Roman Pantheon: The Buiding Of The Colosseum

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Recommended: The development of both concrete and the arch in Rome and the results of their use

An arch is a curved structure, supporting the building and strengthening it’s structure. Today arch is made of many materials, but at the time of invention, it was usually build out of concrete, stone or brick. When the arch is being build, it is surrounded by wooden scaffolding, supporting the structure. The last step in the construction is to place top center stone (keystone). After than, scaffolding is removed and both sides of the arch now press against keystone, supporting the arch.

Arches were used by Egyptians, Babylonians and Greeks, but they were rather small in size, and therefore not used as parts of large constructions like palaces. The Romans invented concrete, which allowed them to create arches that could support huge amounts …show more content…

Thus, combined arches, which formed ceilings or roofs gave the structure called vault. The principles of an arch were used to from a hemispherical ceiling or roof called dome. For example, Roman Pantheon was built using dome.

The Buiding of the Colosseum, originally called Flavian Amhitheater after the family name of emperors who built it, was a result of combination of concrete and vaulted arches. The Colosseum served as a stage for popular Roman entertainments such as gladiator and animal fights and public executions (Kamm, 2008)

At that time concrete was not so well studied. Romans did not know how strong it was and how long it will last, they were still learning how to use it. So they mixed it with a stone as a precaution. The Colosseum had four tiers. The ceilings of the passages and corridors circling the arena on each tier consisted of vaulted arches made of concrete. Those arches were supported by strong limestone base. The vaulted arches made the ceiling much stronger, than a flat ceiling would have been. Another positive effect of vaulted arches in Colosseum was the fact that they added strength to the building without adding excessive weight (Alchin,

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