Rome
Rome
109 B.C.
The Milvian Bridge (Pons Mulvius) was the crossing for two of the most important roads in Rome. Still used today, its arches are set over massive piers.
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Roman bridge
Alcántara, Spain
106
Built of square hewn granite stones, this handsome bridge uses six arches to cross the river. The two central arches are 157 feet high and almost 100 feet across. A triumphal arch is over the central pillar.
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Rome
390 B.C.
Part of the ancient sixth century wall which surrounded Rome at the foot of the Aventine Hill, this section was erected in 390 B.C. The arch, a later addition, is from the second or first century B.C.
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On the Tiber
Rome
2nd century B.C.
While the Greek temple is a sculptural building on all sides, Roman rectangular temples are built to be seen from the front. Normally they sit high on a raised platform, with a long stairway leading up to the portico. The side walls have attached half-columns which are called pseudo-peripteral. Primarily used as a treasury, the celIa is the width of the building. In general Roman, architecture employs columns for decoration instead of support.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
205
The circular temple of Vesta was founded in 715 B.C. and rebuilt many times over the centuries. It was last rebuilt in 205 by Septimius Severus. A ten foot high podium supported a circular celIa thirty feet across, which was surrounded by Corinthian columns. One ring of columns is engaged to the wall and an outer ring supports the entablature.
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Tivoli
c. 100 B.C.
The cement cella of this circular temple has two windows. Corinthian capitals are handsomely carved and the entablature is elegantly decorated.
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On the Tiber
Rome
1st century B.C.
More directly influenced by Greek architecture, this circular temple has marble Corinthian columns nearly thirty-five feet high. Originally the roof was probably covered with bronze tiles.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
Early 4th century
Like many other buildings, the marble facing over the brick of this octagonal temple was removed long ago. This temple has many elements which are brought to fruition in the Pantheon. The octagonal nature of the space will be an influence in the Early Christian and Romanesque temples.
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Temple of Romulus
Forum Romanum
Rome
Early 4th century
The bronze doors are original. They are framed by two columns and a decorated lintel. Notice the partial columns sitting on pedestals. This is typical throughout Roman architecture.
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Cori
Late 2nd century B.C.
A small Doric temple with columns fluted on the upper two-thirds. The bottom part was probably stuccoed red, a common feature in Pompeian columns. The depth of the porch is equal to its width. Notice the platform made of cement and stone.
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Forum of Augustus
Rome
2 B.C.
Dedicated by Augustus to Mars the Avenger for the death of Caesar's assassins, the Temple of Mars Ultor was a very large temple with Corinthian columns fifty-eight feet high. The marble-faced steps and three large columns survive.
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Nîmes
c. 19 B.C.
The Maison Carrée is the best-preserved Roman temple. It has a high podium and six Corinthian columns support the entablature. Also typical is the height of the porch, in this case: 16 steps high.
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TEMPLE OF VENUS
AND ROME
Forum Romanum
Rome
123-135
Designed by Hadrian, the barrel-vaulted Temple of Venus and Rome is one of the most significant architectural achievements of the age. It was an immense temple with a platform 540 by 340 feet. Workmen from Asia Minor did most of the construction and their decorative contribution influenced subsequent buildings. This is one of the two back-to-back cellas. It was extensively restored by Maxentius in 307-312, when it was given rich flooring and columns.
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Rome
c. 118-128
The Pantheon is one of the most important buildings in architectural history. Built by Hadrian, the greatness of this temple to the gods is difficult to appreciate from the exterior. A large Corinthian portico, 110 feet wide by 60 feet deep, is attached to a circular drum, with a small section of a dome appearing above. In fact the mass of the building was even more concealed in its original state, when a spacious colonnaded forecourt jutted out into the street.
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Rome
c. 118-128
Its interior space is awesome. Proportioned like a circle within a square, a hemispherical dome sits on a cylindrical drum. The diameter of the dome is 141 feet and it rises 141 feet from the floor to the top of the ceiling.
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Pantheon
Rome
c. 118-128
Cut into the twenty foot thick walls and screened with columns are semicircular and rectangular niches. The niches held statues of the heavenly gods. This is the main niche at the end of the central axis, the only niche to stand out.
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Pantheon
Rome
c. 118-128
The coffered dome rises to a twenty-seven foot circular opening called the oculus. It is the one light source for the interior. In five steps, and recessed four times, the coffering diminishes in size. This lightens the load on the dome and enhances its appearance of height. Originally the coffers were decorated, possibly with gold stars against a blue background.
