RomanArchitecture

Arches• The Romans built

arches for support of their structures.

• The Romans built arches into all their buildings such as aqueducts and Triumphal Arches.

Aqueducts

Aqueducts- a way to carry water

• There wasn’t enough water in the city of Rome.

• The Romans brought water in from the surrounding countryside.

• The water was brought in by tubes called aqueducts.

Why arches?

• Water is heavy stuff.

• The Romans needed a structure strong enough to hold all that water to move it from the mountains into the city.

Where did the water go?

• The water was transported in concrete tunnels.

• The tunnels were underground if possible.

• Sometimes the tunnel had to go above ground.

How did the aqueduct work?

• The water flowed in a tube on the top of the aqueduct called a water channel.

• The arches supported the water channel.

What did the water channel look like?

• The water flowed through a rectangular channel.

• The channel was lined with concrete.

• The Romans invented concrete.

Where else did the Romans use arches?

•Arches of Triumph•Buildings

•Roofs•Windows•Doorways

•City wall entrance doors

Arches of Triumph-to celebrate military

success

An Amphitheatre;a place for sporting and gladiatorial events. They were always circular. The one in Rome was named the Coliseum and could hold 50,000

spectators.

The Coliseum was a blend of Greek and Roman

architecture• The arches are

supported by central columns.

• The columns on the first floor are Doric.

• The columns on the second floor are Ionic.

• The columns on the third floor are Corinthian.

Wealthy Romans, called patricians had the best seats. Middle-class

citizens called plebeians, sat in the higher seats. Slaves, if they could afford it, sat in the highest seats.

The Pantheon-a temple to all the gods

How does an arch work?Keystones

• The keystone is the red stone at the top of the arch.

• The keystone is what the weight rests on.

How does an arch work?Voussoirs

• The semi-circular stones on either side of the keystone are the voussoirs.

• The voussoirs bring the weight to the columns that go to the ground.

How does an arch work?Buttressing

• The square or rectangular blocks between each arch are buttresses.

• The buttresses make a column that takes the weight all the way to the ground.

Modern arches

Hotel Roanoke

US Capital

Dominion Towers

Office in Tyson’s Corner

Your Task

• Go to your seat.• You are going to

draw an arch.• Just follow your

teacher’s directions and you can do it!

First

• Use the yogurt lid to draw a semi-circle.

Second

• Add legs to your semi-circle.

• Now you have an arch.

Third

• Draw a smaller arch inside the first one.

Fourth

• Draw a Keystone at the top of the arch.

Fifth

• Now draw the Voussoirs that hold the Keystone in place.

Sixth

• Draw a second arch next to the first one.

• Go through the same steps.

Seventh

• Connect the arches with buttresses.

• You did it!• Success!