ROMAN

ARCHITECTUR
E

tufa
INFLUENCE INFLUENCE
Geographical: Geological:
- The landforms a long peninsula
with an unbroken coastal lines - Other than iron, copper and tin, ample
with natural harbours and few stone and timber were available for
islands along the shore whereas buildings.
Greece had indented (zigzag)
coastline and innumerable - Roman took great pains to exploit the
islands. natural resources to the full. Along with
stone and marble Romans procured
- In the center of Italy the Apennines runs like a spine but they do not break suitable earth for terracotta and bricks
up into isolated valleys as in Greece. which became a major material at later
dates. peprino
- The central position in Mediterranean enabled Rome to conquer and spread
its influence to southern Europe, North Africa and west Asia. - Various stones used for buildings were lava travertine
tufa - a stone of varying degree of
- The Roman civilization was spread by military conquest and establishment hardness, peprino - a stone of volcanic
of Roman laws, whereas the Greek civilization was spread by colonization. origin, Travertine - a hard limestone of
fine quality from Tivoli, lava - frin volcanic
- Thus finally Rome was not confined only to Italy but included many parts of eruptions. Along with these excellent sand
Europe, N. Africa and West Asia etc. and gravel were available.
INFLUENCE INFLUENCE
- The chief building material was the concrete for which the ingredients were
stone or brick aggregates and pozzolana. (Pozzolana was the volcanic earth found in Climatic :
the thick strata in around Rome and Naples which when mixed with lime forms a hard - Based on the climate Italy can be divided into 3 parts:
adhesive mass.) a) North Italy - Temperate climate not too hot or too cold.
b) Central Italy – Genial (pleasantly mild and warm) & sunny.
- Roman architecture was influenced by the materials found in the widely c) South Italy - Tropical climate.
differing localities of its empire but concrete was their favorite material.
- The variety of climate and sun condition influenced enormously on the
- Concrete with brick or stone facing helped Romans to achieve uniformity of architectural character and hence the diversity of architectural features can
style throughout the empire. be observed within the peninsula.

- Differing climates of various other Roman provinces produced local

pozzolana modifications but overall Roman architectural character was maintained.
This can be observed in buildings situated in England, Syria, Egypt etc.

INFLUENCE INFLUENCE

Religious : - The position of the emperor as 'pontifex maximus' (chief controlling

religious matters) was rather indicative of the glorification of the empire
- Roman religion was fusion of several cults but owed most to Etruscans. than of religion and officialism stamped its character even on temple
Chief Roman Gods acquired similar attributes to those of the Greeks but architecture.
retained their Latin names and rites.
- In the Roman religion priest was neither powerful nor privileged but only
- In ancient Rome religion was a part of the constitution and later the performing sacrifices.
Emperor received the divine honours. He was described as the head of the
Pantheon, head of deities and head of the various provinces. - In Rome every house, a palace, villa or domus (Latin) had an altar (table for
making sacrifices) to the family Gods and ancestor worship was a
- Religion feelings had not so strong a hold on the Romans and did not enter recognized part of religious rites.
into there as that of Greeks.
- 'Vesta' goddess of hearth exalted to high position and vestal virgins
- Religion never formed a bond of union among the different provinces of the attached to the temple of Vesta was of greater importance than ordinary
Roman Empire. priests of sacrifice.
INFLUENCE ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

Social: - In the earlier periods the Romans retained the Etruscan character to their
buildings. Later Romans adopted the columnar and trabeated style of
- The social life of Romans was clearly revealed in their architecture like Greeks.
Thermae for bathing and games, Theatres for dramas, Basilicas for lawsuits,
Forums for public life and national commerce etc. - The arches and vaults begun by the Etruscans were continued and further
developed by Romans and combined use of these arches and trabeated
- Despite the long period of comparative weak rule and luxurious living in style became a special feature of Roman buildings. Eg: As in the piers of
Rome, the social life lead out for 2 to 3 centuries which was due to Colosseum, which are strengthened and faced by the attached columns not
a) Firm foundation of family with father as supreme head. only supported the arches but also the entablature. The aqueducts consisted
b) Obedience to authority i. e. head of the house hold or state, of arches supported on piers without facing columns.
c) Sacredness to Goddess of hearth.
- Thus the orders which were constructive in Greece became decorative in
- The Roman social system was based on slavery and aristocratic in origin but Rome with exceptions like temples, colonnades, basilicas etc.
lacked a strong middle class.
- The Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders of Greek architecture was adopted
- The Romans developed and contributed the laws of which was useful even by Romans along with Tuscan and Composite orders, thus making 5 orders
to this day. in all.

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

- The ingredient for the concrete was broken aggregates of the stone like
Travertine, peperino or sometimes brick aggregates along with mortar of
lime and sand.