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PANTHEON
c. 1750
National Gallery of Art, Washington
This eighteenth century painting captures the full magnificence of the Pantheon's interior space, the first such open interior in architectural history. The sun lights up the space and as it travels across the sky casts an intense glow on the walls. Notice how the building's simple design of circle within a square is reflected in the same pattern on the floor.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
312-327
The Roman barrel vault reaches its highest expression in the Basilica of Constantine. Begun by Maxentius in 306-310, the building was completed by Constantine in 312-337. Three huge vaults on the north side remain. Each is pierced by six large windows which bring light into the building (though the center bay was closed off by Constantine and made into an apse with a huge statue of himself). The original entrance was from the arcade on the right. An apse was at the far end. A 1 20 foot groined vault supported by the aisle vaults covered the central nave. Constantine moved the entrance and shifted the axis to the center of the south wall, opposite his statue. A simple rectangular structure given monumentality through its vaulting and supporting piers, the basilica later became a model for Christian architecture. For the Romans it was a center of justice and civic affairs.
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Basilica of Constantine
Forum Romanum
Rome
312-327
The northern aisle with coffering in two vaults. Marble originally covered the walls.
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Trier
c. 310
The basilica at Trier, the capital of Constantius in northern Gaul, is a plain rectangular hall, approximately 95 by 190 feet, with a sizable projecting semicircular apse, which held the emperor's throne. A narthex was in the front of the building and porticoed courtyards were on the sides. Two rows of windows bring in light from the sides and around the apse. The apse is emphasized by all aspects of the design. The exterior walls, once faced with stucco, are broken up by tall sup porting Greek columns which end in arches. Originally a wooden gallery ran along the building under each row of windows, breaking up the vertical thrust of the arches.
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Baths of Caracalla
Rome
212-216
The thermae or baths were a social center of Roman life. Used daily as a place to bathe and refresh the body, they also contained swimming pools, parks, stadiums for sports, libraries, lecture rooms, and occasionally small theatres. This is part of the frigidarium, the largest space in the bath and probably unroofed. It is the room for cooling off and swimming. The two other main areas were the calidarium, the hot room, and the tepidarium, the warm room. The baths of Caracalla could accommodate 3,000 bathers.
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Baths of Caracalla
Rome
212-216
The palaestra is a large circular room for wrestling and other gymnastic activities.
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Rome
212-216
Massive cement and brick structures support a roof with a semicircular intersecting vault. The frigidarium is in this area.
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Baia
Early 1st century
This is a portion of the baths at Baia, a famous resort near Naples.
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Trier
c. 300
Natural light from windows is a primary element in Roman architecture. This is especially so of the buildings which house the baths, where sunlight is that much more desirable. These arched windows almost filling up the wall are from the southern apse of the Imperial Baths at Trier.
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Ostia
2nd century
In the baths at Ostia an entire wall is used for windows. The Romans invented an inexpensive way to manufacture glass.
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Ostia
2nd century
This view of the baths at Ostia shows the black and white mosaic floor. The color and figure pattern is typical of the second century.
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Rome
11 or 13
The one ancient theatre to survive in Rome, the Theatre of Marcellus, was started by Caesar and completed by Augustus in the year 11 or 13. It stands on level ground and is supported by radiating walls and concrete vaulting. An arcade with attached half-columns runs around the building. The columns are Doric and Ionic.
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c. 50
In the Roman theatre the orchestra is a place to sit, instead of a performing area as the Greeks had used it. The stage grows in importance and is brought into direct contact with the audience. The auditorium is a semicircle, often partially supported by a hill underneath as well as concrete vaulting. Corridors under the tiers were used in case of rain. This is the best-preserved Roman theatre.
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Sicily
Built on a hillside by the Greeks in the third century B.C., the theatre at Taormina was remodeled and decorated by the Romans. New entrances were added, also a scaenae frons and the versurae or side buildings which connected the stage to the auditorium.
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Theatre at Taormina
Sicily
The scaenae frons, one of the best preserved, was richly decorated with groups of four columns on a high podium which separate the regia or central royal door from the hospitalia or side doors. Behind the columns are niches for statues.
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Tripolitana
c. 200
The theatre of Sabratha has a three-story scaenae frons with ninety-six columns decreasing in height from the first to the third story. The scaenae frons is divided into seven sections, which gave the actors many entrances. This was the largest Roman theatre in Africa.
