With Etruscan influence, the Romans began building with enthusiasm, combining columns, arches and various styles of vaults into their homes, temples, and Colosseum. Although the Romans impact on architecture spread throughout Europe and the United States, nothing is as magnificent as the Romans development of concrete and its use for constructing walls, theaters, and those beautifully graceful bridges.
The Egyptians were the first civilization to create a type of concrete by mixing together mud and straw and forming them into bricks around 5000 BC. The greeks discovered volcanic ash, also known as pozzolana, and that by mixing it with lime to form a mortar, they had an end result of concrete with hydraulic properties. However, the Romans further extrapolated this concept by using bricks, or various sized rocks, and applying the mortar between them to create a hard form allowing them to build tall structures and strong walls. According to History.com, "To
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Although it is uncertain who exactly invented the "Arch", whether it was the Etruscans or the Archimedes of Sicily, who was responsible for such inventions as the Archimedes Screw, the Archimedes' Catapult and Stonethrowing, and the Claw of Archimedes (hexapolis.com, 7 July 2015), it was the Romans who excelled at using them. According to Study.com, the arch "directs pressure downwards and outwards, creating a strong passage underneath it that has the ability to support heavy structures." This allowed the Roman to create a bigger building that could hold more people and allowed more space. Bridges allowed armies to easily cross spans of rivers or insuperable terrain in times of war. And finally, these wonderful arches were also used to create aqueducts allowing Rome to bring water to homes and