Ancient Roman Concrete

Introduction

The development of concrete and arches in Ancient Rome added to Rome’s reputation as a practical and rich empire ahead of its contemporaries. Romans used concrete and arches to improve their architecture, their sanitation, their defense, and their roads.

Development of Concrete

Opus caementicium, or Roman concrete was first developed in the early second century B.C.E (Cartwright, 2013). The concrete of the Ancient Romans was developed from the chocolate colored volcanic earth named pozzolana found near Puteoli and discovered around Rome(Ambler, n.d., Cartwright,2013). The process of making this concrete was mixing lime, strengthening materials and mortar made from the pozzolana. Roman architects realized that the concrete created from pozzolana could be formed underwater and was much stronger than other concretes used before. Because this concrete was stronger, cheaper, moldable, and more available than other construction materials such as marble, architects used it to make archs.

Arches and Their Functions

This is because concrete has the ability to mold to frames. Other archs, called corbeled arches, had to be built with various stones that were placed in a fashion that moved inward in order to create an arch. Unlike a corbeled arch, the weight of a true arch is well distributed, meaning that it can be made wider. From these arches, Ancient Roman architects constructed circular temples (Kamm,2009), triumphal arches, amphitheatres, and other impressive structures. They were not limited to the post-and-lintel system of two upright post and a horizontal block, or lintel, that the other surrounding nations had to construct