Title:
Concrete Construction in Early Rome
Author(s):
Kent A. Harries
Publication:
Concrete International
Volume:
17
Issue:
1
Appears on pages(s):
58-62
Keywords:
construction materials; economics; engineering; structural analysis; structural design; Construction
DOI:
Date:
1/1/1995
Abstract:
Roman state structure of the late Republican (c. 200 to 27 B.C.) and early Imperial (27 B.C. to 200 A.D.) eras was characterized by its ability to organize and govern. The Roman state maintained a large army that could be used for public works and vast numbers of conquered slaves that could be employed as unskilled labor. It is doubtful that the great engineering achievements that were Roman cities aqueducts, sewers, and roads could have been accomplished without slave labor, professional armies, and the vast resources of victorious conquests afforded. Pre-Roman construction methods, such as those of the Greeks, involved skilled quarrying and cutting of large structural components. This could be ventured only by societies of skilled craftsmen and stone masons. Under the guidance of a few professionals and an architect, vast quantities of fine construction material, stones, bricks, sand, rubble, and lime were assembled. Through their methods of constructions, Roman builders emphasized efficiency and economy, not unlike our modern construction practices.