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Rome
70-82
The Coliseum is an elliptical building made to hold 50,000 spectators for sporting and theatrical events. It is four stories high with rings of arcades on the first three levels. The arches have attached three-quarter columns, Doric on the first level, Ionic on the second, and Corinthian on the third. The top story has Corinthian pilasters. From here a large awning, the vlarium, could be stretched across the entire amphitheatre. The Coliseum was constructed under three Flavian em perors, Vespasian, Titus, and Dominitan. More than any other single building, its construction details, engineering, and sense of power and authority speak to the Roman culture.
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Rome
70-82
A detail of the facade. Originally statues stood in the arches on the second and third stories. People entered through the ground floor arches according to where they sat.
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Rome
70-82
In the center is the substructure beneath the arena floor. Almost forty feet deep, it contained a system of corridors for slaves, caged animals, and machinery for performances. It also held the plumbing to flood the arena for water events. The tiers of seats were strictly divided by social strata. The emperor and his family and court sat in the first tier; patricians and gentry were in the second tier; ladies were in the third tier; and common people sat on the top. Barrel vaults were the main supports of the heavy tiers.
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Rome
70-82
The main corridor of the substructure.
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Colosseum Substructure
Rome
70-82
Horizontal lintel arches supported the heavy amphitheatre columns which were underground. These arches were made with wedge-shaped blocks or voussoirs.
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Colosseum
Rome
70-82
The large cross-vaulted ambulatory on the second level. Covered stairways and ramps also were used to get to seats.
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Via Appia
Rome
c. 30 B.C.
A development of the tumulus, the tomb of Caecilia Metella is a travertine-faced cylinder which stands on a square podium. A small inner chamber has a high-vaulted roof in the center. The entrance into the chamber is a small passage cut into the cylinder. On top there was a planted mound. The present top is an addition from the Middle Ages.
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From the west
Rome
The forum is the meeting place for Romans, the center of political, religious, business, and social life. Built up over many years on an ancient site, the Forum Romanum is the oldest and most important forum. It is laid out on an axial plan and everything is organized within defined boundaries. At its peak during the days of the Republic and the Empire, the forum held the main public buildings, temples, basilicas, shops, colonnades, triumphal arches, pillars and statues.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
Restored 320
One of the oldest sacred buildings, the Temple of Saturn in the foreground was rebuilt many times after its dedication around 500 B.C. These eight surviving Ionic columns are from the temple facade, restored in 320 A.D. Romans frequently omitted the fluting from the column shaft. Other temples are in the background. The Coliseum is across the forum in the distance.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
The monumental character of Roman architecture is apparent in three columns from the Temple of Castor and Pollux, rebuilt between 7 B.C. and 6 A.D. They are over forty-eight feet high and the entablature is nearly thirteen feet. Beyond is the triumphal arch of Septimius Severus, built in 203 A.D., with its three passageways.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
81
At the eastern end of the forum is the Arch of Titus, built to commemorate the capture of Jerusalem. It is the oldest extant triumphal archway in Rome with a single passage. To the right in the distance one can see a potion of the walls of the Coliseum.
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from "Empires Ascendant"
Time frame 400 BC - AD 200
Time Life Books
To support the tremendous weight of the arches, it was necessary to provide a way of transmitting the force to massive piers to the foundation of the arch. The Romans achieved this feat through the use of the Keystone block. The force was directed down onto the top of the keystone. Because of its shape the force was translated to the voussoir blocks of the arch which in turn translated the force through the impost to the piers. During construction, the voussoir's were supported by a temporary wooden frame until the keystone was inserted.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
78 B.C.
The Tabularium or Hall of Records on the west end of the forum housed the state archives. The side of the building has an arcade with tall arches which are framed by pilasters. This type of facade became common by the first century B.C.
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From Hadrian's Villa
Tivoli
Early 2nd century
The Romans discovered concrete and with this material developed entirely new ways of building. Concrete is sturdy, inexpensive, and quick and easy to use. Invariably the concrete is faced. In this example it is faced with opus reticulatum. Stones are pounded into the cement and at the joints they run in diagonal lines forming a diamond-shaped net.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
In opus testaceum the cement is faced with triangular bricks, about one and one-half inches thick. There are other much used facings.
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Terracina
c. 80 B.C.
The arch is the central revolutionary concept of Roman architecture. With its development the Romans bypass the earlier building concept of verticals and horizontals, support and load. The arch makes possible a new idea of space. It becomes the basis of Roman monumentality. Above these powerful supporting arches is a terrace which held the Temple of Jupiter Anxur. The arches are constructed of opus incertum, concrete faced with irregular-shaped stones.
