Accomplishments of Ancient Rome
In the 3,000 years that make up the ancient history of the emergence of Western Civilization, Rome’s contributions to society include the construction of bridges, domes, and temples. The Romans had great architecture skills that have stayed with us in one form or another for thousands of years. Each construction has evolved into many different forms that are found all over the world today. Each country or civilization uses the items differently, but without the help from the Romans and Greeks transportation may have been harder to accomplish and buildings would not have the beauty they have today. Short bridges are not hard to build.
They can easily be made by throwing a log across a narrow stream or river. It’s building a bridge across a wide river that can be difficult. Building a straight bridge across a wide gap can be unsafe and unsecure. The Roman’s invented a bridge in the form of an arch. This caused the bridge to be better equipped to handle heavy weight without having to put many supports in the water itself. Like all inventions, the first few arch bridges had flaws but they were worked out and now many bridges across the world have an arch like structure to them. The arch structure can also be found in historical buildings because of its beauty and uniqueness.
The Romans were very proud of their accomplishment and they used it whenever they could. The Ancient Romans were the first to construct the dome. The Pantheon was an important building built in Ancient Greece that contained a dome. It is very noticeable from the exterior of the building. The dome of the Pantheon is one of the largest masonry domes every built. A heavy concrete base supports the weight, while the upper walls and dome are constructed of a lighter mix of concrete. The center of the dome has an opening which allows light and rain to enter.
Many buildings and houses right here in New York have a roof with a dome shape to it. It is really popular in old Victorian homes. The Ancient Romans were not the first to construct temples but they contributed their own ideas to the structure. Some temples, such as the Temple of Saturn, have been rebuilt many times. Eight Ionic columns still remain on the Temple of Saturn today. Romans often didn’t include the fluting from the column shafts. Roman temples had columns and many pieces of artwork hung throughout the buildings showing Roman life just like the temples of Greece.
Every building design starts off very basic and excels into something great and powerful. Each architectural design was created for some reason or another. If for some reason the Romans didn’t create the arch, dome or temples it doesn’t mean that it would never been created. They were just the first ones who needed or desired them first. I’m sure someone; somewhere would have had the idea of creating such beautiful pieces of architect. But as it stands today, we thank the Romans and Greeks for our earliest forms of advanced architecture.
