Why Did Rome Use Cement?

While the basic forms of Roman architecture were adapted from the surrounding past and present cultures, their innovation led to the advancement of these traditional ideals. The most notable advancement would be the invention of concrete to construct buildings. Composed of broken stones, flint, and sand, when this material became mixed with lime it created an amazingly durable and strong material known as concrete. With this, the newly developed material formed the core of most walls and ceilings of Roman structures. It is for this reason that concrete is the most significant Roman invention, "‘contributing more than any other material,' says Professor Middleton, ‘to make Rome the proverbially "eternal" city.'" (Walters, 23) Since the material was shaped by surrounding wood structures which could later be removed, the outer appearance of buildings became unattractive. To avoid this brick and marble were used as an outer shell of structures to conform to the beauty of surrounding Roman creations. The discovery of concrete and the efficiency of reusing the wood frames to construct buildings made architecture far quicker and easier than ever before. It is clear that "once the Romans had put the idea of using vaults and concrete together, the possibilities were endless." (Ramage, 53) Elaborate structures were now accessible, and the ability to erect enormous

After perfecting the formula for this concrete, they had achieved a cement that could help construct durable buildings. By laying the concrete between bricks and then covering the facade of the building with marble slabs, the Romans made well constructed buildings that gave the appearance of pure marble (Connolly).

When reading of the concrete that the ancient Romans used, and learning of their unique mixture of volcanic ash and slaked lime (“pozzolana”) I find it most interesting that this concrete still proves to be standing in some places today! It is said to be less sturdy than what we use here in America (Andrews, 2012) but no doubt it gave modern civilization the ingenuity to create what we use today.

Another invention is the Julian Calendar. Evan Andrews says “ Many ancient Roman structures like the Pantheon, the Colosseum and the Roman Forum are still standing today thanks to the development of Roman cement and concrete. The Romans first began building with concrete over 2,100 years ago and used it throughout the Mediterranean basin in everything from aqueducts and buildings to bridges and monuments.” This highlights that many of Rome’s great structures were made out of concrete. Another life changing invention was the Julian Calendar.

Although buildings from as far as the ancient times are still standing strong today, they had few materials to work with and they weren’t as strong

Rome left many legacies in its wake that have solidified its long lasting impact on the world. It is only fitting that, in the longevity of Roman influence, two of its legacies are the building methods that added longevity to their structures. The iconic Roman arch and their use of concrete has allowed many of its structures to live on to this day and their use was rather significant at the time. It is fortunate that we are discussing both together since their combined use provided the backbone of their empire.

Concrete is a powdered substance that when combined with water will harden into a solid form. It can be poured, formed, and sculpted, to achieve almost any architectural shape and size. It is a very strong material, which allowed for construction of large buildings and roads. Prior to the invention of concrete, buildings would be built using stones that were heavy,

The Romans are known for their civil and military architecture all around their empire. The Romans invented several architecture and engineering structures. They developed the arch, the dome, the Roman concrete, and the pavement. The pavement was a structure that is used to solve some of the issues they found to build the net of roads along their empire. They needed durable roads that would last a long time and support heavy loads. The basic structure of the pavement is a lower layer close to the ground that is called the sub base. It was made out of gravel. Above that layer there is another layer which is the base. It is made out of sand. On top of that there were pieces of stone that were cut into a square or rectangular

The palace was built by the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the 4th century. Although it was referred to as a “palace”, because of its intended use as the emperor’s residence, the term might be misleading because the structure of the building is massive and resembles a large fortress. Half of the palace was for the Emperor Diocletian’s personal use, and the rest housed the military garrison. Therefore, it is considered to be one of the most imposing Roman ruins, and its also considered as the main attraction of the city of Spilt, Croatia. Moreover, today, around 3000 people live in the palace’s territory.

One of the greatest technological changes that the Romans came up with was concrete. Concrete served as many proposes in Ancient Rome, just as it does today. Concrete was used to build aqueduct as previously stated, but also it was used to build house, bathhouses, and markets, really any structure in Rome used concrete. The Pantheon was then a Roman temple which still is standing and is used today as a church more than two thousand years later. Researchers had spent years to try to understand how these structures had been standing for so long compared to modern day concrete that does not last anywhere close to that amount of time. They figured out that it had been the volcanic ash they would use in their concrete mix, mixed with the sea

Roman roads were constructed with a combination of dirt, gravel and bricks made from granite or hardened volcanic lava. The Romans had a strict standards when designing their highways, creating arrow-straight roads that curved to allow for water drainage. The Romans built over 50,000 miles of road, mainly for the military. Stone mile markers and signs let travelers know the distance until their destination, while special complements of soldiers acted as a kind of highway patrol.

Rome has had many great contributions to today's society. I believe the biggest invention Rome created with was within their architecture. They created many beautiful things including archways, columns, buildings, and bridges. Their construction technique was exquisite. They created a big portion of their beautiful creations by using concrete. They created concrete from scratch using volcanic ash. I find it very interesting that they figured out how to make something as strong as concrete by themselves. It is a true example of how amazing the human mind can be, and how crucial Rome's contributions have been to our success today.

Throughout history Rome and Italy in general has been the center of many innovations in the music scene, whether it was the advent of classical Opera and symphonies, to the innovations in understanding harmonies, music has always been a major part of the lives of those who call Rome home. Music in Roman society helped them stand out from the rest of the world. In the classical period Romans thought themselves of higher class than the “Barbarians” of the world due in part to their music. Music also played a large role in politics and individuality of Rome, helping contribute to ideas and thoughts of many Emperors throughout history. Even today Romans use their music to set themselves apart from the rest of the world and keep their roots close

When an arch is seen in the building, it is often seen as a design to beautify a house in this part of the world, but it functions more than just a design, it perform more important role than just a design. Indeed, it beautifies but according to Romans, it is also a supporting structure that makes the house very strong, there is no need to ague this because it is a known fact world wild. The reason why Roman concrete was seen as one of the strongest because it contains volcanic lava ashes, which is a component in cement making that makes the concrete very strong. The focus of this writing will be on development and important of both concrete and arch.

In this quotation from the author Vitruvius, he explains the process and creation of concrete, emphasizes on its durability and how it can withhold the forces of nature. This new formula had a higher silica content then before, which essentially allowed to concrete to set under water and made it stronger then before.10 Overall, the use of concrete was crucial to construction in ancient Rome because it was extremely durable compared to other materials such as brick, stone, or wood.11 Having a successful and powerful empire was very important to the Roman’s as they believed that without a strong foundation, a strong empire would not be possible.12