Ancient Rome

(753 BC - 330 AD)

(Golden Age 96-180 AD)
Period of the Republic 509-527 BC
Period of the Empire 527 BC-330 AD
INTRODUCTION
• Ancient Rome was built on the east, or left, bank of
the Tiber on elevations (now much less prominent)
emerging from the marshy lowlands of the
Campagna.
• Romans and their empire gave cultural and
political shape in the history of Europe till today
• Economic activities consisted grabbing more wealth
and riches from colonies and storing in capital of
Rome.
• Public life became important with the construction
of public buildings like basilica, amphitheaters,
thermae etc.
• Grandeur and monumental scale became the
characteristics of the later roman cities.
Salient Features
Political
a. Highly centralized authority emanating from the
city of Rome. Caesars often equated to god/kings.
b. Government dominated by military
Economic
a. Trade economy.
b. New trade areas opened up through military
conquest, e.g., England in 40 AD.
Religious
a. Romans reinterpreted Greek mythology, e.g.,
Hermes became Mercury, etc.
b. Less spiritual and philosophical than the Greeks;
Romans more practical and pragmatic.
Salient Features
Scientific/Technological
• Perfection of the arcuated (arched) construction
system allowed for great engineering
achievements:
(1) Arch - gateways, bridges and aqueducts and buildings
(e.g., Coliseum).
(2) Barrel Vault) - water/sewer systems.
(3) Dome - great spaces (e.g., Pantheon)

• Use of arcuated construction systems combined

with military organization resulted in:
(1) Rome becoming largest city in the ancient world
(2) The spread of civilization (cities) throughout the Roman
Empire: North Africa, Near East, Western Europe and
England
• The Greek architect Hippodamus of Miletus planned
important Greek settlements such as Priene and Piraeus
(now Pireás). - father of town planning, he emphasized a
geometric design for towns.
• Religious and civic citadels were oriented so as to give a
sense of aesthetic balance - streets were arranged in a
grid pattern
• Housing was integrated with cultural, commercial, and
defense facilities.
• The Romans continued these principles. Their designs for
monumental temples, arches, gymnasiums, and forums are
classic examples of town planning based on strict regard for
symmetry.
• Their colonial cities, planned as military camps called
castras, - grid of streets surrounded by rectangular or square
defensive walls.
• After the fall of the Roman Empire, cities declined in
population and importance. From the 5th to the 14th
century AD, medieval Europe planned towns around
castles, churches, and monasteries, with informal street
arrangements
Urban Form
a) Largest city in the ancient world--over 1 million
inhabitants.
b) Underground water and sewer
c) Forum Romanum (civic center) replaced
Greek agora (marketplace)
d) Housing tenements (walk-up apartments)
limited to 7 stories
e) Monumental buildings, e.g., Colloseum
replaced Greek theater as civic gathering
place. (Opera invented to cope with
projecting voices across larger spaces.)
Early Planning
• Ancient Rome grew from a
settlement founded around 700 BC
on seven hills near the Tiber river.
• Its Capitol had a similar function to
the Athenian acropolis. And its
forums, with temples, baths, basilicas
and colonnades were places for
business and recreation. Many of
these buildings were in the classical
style copied from Greece.
• Unlike Rome itself, many cities and
towns of the Roman Empire were
planned, but mainly as military
camps. They featured a grid with a
forum at the centre, and baths.
• Monumental structures such as the Flavian Amphitheatre (now called the
Colosseum), the Forum of Trajan and the Pantheon
• The city also had several theaters, gymnasiums, and many taverns, baths
and brothels.
• Throughout the territory under ancient Rome's control, residential
architecture ranged from very modest houses to country villas, and in the
capital city of Rome, there were imperial residences on the elegant
Palatine Hill, from which the word "palace" is derived.
• The vast majority of the population lived in the city center, packed into
insulae (apartment blocks).
• The city of Rome was the largest megalopolis of that time - with
a population exceeded one million people - 450,000 to 3.5
million

