What did the roman empire contribute to the areas of art and architecture?

Answer 1

The Romans effected what historians call the Roman architectural revolution or concrete revolution. This change involved the extensive use of concrete, the barrel (simple) arch, and the vaulted arch. These three elements enabled the Romans to go beyond Greek methods of construction, which used cut stone and post-and-beam or post-and-lintel structures. These elements became essential for large roofs and large buildings, such as basilicas (public buildings) amphitheaters (arenas), theaters, baths, domes and forts and fortifications. These innovations also made it possible to build bridges that were much longer than before and could cross much wider rivers and valleys.

Prior to the Romans, concrete was hardly used. The Romans were the first to make large scale use of concrete. They developed a type of concrete (opus caementicium) that was as resistant as modern concrete. It also set underwater and therefore could be used to build docks for ports, dams and bridges. It was less fluid than modern concrete and had to be layered by hand. It was made with a mortar made by mixing a volcanic rock called pozzolana (which is named after Pozzuoli, a suburb of Naples) with lime. Rubble from stones, bricks, or pottery shards were added as aggregates, which added body to the concrete. Concrete had technical and practical advantages. It was exceptionally strong. It could be molded and could span great distances when shaped into arches, vaults and domes. It was layered into a formwork and it took the shape of its container. It did not require skilled labor 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 post-and-lintel construction methods.

The potential of the previously very little-used arch and vault was also fully exploited for the first time. The Romans were the first to fully appreciate the advantage of these structures and make large-scale use of them.

The Etruscans are thought 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 (simple, barrel) arch has a strong load-bearing capacity and was useful to build large walls without using the post-and-lintel method and to build bridges which were much longer than ever before. The vault (vaulted arch) has an even greater load-bearing capacity and its structure is suited to support large roofs. The construction of vaulted arches in concrete made them easier to build and even stronger. This enhancement led to the use of larger and monumental arches and vaults on a grand scale. However, the Romans did not abandon masonry arches and vaults. The vaulted arch came into two forms: the groin arch is formed by two to four intersecting barrel (simple) arches and the rib arch, where the intersecting arches were of different diameters.

Concrete was also used to assist the construction of the stone-paved roads, which were a Roman invention. A ditch was plowed down to the firmest layer of ground that was found. The ditch was filled with rubble from local materials or sand (when it could be found) up to one meter from the surface level. A flat floor of compacted gravel was made. Then a surface was made by embedding the stones in concrete to create the paving. The concrete was laid in two thin layers. The bottom one had coarse concrete and the top one had fine concrete.

With this revolution ,much longer bridges which could cross much wider rivers and valleys could be built. They were built in concrete and stone and the arch were used to lengthen their spans. Trajan's bridge crossed the river Danube, and although it was only functional for a few decades, it was the longest arch bridge in both total and span length for more than 1,000 years. It was 1,135 m (3,724 ft.) long, 15 m (49 ft.) wide, and 19 m (62 ft.) above the water level. If high bridges were needed, two or three tiers of arches were built on top of each other to reach the desired height. The Pont du Gard, a bridge for an aqueduct which supplied Nimes in southern France, is the greatest example of a multi-tier bridge. It has three tiers of recessed arches with the main piers in line one above the other. The first two tiers have very high and wide arches and a third tier has low and narrow arches. It reaches a height of 48.8 meters (160 feet). The lower tier is 142 meters (466 feet) long and has six aches 22 meters (72 ft.) high. The second tier is 242 meters (794 ft.) long and has eleven arches 20 meters (66 ft.) high. The upper tier is 275 meters (902 ft.) long. It originally had 47 arches (only 35 have survived) 7 meters (23 ft.) high. The width of the first pier is 6 meters (20 ft.), that of the second is 4 meters (13 ft.) and that of the third is 3 meters (23 ft.).

The Romans invented the segmental arch (a flatter arch in which the curve is a less than semi-circular segment of a circle). They realized that an arch did not have to be a semicircle. These arches were used regularly for houses, warehouses and bridges. The Limyra Bridge in southwestern Turkey had 26 segmental arches. Its 27th arch at the eastern end collapsed and was replaced with two smaller, semi-circular arches.

Concrete also enabled the Romans to be the first to build large and monumental domes. The best example of this is the dome of the rotunda of the Pantheon in Rome (a temple dedicated to all gods that is well preserved because it was converted into a Christian church). It is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world.