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Palatine Hill
Rome
2nd century
Arches in the Via Nova supported a street above. Notice how the thin bricks are put into the cement at an angle. This adds strength to the arch.
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Rome
c. 270
A defensive brick wall built around 270 A.D.
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Horrea Epagathiana
Ostia
c. 145-150
This lovely niche with decorative brickwork held a small statue of a god.
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Temple of Bel
Palmyra
32
A high relief pattern on a ceiling.
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Ara Pacis Augustae
Rome
9 B.C.
The processional frieze and ornamental pattern on the southern side of the Ara Pacis Augustae, the Altar of Peace.
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Temple of Apollo
Sosianus
Rome
c. 20 B.C.
An elaborately carved scene and leaf pattern from the interior cella wall.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
Decorative relief.
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Rome
312 B.C.
Original stone work on the famous Appian Way.
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Museo Archeologico
Venice
1st century B.C.
Known as the Grimini Altar, mythological figures decorate the four sides and the borders are ornamented with abstract designs. A Greek artist probably created these scenes of satyrs and maenads.
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Temple of Minerva
Forum of Nerva
Rome
c. 100
Roman architectural emphasis is structural. Decorative motifs are largely influenced by the Greeks, but the Romans developed some of their own decorative forms. This frieze depicts stories from the life of Minerva.
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Horrea Epagathiana
Ostia
c. 145-150
A composite capital in stucco and brick on a warehouse in Ostia.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
285-305
A column base which supported the statue of the Tetrarchy. The relief represents the sacrifice on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Diocletian's rise to power.
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Provenance unknown
4th century (?)
Cornice ornamentation.
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Rome
40-30 B.C.
For this baker's tomb, the cylinders are typical bread ovens and the frieze depicts stages in bread making. Plebeian art was typical at the close of the Republic and at the beginning of the Empire.
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From the sepulcher of
the Scipio family
Appian Way
Early 3rd century B.C.
Vatican Museum, Rome
A sarcophagus ornamented with triglyphs and rosettes and other carvings.
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4th century
Louvre, Paris
A late Roman sarcophagus with the Good Shepherd, lions' heads, and feet. The waving line pattern is fairly common.
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First half of
1st century BC.
Museo Torlonia, Rome
Realism is the hallmark of Roman sculpture though it goes through many phases. This aging and dignified patrician bears the lines of a long hard life.
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End of 1st century B.C.
Vatican Museum, Rome
Husband and wife are united in this funerary monument.
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From Prima Porta
Early 1st century
Vatican Museum, Rome
Based on a classical sculpture of Polykleitos, Augustus is in military dress and represented in an idealized manner, both godlike and human. The idealized portrait came into fashion in the time of Augustus and lasted many years. This statue was copied from a bronze original and was gilded and painted.
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Piazza del Campidoglio
Rome
c. 104
In this great equestrian statue, Marcus Aurelius is portrayed as an emperor and a military leader more concerned about peace than war.
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by Hagesandro, Polydoros
and Athanodoros
c. 80
Vatican Museum, Rome
The Laocoon is one of the most well-known works of Roman art. It presents Laocoon, the priest of Apollo, and his two sons being overcome by two large snakes. The sculpture is a work of brilliant and frightening energy.
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From a wall painting in a Villa
at Boscoreale
Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York
Roman furniture is largely based on Greek models. In many instances, it is hard to tell if a piece is Roman or Hellenistic. But there are variations and some original forms. In this throne of a woman playing the kithara, the form is predominantly Greek, though the more elaborate leg turnings, arm-rails, and paneled back are Roman. The painted pattern on the back of the throne is also a typical Roman embellishment. Notice the cushion embroidered in gold.
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Mars and Venus
From a wall painting
in Pompeii
Museo Nazionale, Naples
Another throne with heavy-set turned legs. A carved figure at the top of the leg supports the arm rest. The straight back ends in a small filial volute. Soft fabric hangs over the back and arms.
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Girl Decanting Perfume
From a wall painting in Villa
Farnesina, Rome
c. 20 B.C.
Museo dell Terme, Rome
A copy of a Greek diphros of the fourth or third century B.C., this stool with four perpendicular legs has been changed by cutting down the lower portion of the leg and by elaborating the turnings. There are heavier, almost throne like versions of this stool.