THE PUBLIC SPACES IN ROME

• Highly urbanised; 20 % of population under the jurisdiction of the
ancient Rome lived in innumerable urban centers, with
population of at least 10,000 and several military settlements
• The most urbanized part of the empire was Italy, which had an
estimated rate of urbanization of 32%, the same rate of
urbanization of England in 1800.
• Most Roman towns and cities had a forum and temples and
same type of buildings, on a smaller scale, as found in Rome.
• The large urban population required an endless supply of food
which was a complex logistical task, including acquiring,
transporting, storing and distribution of food for Rome and other
urban centers.
• Aqueducts were built to bring water to urban centers and wine
and oil were imported from Hispania, Gaul and Africa
 IMPERIAL FORUMS
1. Market of Trajan 4. Forum of Nerva
2. Forum of Trajan 5. Forum of
3. Forum of Vespasian
Augustus 6. Forum of Caesar

ORIGINAL ROMAN FORUM AND NEARBY FEATURES 16. Regia (residence of Pontifex Maximus, Chief Priest)
7. Curia (Senate House) 17. Temple of Vesta (of Sacred Fire / Eternal Flame)
8. Comitium (Etruscan Forum) 18. House of the Vestals
9. Arch of Septimius Severus 19. Basilica Nova (new, of Maxentius / Constantine)
10. Tabularium (national archives) 20. Temple of Venus and Rome
11. Temple of Saturn 21. Arch of Titus
12. Rostra (Rostrum) 22. Coloseum (Amphiteatrum Flavium, built 72 > 80 AD)
13. Basilica Aemilia 23. Colossus of Nero (30 meters, 99 feet tall)
14. Basilica Julia (of Julius Caesar - Court of Law and Justice) 24. Meta Sudans (Sweating Pillar)
15. Temple of Castor and Pollux 25. Arch of Constantine (last of the Imperial arches, 313AD)
View toward Forum Romanum and
Imperial Fora
ARCHITECTURE IN ROME
• Rome borrowed heavily from Greece in designs and
proportions
• The use of vaults and arches together with a sound
knowledge of building materials enabled them to build
monumental public structures. Eg: Aqueducts of Rome,
the Baths of Diocletian and the Baths of Caracalla, the
basilicas, the Colosseum, Pantheon, etc.
• They were reproduced at smaller scale in most important
towns and cities in the Empire.
• Based upon the requirements of Roman religion, for eg:
the Pantheon, the large dome and open spaces were
made to fit the requirements of the religious services
• Some of the most impressive public buildings are the
amphitheatres, over 220 being known.
• They were used for gladiatorial contests, public displays,
public meetings and bullfights, the last of which survives
in Spain
AQUEDUCT
• The Roman use of the arch and their improvements in the
use of concrete facilitated the building of the many
aqueducts throughout the empire
• An aqueduct is the entire conduit - 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
HOUSING
• Impressive housing and public hygiene for the age, Eg:-
baths and latrines (public or private)
• Developments in under-floor heating, in the form of the
hypocaust, double glazing (examples in Ostia) and piped
water (examples in Pompeii).
• Multi-story apartment blocks called insulae catered to
wide range of situations; large scale accommodation -
several floors in height, often dangerous, unhealthy and
prone to fires) Eg:- Roman port town of Ostia which date
back to the reign of Trajan which catered for a variety of
needs and markets
Early Roman house
Graeco Roman House
Roman House layout
ROADS
• The Romans built thousands of miles of wonderful
roads, to connect every part of the empire back to
Rome.
• To help people find their way, while traveling these
roads, the Romans more or less invented the
milestone which grew increasingly wordy, and
increasingly tall, to be easily readable from a
vehicle. Some are 6 feet tall
• There seems to have been no formal traffic code,
including what side of the road to drive on; but
there were various laws about what you could and
could not do on a given type and location of road,
and when you could do it.
PRINCIPLES OF TOWN PLANNING
Towns were either
 a local capital
 a colonial center
 an imperial residence
Norms complied with
 Fulfilling religious auspices
 Defense requirement's
 Technical considerations
First the boundary of the town or the city wall was
established
Cross-roads were set out along the cardinal directions;
 Decumanus from E-W
 Cardius from N-S
THE FORUM ie, the central area was developed at the
crossing of the main roads. The rest of the town was divided
into squares or rectangular plots of one side equaling 120’.
PHYSIOGRAPHIC CHARACTER
 Peninsular, with few natural harbors
Topography: plains to undulating also rocky in central
part of the peninsula.
Mediterranean climate characterized by good forest
cover.
Geology-specific resources like forest, limestone,
Volcanic stone, etc.
TECHNOLOGY
 Borrowed technology from Greeks
Construction technique was improved by invention of
lime concrete
Romans were considered as greatest aqueduct builders
of the ancient world
There were networks of roads surfaced with stone paving
blocks, rock fountains, drainage channels, etc.
DEFENCE REQUIREMENTS
• The towns planned to
• have a simple layout, avoiding curves
• easy to police and defend
• The roads must be at least 8’ wide

