Roman Arches, Bridges, And Aqueduct System

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Ancient Rome has had several amazing accomplishments in architecture. This architecture has influenced several other cultures with many Roman ideas still being used today. Some of the major ones that I have decided to focus on are arches, roads, bridges, and the aqueduct system. I will begin with the arch. The Romans did not originate the idea of the arch. It was the idea that was borrowed from their Etruscan neighbors and perfected their concept. The Roman arch was able to support a large amount of weight. They were able to accomplish this by creating a mixture of concrete that was lightweight and easy to work with. Once dried it would be sturdy enough to support and to be long lasting. The use of the arch is most famously seen in the Colosseum and also the aqueducts. …show more content…

The city was unable to get clean water since the Tiber River was the place where all of their waste was dumped. In order to supply clean water an above ground water line was built to filter water from other surrounding cities and was called an aqueduct. This led to other architectural greatness such as a real sewer system. I found this to be unique and incredibly innovative. I feel that the Romans were ahead of their time and I am greatly appreciative that they were. One of the next major accomplishments is the paved roads. The Roman roads were built to last. They took their time and put much thought into them. By tunneling out land about three feet deep in somewhat straight lines and placing large stones to line it. Once the large stone was replaced gravel and smaller stone were packed down to make a solid structure. These roads were extremely durable and allowed for faster travel and it was safer for horses and wagons to travel than a dangerous path that could have led to