Roman Architecture Research Paper

This essay is to discuss the development of concrete and the arch in Roman history, this essay will also focus on the importance of each in the life of Rome and the results of the use of concrete and the arch.
The Roman architecture was very different from anything else that had been invented before. The Egyptians, Greeks and even the Persians all had amazing architecture. The grandeur of their buildings was largely external. Buildings in the Roman history were designed to be impressive when they were viewed from the outside because their architects had to rely on the buildings post-and-lintel system. This means they had to use two upright posts that were similar to columns. This was made up of a horizontal block, known as a lintel that was laid flat across the top. An example of this will be in the photo below.

An example of post and lintel architecture: Hera II, Paestum, c. 460 B.C.E. (Classical period), tufa, 24.26 x 59.98 m
The Romans did not invent the arch that has been used so much in their architecture. The development of the arch however allowed them to fully use it to their advantage for resolving situations that required the cost of expensive labor.

The Greek orders

The Romans borrowed from the Greeks the three orders of architecture which are Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.

The based the different forms of the column and the capital which was placed on top and then proceed to add a hybrid of their own which was called a Composite. How the Romans were able to create their ambitious architectural creations was due to the creation of concrete. The Romans create concrete with the material called pozzolana and this was a chocolate colored volcanic earth that was found near the Greek settlement of Puteoli and later on in time was discovered in huge quantities around Rome. The Romans knowledge of materials and techniques allowed them to be able to create circular temples and the most famous one is called the

Pantheon.
Pozzolana was also used to make mortar. The mortar mixture that the Romans had created the added materials to make the mortar stronger. Some of these materials were lime, chips of rock, pieces of brick and concrete. The use of bricks and concrete allowed the Romans to create massive and very permanent structures. When the concrete had been used instead of rubble to fill the wall, it became possible to use irregularly shaped stones.
The arch allowed large spaces to be crossed with the use of the minimum of materials and then allowed the relief of weight which would have usually been a heavy burden on the structure. The Romans who inhabited the countryside it must have been quite a sight to see the rows and rows of arches being built as there were at time three tiers of them. The arches were spread across the plains and gorges and brought fresh water from the mountain springs and lakes by a covered channel. The water was brought down gently through a barely noticeable gradient and then into the complicated mechanism which then was piped through the towns. The Romans had factored in the dynamics of that water usually rises to the level of its source, because of this they used undergrounds pipes. The Romans also decided when necessary to tunnel the water through the hills which could not have been easily avoided. The building of the arches was cheap as the materials and labor were cheap and readily available. The large-bone pipes were expensive and less reliable.
In conclusion, concrete was used to help create the elaborate structures that the Romans had created and also allowed them to create the arches as well. The arches in Roman history was used as a relief of weight of some of the building's structure and also to bring clean and safe water from the springs in the mountains into the pipe system in the towns.