Why is concrete important to Rome?

Answer 1

Concrete was important because it was a building material which was much stronger and durable and easier to lay. Concrete, together with the arch and the vaulted arch (which had a much better load-bearing capacity, especially the latter, which was useful to support large roofs) were what made it possible to build gigantic buildings like the Colosseum. Roman concrete was different that the modern one. It was made by mixing pozzolana (a volcanic rock) with lime and rubble. It was as strong as modern concrete, but it was less fluid and had to be layered by hand. Roman concrete also set underwater and was used to build docks.

Answer 2

Concrete was a very strong and durable construction material and it was easier to lye than stones. Concrete's strength, together with ample use of the simple (barrel) arch which had a great load-bearing capacity and the vaulted arch (adjacent arches which are assembled side by side which has an even greater load bearing capacity and suited to support large roofs) made the construction of massive buildings such as the Colosseum. The basilicas, large public buildings were often built in concrete. The Baths of Caracalla in Rome were built in concrete. Some military forts were built with stone and concrete. The Romans perfected the art of dome building and used concrete for them. The dome of the Pantheon in Rome is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. They Romans did not reinforce their concrete.

Concrete was also used in the construction of bridges and to build the stone-paved roads. For the latter a ditch was ploughed 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 metre from the surface level. A flat floor of compassed gravel was then 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.

Roman Concrete also set underwater and was sued to build docks for ports.

Roman concrete was as resistant as modern concrete. However, it was not as fluid as modern concrete and had to be layered by hand. It was made by mixing a volcanic rock called pozzolana (which is named after Pozzuoli, a suburb of Naples) with lime and adding rubble from local stones.

Answer 3

The Romans effected what historians call the Roman architectural revolution or concrete revolution. This 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. They became essential for large roofs and large buildings, such as basilicas (public buildings) amphitheatres (arenas), theatres, baths, circuses (racing tracks) domes, forts and fortifications and dams. They also made it possible to build bridges which were much longer than before and could cross much wider rivers and valleys.
Prior to the Romans concrete was hardly used. The Romans the first to made large scale use of it. They developed a type of concrete (opus caementicium) which 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 by mixing a volcanic rock called pozzolana (which is named after Pozzuoli, a suburb of Naples) with lime and adding rubble from stones, bricks or pottery shreds as aggregates which added body to it. 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 post-and-lintel construction methods.


The potential of the previously very little used arch and vault, was 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. Their construction in concrete made them easier to build and even stronger. This led to the use 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 diameter.

Concrete was also used to assist the construction of the stone-paved roads. A ditch was ploughed 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 metre 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. 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 metres (160 feet). The lower tier is 142 metres (466 feet) long and has six aches 22 metres (72 ft.) high. The second tier is 242 metres (794 ft.) long and has eleven arches 20 metres (66 ft.) high. The upper tier is 275 metre (902 ft.) long. It originally had 47 arches (only 35 have survived) 7 metres (23 ft.) high. The width of the first pier is 6 metres (20th.), that of the second is 4 metres (13 ft.) and that of the third is 3 metres (23 ft.).