Roman Architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Roman Architecture - Essay ExampleIt could hold 45-50,000 spectators who would queue for tickets days in advance. There would study been a wooden floor covered in sand to soak up the blood (Augent 25).The underground corridors of the Colosseum The arena floor measured 228 feet by 177 feet (crystalinks 3). A wooden construction had existed from the year 29 BC but it was burnt down in the fire of 64 AD (Caggia 1). Nero had not been interested in listening to the demands of his people and following the fire he built a huge palatial palace, known as the Golden House (Domus Aurea), on larger expanses of Roman land. After Neros death Vespasian wanted to offer the Roman people a gesture and set about draining a large lake attached the site of Neros palace and knocking down the great Golden House for its rich source of materials for the amphitheater (Caggia 1). It is understood by historians that the name Colosseum actually referred to the collosus, (crystalinks 2) collectible to a huge statue of Nero that once stood nearby which was 130 foot high (crystalinks 2). A Spectators view of the arenaThe class system was used to determine the sit arrangements of the audience. The first level, called the podium, was for the Roman senators (crystalinks 3) and the seating would have been quite lavish with cushions and marble coverings. Above this on the maenianum primum (crystalinks 3) there would have been Roman aristocracy and then above them the maenianum secundum (crystalinks 3) was give away into two separate areas the wealthy people in the lower section and the poor citizens on the upper section. Domitian had a further wooden section added at the highest position for the very poor and lower class women (crystalinks 3). The entrance would have been on the... Exterior walls of the Colosseum showing the many arches within the Construction Concrete were a good material to use, as it is stronger in resisting compressive stresses whereas it is very weak when dealing with t ensile stress. Spanning an open space or doorway, where forces on the arch are not vertical would provide the most suitable circumstance to use an arch, as it would be at its strongest. The correct formwork had to be used to ensure that the structure would perch intact. Wood wasbuilt in a frame to support the underside of the arch and form its basic structure. The Romans used a Voussoirs technique, which involved the placing of a scar at the uppermost point of the center of the arch. It was understood that they learnt this technique from the Etruscans however, they were the first to adopt the structures for above ground use as previously they had been used for drainage systems and vaults underground. The technique was not the strongest of the arch types, however, it was simple for them to build. There were eighty arches on every floor of the building each of the arches was numbered and divided by half columns of a different style on each floor. There was a Doric style on the grou nd floor where the arches measured 139 in width and 231 in height, followed by Ionic on the second and Corinthian in the third where the arches were lower at 212 in height. The upper wooden floor had windows with panels separated by Corinthian style columns at every second panel.