Ancient Roman Architecture

In order to design an Ancient Roman city I will need to have a look at Roman Architecture. One of the things that the Ancient Romans are best known for is their architecture. Some of the most important things that the Romans have introduced in terms of architecture include; the baked brick, the arch and the use of concrete and cement.

Throughout the Republican period the Romans built many Basilicas and Temples, but also made massive improvements across the city; this included Sewer systems, Roads and also Aqueducts. After the Roman Forum began to be built, many others on the outskirts of the main city began to build large stone Amphitheatres which would show the Gladiatorial games.

Augustus was the Romans first emperor to improve Roman architecture even further. Augustus built many buildings using brick and marble, in particular he built a large stone theatre for plays, a family tomb and a big alter of peace.

Roman Arches -

An arch is a structure which is used to support a specific load. The Romans were the first people to really see the potential in arch structures, using them throughout many of their structures.

Two of the more famous buildings which really utilise the arch. The two images above are of the Colosseum. The Colosseum was a remarkable structure which consisted of three levels. Each of the levels had eighty arches, which in total was a remarkable 240 archways. Another amazing example of Roman architecture which uses archways is displayed in the image below. The image below is the Arch of Constantine. 

Roman Aqueducts -

As with all of these images you can see that the arch played a major part when it came to making Roman aqueducts. These are great examples of Roman architecture.