TECHNICAL CONSIDERATION
• Setback of 2 ½’ from boundaries i.e., In case of
rectangular plot division the minimum space
between building on the sides was 5’.
• Drainage was elaborately planned
• Water supply was also duly considered brought to
town by aqueducts and bridges
• All construction within the town used
concrete(lime) and stone and in specific cases,
faced with bricks
CHARECTERISTICS OF
ROMAN TOWNS
 Each city occupies a commanding site and includes building
works of enormous scale and impressive stylistic quality
 Chessboard/ gridiron planning- expressing law and order.
 Crossing of parallel and equidistant streets at right angles to one
another, square house blocks,120’ either side.
 Cross streets occasionally stepped and bridged over streams around
city
 Generally rectangular walled city, entered by several gates,
showing complete town organisation
 Colonnaded streets usually from North to South, columns at 15’
interval for shops and important houses.
 Central area was occupied by forum having no shops and
sometimes having temple and theatres nearby
 Aqueducts, sanitation, public health considerations were
exceptional for nobles
 Building stones of enormous size incorporated in the civic
buildings.
VIEW OF A TYPICAL ROMAN TOWN

LAYOUT OF ROME
URBAN FORM
Roman Military Encampments
Military encampments
were "planned" cities of
the civilized world (527 BC
to 330 AD)
• Created by establishing a
perimeter wall
approximately one mile
square
• Four gates were
established at the centre of
each wall and main streets
were created to connect
them.
• Government buildings and Timgad
main market were
established at the
intersection of these streets.
URBAN FORM
Roman Military Encampments
• Other properties and streets were then filled in to
make a completely autonomous new town
• Roman roads were absolutely straight , paved with
stones
• Principally foot and horse traffic
• Bridges were built over streams and valleys
• Aqueducts were created to carry water into the
newly created cities
Timgad
TIMGAD • Typically rigid chessboard plan
• 355m x 325 m, Area=30 acres.
• Principally designed for as
a residential colony.
• Abundant water supply.
• Eleven parallel cross streets in
either direction, with the surface
terracing over undulating
ground.
• The forum(160’*145’),the market,
Temple and non-residential
buildings were raised above the
general street level.
• Some houses were as big as
200’*300’
• The public buildings had
porticoes, colonnades and other
features
Dark Ages
400-1000 AD
Salient Features
• Dissolution of Roman rule
• Establishment of fiefdoms
• Rural/agricultural--minimal trade
• Proliferation of Christian monastic orders
• Minimal advancement/discovery.
• Decline of urban centers/cities/trade
• Walled settlements organized around
monasteries
• Primitive rural villages