Roman Builders: A Study in Architectural Process

by Rabun Taylor

• ISBN13: 9780521005838
• ISBN10: 0521005833
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-01-27
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

How were the architectural ideas behind great Roman building projects carried out in practice? Roman Builders is the first, general interest book to address this question. Using the Baths of Caracalla, the Pantheon, the Coliseum, and the great temples at Baalbek as physical documents for their own building histories, this book traces the thought processes and logistical considerations - the risks, reversals, compromises, and refinements - that led to ultimate success. Each major phase of the building process is considered: design, groundwork, support structures, complex armatures, such as the superstructures of amphitheaters, vaults, and decorations. New hypotheses are advanced on the raising of monolithic columns, the construction sequence of the Coliseum, and the vaulting of the Pantheon. The illustrations include archival and original photographs, as well as numerous explanatory drawings.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
Acknowledgments	xv
Introduction	1	(20)
Planning and Design	21	(38)
Laying the Groundwork	59	(33)
Walls, Piers, and Columns	92	(41)
Complex Armatures	133	(41)
Roofing and Vaulting	174	(38)
Decoration and Finishing	212	(45)
Notes	257	(18)
Glossary	275	(6)
References	281	(12)
Index	293