- Sand was usually pozzolana, a special earth that was abundant in the
volcanic regions of Italy.
- Tuscan orders was a simplified version of Doric order developed by Etruscans.
The features of a Tuscan order were a base, 7D high-unfluted shaft and - Uncomplicated, simple and more mechanical works were done by local
simply moulded capital and a plain entablature. slaves or military soldiers but important and finishing items were done by
skilled craftsmen most of them were brought from Greece.
- During Greek period buildings and temples were single storey but the
complex civilization and varied needs of Romans, lead to buildings of several - Roman walls both of stone and concrete was special character of Roman
storey but developed with similar features of Greek building. architecture.
- The architectural aims were of utilitarian like Thermae, amphitheaters,
basilicas, aqueducts, bridges etc.

- Even though Romans followed the Etruscan method of using large stone
blocks without mortar in the initial stages their practical mind developed and
found that using concrete was more easier and economical.
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

- The commonly used vault types were: - The use of concrete allowed Romans to build vaults of a magnitude never
Barrel vault (semicircular/wagon equaled till the introduction of steel for buildings in 19th century.
headed/tunnel vault) with two parallel wall
supports. - The other advantage of concrete was it could be accommodated to the
Cross vault, which was formed by complicated plan forms without involving difficult and laborious stone
intersection of two-barrel vaults of equal cutting.
span on a square plan and the pressure, was
taken by piers/columns at four corners. This - The vaults were supported on centering or temporary wooden framework
further lead to square modules in plan and until the concrete was set. Sometimes brick ribs were used to enlighten the
sometimes these was double or triple in load imposed on centering and also to avoid the cracks.
height. The line of intersection of vaults was
known as groins.
Cupolas or hemispherical domes were
used over circular structures and seem domes
for exedrae or semicircular recesses.

Cupola with coffers

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

- Concrete vault thickness were made light by recesses or coffers in the ceiling - As coloured marble was expensive preference was given to paintings.
which in turn helped to make the ceiling beautiful. They are normally received Occasionally coloured marble was used for column shaft but unfluted to show
a decorative sheathing of plaster, stucco, marble or mosaic. their rich veining or textures. This gradually led to use of plain column shafts at
later stages irrespective of material used for columns.
- Various plasters of lime and sand was used for external faces. The internal
plaster was done using marble dust and lime with geometrical patterns, - Marble mosaics were employed to some extent for walls, vaults and floors. The
ornamental low relief figures, painted with decorative figures etc. floors had infinite varieties of geometrical and pictorial patterns.

- Whenever a bold moulding or column like projections was required a brick core - Glass mosaics made a brilliant decoration for vaults and were excellent for
was used. structures and situations liable to damp such as garden ornaments like fountain
etc.
- A special mixture known as 'opus signinum' of terracotta powder, lime and with
or without sand was used in aqueducts, reservoirs and in damp situations as a - Bronze was also used to cover some important buildings, like roof of Pantheon.
water proof measure.
- Normally white marble was the only material for buildings but always with - The statues brought from Greece lead to the formation of niches for their
some ornamentation. reception and these were semicircular or rectangular and were occasionally
- Special methods were developed to fix marble facing to walls using iron or flanked by columns supporting a pediment or were fronted by a screen of
bronze cramps. columns. These also gave a theatrical effect to Roman interiors.
ETRUSCAN EXAMPLE ROMAN METHOD OF WALL
CONSTRUCTION

TUSCAN ORDER

WALL TYPES
- Opus quadratum: Ashlar; cut stone blocks.

- Opus caementicium: Unfaced concrete, often with grooves and lines

from shuttering.

- Opus testaceum: Brick-faced concrete.

- Opus incertum: Concrete with irregular stone facing.

- Opus reticulatum: Pyramidal shaped stones of tufa or basalt with

diamond shaped faces forming a diagonal grid.

- Opus mixtum: Concrete wall with both brick and reticulate facing.

- Opus vittatum: Concrete with facing of rows of rectangular tufa

blocks. This facing can also contain alternating bands of brick, which
is sometimes referred to as opus vittatum mixtum.
WALL COVERINGS
- Opus signinum: Waterproof mortar made of a mixture of crushed WALL TYPES
terracotta and lime.

- Stucco and plaster: Lime based wall covering, applied in layers with
an outer layer of almost pure lime, and a coarse inner layer with
inclusions. Pigments applied when wet, or painted on over the top
when dry.

FLOOR SURFACES
- Opus signinum: See above

- Opus spicatum: Small bricks laid on their sides in a herringbone

pattern.