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Detail, Centaur with
Apollo and Aesculapius
From a wall painting
in Pompeii
Museo Nazionale, Naples
This folding stool, probably in bronze, has thin, curving, unadorned legs. It is based on a Hellenistic model.
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Detail, wall painting
from Herculaneum
Museo Nazionale, Naples
Another variation of a folding stool with double cushions.
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From a villa at
Boscoreale
Staatliche Museen, Berlin
Most Roman couches have turned legs. This bronze example from Boscoreale is typical of the late Republican and early Imperial couch. A simple carved headboard ends in a swan's head; a rosette medallion is at the lower end. The legs have a variety of turnings and are supported by stretchers.
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From a villa at
Boscoreale
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York
This more elaborate couch is made of bone and glass inlay. Notice the matching footstool.
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Detail, The Aldobrandini Wedding
From a villa in Rome
Vatican Library, Rome
The bride and Venus sit on this high bed which requires a footstool. It has a mattress and tasseled coverlet.
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Courtship of Venus and Mars
House of Marcus Lucretius Fronto
Pompeii
c. 30
Venus sits on a covered klismos with curved legs, her feet on a footstool. The high couch dominates the picture. Mattress and pillow are covered. The pillow is supported by a scrolled headpiece.
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From a house in Pompeii
1st century
The Roman table, unlike the Greek, is used as a permanent piece of furniture. This traditional marble table or cartibulum stands in the atrium of a house in Pompeii. The thick marble top is precisely shaped as a rectangle and supported by four legs. The tapered legs are elegantly carved with volutes at the top. Three flutes run down the side to a lion's paw which rests on a high base. The grain of the marble is employed throughout for its decorative value.
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From the House of Cornelius Rufus
Pompeii
The rectangular table with highly decorated slabs at each end is an original Roman table form. Typical are the two winged monsters (lions with rams' horns) carved in the table support. The uncovered table was also found in an atrium in Pompeii.
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From the House of Julia Flex Pompeii
National Museum
Naples
The round-top table with three animal legs is a form the Romans adopted from the Greeks. This elaborate example in bronze has clawed feet and animal legs which are connected with fancy scroll braces. Winged sphinxes support the decorated top.
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Rome
c. 28
The monumental Mausoleum of Augustus was built by the emperor for himself and his family. It is 220 feet in diameter and over 150 feet high. A cylinder rose through the center, with the ashes of the emperor at the bottom and the emperor's statue standing out on top. Most of the upper part is now missing.
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Rome
c. 135
The culmination of the development of the tumulus, Hadrian's grand mausoleum followed the model of the tomb of Caecilia Metella. In its day it was elaborately ornamented. Later it was altered and changed into the Castle of S. Angelo.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
81
Roman soldiers marched through the triumphal archway and entered the forum on their way back from war. This ritual procession cleansed them of the blood of the enemy. Beautifully proportioned to minimize its weight, the Arch of Titus has many Greek details. The outside columns are the earliest examples of the Composite order.
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Forum Romanum
Rome
l
The ceiling of the arch is coffered and the famous reliefs of the victory in Jerusalem line the inside of the passages.
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Athens
Shortly after 138
This unusual commemorative arch, built shortly after the death of Hadrian, combines Roman elements on the bottom with Greek elements on the top. Missing are the original sculptures which helped tie the arch together.
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Rome
315
The Arch of Constantine, like several arches before it, has three passageways. It is unusually large and highly decorated. Much of the sculpture was taken from earlier monuments.
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Arch of Constantine
Rome
315
The tondi or circular reliefs are from the time of Hadrian. This relief depicts a sacrifice to Diana.
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Verona
Probably third quarter of the 1st century
This simple city gate with two entrances is decorated in an elaborate Baroque manner. The levels are contrasted and the details alternate throughout. Originally the gate had projecting towers at each end.
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Trier
Probably early 4th century
Part of the city wall, the arches of the imposing gateway were usually closed by portcullises. The corner tower, over ninety-five feet high, overlooks the countryside. Tuscan orders line the walls.
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Rome
Porta San Sebastiano was built into the Aurelian walls in Rome. Notice the large keystone in the arch.
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Rome
114
The pillar of victory is a memorial for military triumphs. Trajan's column, based on the Doric order, illustrates Trajan's war with the Dacians. The 116-foot shaft contains a spiral staircase.
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Trajan's Column
Rome
114
The continuous three and a half foot spiral band of reliefs is more than 600 feet long. Carved on it are over 2,500 figures.
