List of ancient Greek and Roman roofs
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Affresco_dell%27aspetto_antico_della_basilica_costantiniana_di_san_pietro_nel_IV_secolo.jpg/220px-Affresco_dell%27aspetto_antico_della_basilica_costantiniana_di_san_pietro_nel_IV_secolo.jpg)
The list of ancient roofs comprises roof constructions from Greek and Roman architecture, ordered by clear span. Roof constructions increased in clear span as Greek and Roman engineering improved. Most buildings in classical Greece were covered by traditional prop-and-lintel constructions, which often required interior colonnades for support. In Sicily, truss roofs are believed to have appeared as early as 550 BC.[1] Their potential was fully realized during the Roman Empire, which saw trussed roofs spanning over 30 meters in width, covering the rectangular spaces of monumental public buildings such as temples, basilicas, and later churches. These spans were three times as large as the widest prop-and-lintel roofs and were only exceeded by the largest Roman domes.[2]
Greek roofing
Image | Monument | Location | Region | Date | Type of roof | Width between cella walls | Clear span between colonnades | Largest clear span |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Temple of Olympian Zeus (or Olympeion) | Agrigento | Sicily | Truss [3] | 12.85 | 1– | 12.85 [4] | |
Temple of Heracles | Agrigento | Sicily | 5th century BC, early | Truss [3] | 11.84 | 1– | 11.84 [4] | |
![]() | Temple E | Selinunte | Sicily | 480/70 BC | Truss [3] | 11.70 | 1– | 11.70 [4] |
![]() | Parthenon | Athens | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 19.20 | 11.05 | 11.05 [4] | |
![]() | S. Biagio | Agrigento | Sicily | Truss [3] | 10.35 | 1– | 10.35 [4] | |
![]() | Athene | Syracuse | Sicily | Truss [3] | 19.82 | 1– | 19.82 [4] | |
![]() | Erechtheion | Athens | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 19.80 | 1– | 19.80 [4] | |
Treasury of Gela | Olympia | Greece | Truss [1] | 19.68 | 1– | 19.68 [4] | ||
Temple of Athena Alea | Tegea | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 18.94 | 1– | 18.94 [4] | ||
![]() | Temple of Zeus | Olympia | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 13.26 | 18.52 | 18.52 [4] | |
![]() | Temple C | Selinunte | Sicily | 550 BC | Truss [3] | 18.50 | 1– | 18.50 [4] |
Megaron | Gaggera | Sicily | Truss [3] | 18.47 | 1– | 18.47 [4] | ||
Athenians | Delos | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 18.34 | 1– | 18.34 [4] | ||
![]() | Temple D | Selinunte | Sicily | 540 BC | Truss [3] | 18.20 | 1– | 18.20 [4] |
Temple of Hera | Agrigento | Sicily | Truss [3] | 17.68 | 1– | 17.68 [4] | ||
![]() | Temple of Concordia | Agrigento | Sicily | Prop-and-lintel [5] | 17.55 | 1– | 17.55 [4] | |
![]() | Temple A | Selinunte | Sicily | Truss [3] | 17.50 | 1– | 17.50 [4] | |
![]() | Temple of Apollo | Delphi | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 10.72 | 17.32 | 17.32 [4] | |
![]() | Temple G | Selinunte | Sicily | Truss [3] | 17.93 | 17.15 | 17.15 [4] | |
Temple F | Selinunte | Sicily | 530 BC | Truss [3] | 17.12 | 1– | 17.12 [4] | |
Temple of Isthmia | Isthmia | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 11.7 | ~7.0 | ~7.0 [4] | ||
![]() | Temple of Poseidon | Sounion | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 16.53 | 1– | 16.53 [4] | |
![]() | Heraion | At the mouth of the Sele River near Paestum | Italy, Lower | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 16.14 | 1– | 16.14 [4] | |
Artemis | Kalydon | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 16.14 | 1? | 16.14 [4] | ||
![]() | Kardaki Temple | Corfu | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | ~6.0 | 1– | ~6.0 [4] | |
![]() | Second Temple of Hera | Paestum | Italy, Lower | 480/70 BC | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 10.85 | 15.9 | 15.9 [4] |
