The Roman Empire

Table of Contents
Introduction Page 4
Geographical Features Page 12
City of Rome Page 14
Buildings Page 23
Society Page 29
Family & Education Page 37
Homes Page 52
Clothing Page 65
Food Page 71
Bath House Page 78
Entertainment Page 84
Writers Page 103
Art Page 107
Music Page 115
Religion & Philosophy Page 119
Christianity Page 127
Architecture & Engineering Page 130
Roads Page 137
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Medicine Page 140
Latin Page 153
Army Page 196
Punic Wars Page 204
Law Page 207
Government Page 214
Emperors Page 222
Decline & Fall Page 239
Pompeii Page 244
Valentine's Day Page 253
Links, PowerPoints, Unit Studies, etc. Page 257
Answer Key Page 260

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 Architecture and Engineering

The Romans were master architects and built many different kinds of structures,
most of which were unknown previously. The use of the arch, vault, and dome
rank among the most important achievements of Roman architecture and
engineering. So, too, does the Roman invention of concrete. Roman architects
had to provide enormous, uninterrupted spaces to shelter the vast crowds. Had
they chosen to use the post and beam system, there would have been a forest
of columns to impede the free flow of pedestrian traffic. Therefore, the Romans
became proficient in the use of arches, vaults, and domes. Much of this
dramatic Roman work would have been impossible without the knowledge of
concrete technology.

Roman concrete was little different from the material used today; the main
difference is in the modern use of steel reinforcement. Concrete construction
was relatively economical and easily handled by unskilled labor, whose ranks
primarily consisted of slaves and unoccupied soldiers. Using a mixture that
included lime and sand, the Romans created a very strong and durable type of
concrete.

Architecture: The Arch, Dome, and Vault

An arch is a curved structure capable of
spanning a space while supporting significant
weight, (such as a doorway in a stone wall),
usually made of stone, brick, concrete or steel.
Its purpose is to support or strengthen a
building. Most arches consist of wedge-shaped
blocks. The top center stone, called the
keystone, is the last block to be inserted.
During construction, arches are often supported
by a wooden frame. When the frame is
removed, both sides of the arch press against the keystone and support the
arch. As the Romans learned how to curve stone bricks by cutting them, they
began to create arches that were used as windows, doorways and as the
foundations for bridges. The Colosseum is an excellent example of the use of
arches.

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 The Colosseum

The Romans did not invent the arch, however, the arch was previously limited to
supporting small structures, such as storerooms, and people used columns to
support the roof. This design limited the size of a building so builders could not
construct extremely large palaces or buildings. The Romans created an arch
that could support huge amounts of weight by using concrete. Arches made
from concrete could support a lot of weight, enabling them to build larger and
more varied buildings.

As the Romans learned to work with cement, they were able to construct roofs
that formed a complete semi-circle
known as a dome (a large
hemispherical roof or ceiling). A dome
is an element of architecture that
resembles the hollow upper half of a
sphere. They would build the dome on
the ground and then lift it to the top of
the building. The Pantheon (a temple
dedicated to all the Roman gods in
Rome) offers an early example of a
dome; even today it is still one of the The Pantheon
largest single-span domes in the world.

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 A vault is a roof or ceiling
that is curved into an arch
shape by combining
arches. If it is long and
deep it is called a barrel
vault because it looks like
the inside of a barrel. The Basilica of
Maxentius (courthouse, council chamber,
and meeting hall) in Rome shows good
examples of vaults. Basilica of Maxentius

Aqueducts
As cities grew, the ancient Romans needed more fresh water.
To solve this problem, they built aqueducts. Aqueducts were
built to transport fresh water into the city. These were massive
construction projects. An aqueduct is the entire conduit (a
channel through which fluids may be conveyed) 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,
which required vast mining enterprises and then transportation to get all this
pipe out into the field all over the empire. By 100 A.D. there were a total of nine
aqueducts that brought fresh water into the city of Rome.

What is extraordinary about the

aqueducts is the planning that must
have gone into their construction.
Since the ancient Romans didn't use
pumps, aqueducts had to be
positioned at a relatively constant
gradient for dozens of miles.
Imagine building something that
drops by only 100 feet in 40 miles
and you'll understand why scholars
refer to the ancient Romans as such
great builders!

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Sewage System
The Romans were the first civilization to
introduce a public health system. They had
to do this because it was necessary to find
a way of disposing of the sewage (human
waste) to prevent pollution causing health
problems. In larger Roman towns, people
often got sick or died from drinking water
that had been contaminated with sewage.
When people drink
water with sewage in
it, they can get sick or
die. To fix this problem, many Roman towns built public
toilets and a network of sewers and pipes to carry sewage
out of the streets and dump it into the river Tiber. This was
a big improvement on prior sewage disposal, where people
just poured their waste into the street. Some of these
sewers are still being used today.

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The spread of the Roman arch and its cousins, the vault and dome, has had a
lasting impact on architecture throughout the world that can be seen even today
in many famous buildings around the world:

Dome of the Rock Mosque St. Basil's Cathedral

Jerusalem, Israel (691) Moscow, Russia from (1561)

U.S. Capitol The Taj Mahal

Washington, D.C. USA (1800) Agra, India (1654)

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 Roman Architecture & Engineering Worksheet
1. How did the use of the arch, vault, and dome benefit building design?

a. it provided a large space for crowds without the obstruction of

columns
b. it was easier to build

2. Roman concrete was completely different from the material used today.

True False

3. The Romans invented concrete.

True False

4. What materials were used to make concrete? ______________________

5. The keystone is the first block to be inserted in an arch.

True False

6. Arches were used as:

a. windows
b. doorways
c. foundations for bridges
d. all the above
e. none of the above

7. Aqueducts were built to transport fresh water.

True False

8. In 100 A.D. there were 15 aqueducts.

True False

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9. The Romans were the first civilization to have a public health system.

True False

10. Sewers were built to take sewage out of the city.

True False

11. There were no public toilet facilities in Rome.

True False

Matching:

12. ___ arch A. a curved structure capable of spanning a space

while supporting weight

13. ___conduit B. a large hemispherical roof or ceiling

14. ___dome C. a roof or ceiling that is curved into an arch shape

15. ___keystone D. a channel through which fluids may be conveyed

16. ___vault E. the top center stone of an arch

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