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Rome
c. 100-112
The market of Trajan (Mercatus Traiani) was a shopping center integrated into the flow of city life. The building had six levels, with entrances from the street below and from roadways above. Built onto a hill, the first two stories form a semicircle right next to the Forum of Trajan. Up to the nineteenth century, the market was a unique commercial space.
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Rome
c. 100-112
On the third level is the Via Biberatica which had shops on both sides of the street.
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Market of Trajan
Rome
c. 100-112
Shops on the Via Biberatica. Above was a large market hall.
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Market of Trajan
Rome
c. 100-112
On the second level, facing the forum, is an arcade of shops.
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Market of Trajan
Rome
c. 100-112
The largest market space is the aula coperta on the Via Biberatica. Two stories high and cross vaulted, it is lit by windows and large openings above. Throughout the market there were many windows to light the shops, stairways, and arcades.
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Palatine, Rome
81-92
The emperors built great palaces in the center of Rome. By the time of Domitian the sumptuous public and more modest private rooms were separated. These are the remains of the courtyard of the private quarters on the lower level, opening on to a large water basin.
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Palatine, Rome
81-96
Four-story arches on the side of Domitian's private garden court. A passage behind its arches leads to the private quarters.
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Hadrian's Villa
Tivoli
118-125
The Maritime Theatre (Teatro Marittimo) was Hadrian's circular island retreat. It was surrounded by a canal and a colonnaded portico and a high wall screened it off from the rest of the villa. The land was connected to the villa by two drawbridges. In the Theatre full scale miltary battles could be faught as a form of entertainment.
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Hadrian's Villa
Tivoli
After 130
Hadrian's immense country house was laid out over seven square miles. This small part of the Canopus, the long water basin in the public section of the villa, indicates the Greek sources for the architecture. Hadrian had a great affinity for Greek art and he had copies made of Greek statues to line the canal.
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Hadrian's Villa
Tivoli
118-134
At the far end of the Canopus is the Serapeum, a semicircular half dome. Water ran through a long central corridor, curved in front of dining couches under the dome, then passed into the main canal. From the time of the late Republic, water is a regular part of Roman domestic architecture.
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North gate of the palace of Diocletian
Split
c. 300
Diocletian's palace at Split looks like a fortress on the outside. The so-called golden gateway on the north end of the palace is the entrance for official visitors. Its facade was richly decorated. Statues originally stood in the niches. Also missing are the columns between the arches.
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Palace of Diocletian
Split
c. 300
The peristyle is a ceremonial courtyard in front of the main residential entrance. The arches lead directly to the entrance-way. This is in the form of a triumphal arch capped with a temple pediment. The entire design enhances the lofty and solemn powers of the imperial throne.
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Pompeii
77-79
A suburban villa outside of Pompeii, originally situated next to the sea. Almost modern in appearance, it has six large windows in the projecting bay of its dining rooms. Dining close to nature is a Roman ideal.
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Ostia
4th century
Located at the mouth of the Tiber, Ostia was the port of Rome and an important commercial center. In the third century, its economy failed and it became a resort for the well-to-do. These are remains from the House of the Fish. The marble wall facing is gone. Notice the checkerboard floor pattern.
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Ostia
4th century
This is another residence known as the Grotto of Love.
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Ostia
c. 300
A statue of Amour and Psyche in a cubiculum or bedroom with a rich beautiful marble pattern. The house triclinium (dining room) was centrally heated.
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Ostia
c. 120
The black and white mosaic dominates through the first and second centuries. In the second century compositions are freer and more lively, such as this marine mosaic.
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Corinth Museum
1st or 2nd century
Mosaics with geometric patterns are typical in the first and second centuries.
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Baths of Caracalla
212-217
This interesting floor mosaic of the early third century is from the Baths of Caracalla.
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Nîmes
Late 1st century B.C.
The familiar aqueduct provided water throughout the Empire. The three-tiered Pont du Gard transported water in its upper channel or specus for more than twenty-five miles. In building the 160-foot high aqueduct, no mortar was used in the masonry.
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Segovia
Early 1st to early 2nd century
The double-arched aqueduct in Segovia is constructed of large shaped stones. Notice the way the arch is laid.
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Campagna
222-235
The Acqua Alexandriana, set in the Campagna, has one high arch. This is one of eleven great aqueducts which supplied the many hundreds of millions of gallons of water consumed daily in Rome.
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Coins, statues, busts, places, Reliefs and more
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Photos, coins, busts, etc. from around the net. Browsable Directory of Images. Bible History Online.
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