![]() | Temple of Athena/Ceres | Paestum | Italy, Lower | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 15.70 | 1– | 15.70 [4] | |
Apollo | Delos | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 15.70 | 1– | 15.70 [4] | ||
![]() | Basilica | Paestum | Italy, Lower | 550–10 BC | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 11.44 | 15.6 | 15.6 [4] |
Tavole Palatine | Metapontum | Italy, Lower | 15.60 | 1– | 15.60 [4] | |||
![]() | Bouleuterion (S) | Olympia | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 11.07 | 15.53 | 15.53 [4] | |
Bouleuterion (N) | Olympia | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 10.80 | 15.40 | 15.40 [4] | ||
Temple of Apollo | Bassae | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 16.81 | 15.23 | 15.23 [4] | ||
![]() | Rhamnous | Attica | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 15.17 | 1– | 15.17 [4] | |
Metroon | Olympia | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 15.08 | 1– | 15.08 [4] | ||
![]() | Temple of Hera | Olympia | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 18.37 | 14.84 | 14.84 [4] | |
![]() | Temple of Hephaestus (or Theseion) | Athens | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 16.24 | 14.74 | 14.74 [4] | |
Artemis | Corcyra | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 17.37 | 14.1 | 14.1 [4] | ||
Temple of Asclepius | Epidauros | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 13.95 | 1– | 13.95 [4] | ||
![]() | Temple of Aphaia | Aegina | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 16.28 | 13.85 | 13.85 [4] | |
![]() | Apollo | Syracuse | Sicily | Truss [3] | 19.70 | 13.6 | 13.6 [4] | |
![]() | Apollo | Corinth | Greece | Prop-and-lintel [3] | 18.47 | 13.45 | 13.45 [4] |
Roman roofing
Image | Monument | Location | Region | Date | Type of roof | Clear span |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Throne room of the Flavian Palace | Rome | Italy, Central | 192 AD | Truss [6] | 31.67 [6] | |
![]() | Roman Theatre | Aosta | Italy, Upper | Augustan | Truss [6] | 30.49 [6] |
Diribitorium | Rome | Italy, Central | 117 BC | Truss [6] | 29.60? [6] | |
Coenatio Iovis | Rome | Italy, Central | 192 AD | Truss [6] | 29.30 [6] | |
Constantine's Basilica | Trier | Germany | 300 AD | Truss [6] | 26.05 [6] | |
![]() | Odeon of Agrippa | Athens | Greece | 115 BC | Truss [6] | 25.75 [6] |
![]() | Temple of Venus and Roma | Rome | Italy, Central | 135 AD | Truss [6] | 25.75 [6] |
![]() | Basilica Ulpia | Rome | Italy, Central | 113 AD | Truss [6] | 25.16 [6] |
![]() | Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls | Rome | Italy, Central | 385 AD | Truss [6] | 24.27 [6] |
![]() | Old St. Peter's Basilica | Rome | Italy, Central | 330 AD | Truss [6] | 23.68 [6] |
See also
- Record-holding roofs in antiquity
- Ancient Greek architecture
- Ancient Roman architecture
- List of Ancient Greek temples
References
- ^ a b Hodge 1960, p. 41
- ^ Ulrich 2007, pp. 148f.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am Conjectured by Hodge 1960, pp. 38–44
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap Hodge 1960, p. 39 (table)
- ^ Hodge 1960, p. 43
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Ulrich 2007, p. 149
Sources
- Hodge, A. Trevor (1960), The Woodwork of Greek Roofs, Cambridge University Press, pp. 38–44
- Ulrich, Roger B. (2007), Roman Woodworking, Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-10341-0
Further reading
- Klein, Nancy L. (1998), "Evidence for West Greek Influence on Mainland Greek Roof Construction and the Creation of the Truss in the Archaic Period", Hesperia, vol. 67, no. 4, pp. 335–374, JSTOR 148449
External links
- Traianus – Technical investigation of Roman public works
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