Ancient Rome: (753 BC - 330 AD)
Ancient Rome: (753 BC - 330 AD)
Ancient Rome: (753 BC - 330 AD)
ORIGINAL ROMAN FORUM AND NEARBY FEATURES 16. Regia (residence of Pontifex Maximus, Chief Priest)
7. Curia (Senate House) 17. Temple of Vesta (of Sacred Fire / Eternal Flame)
8. Comitium (Etruscan Forum) 18. House of the Vestals
9. Arch of Septimius Severus 19. Basilica Nova (new, of Maxentius / Constantine)
10. Tabularium (national archives) 20. Temple of Venus and Rome
11. Temple of Saturn 21. Arch of Titus
12. Rostra (Rostrum) 22. Coloseum (Amphiteatrum Flavium, built 72 > 80 AD)
13. Basilica Aemilia 23. Colossus of Nero (30 meters, 99 feet tall)
14. Basilica Julia (of Julius Caesar - Court of Law and Justice) 24. Meta Sudans (Sweating Pillar)
15. Temple of Castor and Pollux 25. Arch of Constantine (last of the Imperial arches, 313AD)
View toward Forum Romanum and
Imperial Fora
ARCHITECTURE IN ROME
• Rome borrowed heavily from Greece in designs and
proportions
• The use of vaults and arches together with a sound
knowledge of building materials enabled them to build
monumental public structures. Eg: Aqueducts of Rome,
the Baths of Diocletian and the Baths of Caracalla, the
basilicas, the Colosseum, Pantheon, etc.
• They were reproduced at smaller scale in most important
towns and cities in the Empire.
• Based upon the requirements of Roman religion, for eg:
the Pantheon, the large dome and open spaces were
made to fit the requirements of the religious services
• Some of the most impressive public buildings are the
amphitheatres, over 220 being known.
• They were used for gladiatorial contests, public displays,
public meetings and bullfights, the last of which survives
in Spain
AQUEDUCT
• The Roman use of the arch and their improvements in the
use of concrete facilitated the building of the many
aqueducts throughout the empire
• An aqueduct is the entire conduit - from fresh water
spring to town
• Where aqueducts had to cross valleys, some were built
above ground, on arches. Most of the time, they were
underground conduits, and sometimes conduits lying
right on the ground.
• These conduits could be made of clay or wood,
covered or encrusted with stone.
• The pipes inside the conduits, that carried the water,
were made of lead
HOUSING
• Impressive housing and public hygiene for the age, Eg:-
baths and latrines (public or private)
• Developments in under-floor heating, in the form of the
hypocaust, double glazing (examples in Ostia) and piped
water (examples in Pompeii).
• Multi-story apartment blocks called insulae catered to
wide range of situations; large scale accommodation -
several floors in height, often dangerous, unhealthy and
prone to fires) Eg:- Roman port town of Ostia which date
back to the reign of Trajan which catered for a variety of
needs and markets
Early Roman house
Graeco Roman House
Roman House layout
ROADS
• The Romans built thousands of miles of wonderful
roads, to connect every part of the empire back to
Rome.
• To help people find their way, while traveling these
roads, the Romans more or less invented the
milestone which grew increasingly wordy, and
increasingly tall, to be easily readable from a
vehicle. Some are 6 feet tall
• There seems to have been no formal traffic code,
including what side of the road to drive on; but
there were various laws about what you could and
could not do on a given type and location of road,
and when you could do it.
PRINCIPLES OF TOWN PLANNING
Towns were either
a local capital
a colonial center
an imperial residence
Norms complied with
Fulfilling religious auspices
Defense requirement's
Technical considerations
First the boundary of the town or the city wall was
established
Cross-roads were set out along the cardinal directions;
Decumanus from E-W
Cardius from N-S
THE FORUM ie, the central area was developed at the
crossing of the main roads. The rest of the town was divided
into squares or rectangular plots of one side equaling 120’.
PHYSIOGRAPHIC CHARACTER
Peninsular, with few natural harbors
Topography: plains to undulating also rocky in central
part of the peninsula.
Mediterranean climate characterized by good forest
cover.
Geology-specific resources like forest, limestone,
Volcanic stone, etc.
TECHNOLOGY
Borrowed technology from Greeks
Construction technique was improved by invention of
lime concrete
Romans were considered as greatest aqueduct builders
of the ancient world
There were networks of roads surfaced with stone paving
blocks, rock fountains, drainage channels, etc.
DEFENCE REQUIREMENTS
• The towns planned to
• have a simple layout, avoiding curves
• easy to police and defend
• The roads must be at least 8’ wide
TECHNICAL CONSIDERATION
• Setback of 2 ½’ from boundaries i.e., In case of
rectangular plot division the minimum space
between building on the sides was 5’.
• Drainage was elaborately planned
• Water supply was also duly considered brought to
town by aqueducts and bridges
• All construction within the town used
concrete(lime) and stone and in specific cases,
faced with bricks
CHARECTERISTICS OF
ROMAN TOWNS
Each city occupies a commanding site and includes building
works of enormous scale and impressive stylistic quality
Chessboard/ gridiron planning- expressing law and order.
Crossing of parallel and equidistant streets at right angles to one
another, square house blocks,120’ either side.
Cross streets occasionally stepped and bridged over streams around
city
Generally rectangular walled city, entered by several gates,
showing complete town organisation
Colonnaded streets usually from North to South, columns at 15’
interval for shops and important houses.
Central area was occupied by forum having no shops and
sometimes having temple and theatres nearby
Aqueducts, sanitation, public health considerations were
exceptional for nobles
Building stones of enormous size incorporated in the civic
buildings.
VIEW OF A TYPICAL ROMAN TOWN
LAYOUT OF ROME
URBAN FORM
Roman Military Encampments
Military encampments
were "planned" cities of
the civilized world (527 BC
to 330 AD)
• Created by establishing a
perimeter wall
approximately one mile
square
• Four gates were
established at the centre of
each wall and main streets
were created to connect
them.
• Government buildings and Timgad
main market were
established at the
intersection of these streets.
URBAN FORM
Roman Military Encampments
• Other properties and streets were then filled in to
make a completely autonomous new town
• Roman roads were absolutely straight , paved with
stones
• Principally foot and horse traffic
• Bridges were built over streams and valleys
• Aqueducts were created to carry water into the
newly created cities
Timgad
TIMGAD • Typically rigid chessboard plan
• 355m x 325 m, Area=30 acres.
• Principally designed for as
a residential colony.
• Abundant water supply.
• Eleven parallel cross streets in
either direction, with the surface
terracing over undulating
ground.
• The forum(160’*145’),the market,
Temple and non-residential
buildings were raised above the
general street level.
• Some houses were as big as
200’*300’
• The public buildings had
porticoes, colonnades and other
features
Dark Ages
400-1000 AD
Salient Features
• Dissolution of Roman rule
• Establishment of fiefdoms
• Rural/agricultural--minimal trade
• Proliferation of Christian monastic orders
• Minimal advancement/discovery.
• Decline of urban centers/cities/trade
• Walled settlements organized around
monasteries
• Primitive rural villages