Answer 1

Historians have coined the term Roman architectural revolution or concrete revolution. This involved the extensive use of concrete, the barrel arch and the vaulted arch. These three elements enabled the Romans to go beyond the use of Greek methods of enclosing space by the use of cut-stone and post-and-beam or post-and-lintel structures. They became essential for large buildings and roofs. The Romans were the first who made large scale use of concrete. Concrete had technical and practical advantages. It was exceptionally strong and could span great distances when shaped into arches, vaults and domes as it could be moulded. It was layered into a formwork and it took the shape of its container. It did not require skilled labour and therefore was cheaper. It was much faster for construction than laborious masonry walls. It was safer because concrete vaulted roofing was fireproof, unlike the wooden-beamed roofs of traditional construction methods. Roman concrete was as resistant as modern concrete and also set underwater (this enabled them to build much bigger docks for ports). However, it was not as fluid as modern concrete and had to be layered by hand.

With this revolution the potential of the previously little used arch and the vault arch (or vault) was fully exploited for the first time. The Etruscans are said to have invented the simple (barrel) arch. The oldest example of the vaulted arch has been found in the Greek city of Pergamon (in western Turkey). The vaulted arch came into two forms: the groin arch was formed with two to four intersecting barrel arches and the rib arch, where the intersecting barrels were not of the same diameter. The Romans were first to fully appreciate the advantages of the arch and the vault. The arch has a strong load- bearing capacity. The vault has an even greater load bearing capacity and its structure is suited to support large roofs. Their construction in concrete made them easier to build and even stronger. This led to the building of larger and monumental arches. Arches and vaults were used on a grand scale. However, the Romans did not abandon masonry arches and vaults.

The arch, the vault and concrete were what made the construction of such a massive structure as the Colosseum possible. Concrete was also used to build domes, public buildings, military facilities (forts and fortifications) warehouses, amphitheatres, theatres, temples and public baths, aqueducts and dams. They also made it possible to build bridges which were much longer than before and could cross much wider rivers and valleys. When they needed to reach great heights, the Romans built multi-tier bridges, with two or three tiers of arches built on top of each other