- Opus tessellatum: Mosaic floors composed of small square pieces

called tesserae. Mosaics can be simply monochromatic or
multi-coloured with geometric or figural designs.
Opus caementicium used as foundations in a building. Note the vertical slot which is an
- Opus sectile: Floor surface made from interlocking pieces of cut impression left by a post of the wooden shuttering.
marble arranged in a pattern – simple, geometric or figural.

WALL TYPES WALL TYPES

Opus incertum next to opus testaceum Opus testaceum facing above brick arch resting on travertine corbels with infill of basalt
opus reticulatum.ertum
WALL TYPES WALL TYPES

Opus mixtum: opus reticulatum in tufa above and below a band of opus testaceum. Opus vittatum mixtum

ROMAN COLUMN
DETAILS
ROMAN DORIC
TUSCAN

ROMAN IONIC ROMAN IONIC

COMPOSITE

ROMAN
CORINTHIAN
 BARREL GROIN
VAULT VAULT

Pediment
depicting battle
of Titans

THE PANTHEON
 Occulus

Exedrae

Rotunda

44 m

Front Elevation
26 m
Niche
7.3 m 12.5 m 7.3 m

Plan
https://earth.google.com/web/@41.8991661,12.4768333,11.24080257a,500d,35y,114.61742036h,0t,0r

DETAILS OF THE
PANTHEON

ROOF PLAN
INTERIOR OF
PANTHEON
- The word “Pantheon” in fact comes from the Greek and literally means - The bronze doors were once coated with gold. Behind the portico are
(temple) “of all Gods” (“pan” = “all” and “theon” = “divine”). the niches where the large statues of Augustus and Agrippa were
erected.
- Constructed in the 2nd century (120-124 CE).
- The Rotunda-round building-built by Emperor Hadrian.
- Circular in plan, 44 m in diameter, 43 m in height.

- Has a 33.5 m wide and 18 m deep octastyle colonnaded portico in front, - It rests on a circular foundation 4.5 m deep.
which forms the entrance to the circular temple.
- It has eight exedrae (semicircular or rectangular niche with a raised seat), one of
- It was completed by Agrippa, the son-in-law of Augustus. The temple bears which forms the entrance, three are semi-circular and four are
the inscription as "M. Agrippa made me" though Hadrian had also been the rectangular in shape, mostly contained the statues of gods of seven
architect for this structure. planets.

- The monolithic granite columns are of Corinthian Order, unfluted and 1.5 m - There are two monolithic marble columns 10.6 m high in the side
in diameter and 14 m high. exedrae opposite to the entrance.
- The columns support the entablature 3.35 m high and a pediment containing
- The columns which are partly reeded at bottom and partly fluted at
once the bronze relief representing a 'gigantomachy' or battle of the Titans
and other deities. top have Corinthian capitals which support the entablature.

- The hemispherical dome is provided with coffers in five ranges which not
only provide ornamentation but also help in reducing its heavy weight.

- Coffers divide into 28 radial sectors - one for each day of the lunar month

- The dome is three tires high, the bottom consists of travertine and tufa
stone, the second tier of tufa and bricks; and the top tier of tufa and
pumice stone (aerated volcanic lava that floats in water) where its thickness is only
1.22 m.

- Circular unglazed opening of 8.23 m in diameter is provided at the top of

the dome, for lighting of the building, which provides attractive and
impressive effect.

- The Pantheon with its white Pentelic (from Mount Pentelicus) marble
colonnades, bronze doors plated with gold, tympana containing bronze
reliefs, coffers covered inside the dome stood as the finest and
magnificent monument in the days of Imperial Rome.

- It is now known as S. Maria Rotunda.

THE COLOSSEUM

COLOSSEUM AT ROME -
INTERIOR
 COLUMN OF
TRAJAN

SECTION THROUGH
COLOSSEUM

b
COLOSSEUM AT
ROME

- It was begun by the Emperor Vespasian in 70 A.D. and finished by the

Emperor Domitian in 82 AD.

- It is so called because of its size and also its close proximity with a
colossal statue of Emperor Nero.

- It is also known as Flavian Amphitheatre (built by Flavian Emperors).

- It is elliptical in plan, measuring about 190 m x 155 m.

- The external facade, about 48 m high was divided in four storeys each
one had 80 external arch openings.

- The entrance was from the ground floor to various tiers of seats.

- The main arena was oval-shaped measuring 87 m x 55 m enclosed by a

wall 4.5 m high.
 - Behind it was podium with
imperial throne for Emperor and
seats for Generals, Vestal
virgins, Senators and other
officials of state.
(Common people)

- Beyond the podium, an

auditorium was constructed on a
rising platform with seats in four
divisions for about 50,000
spectators, all of which were
reached by stairs from the
surrounding corridors placed at
regular intervals between the
radiating vaults.

- Dens for wild beasts from one end and for gladiators from opposite end were
provided in its lower tier at the level of the arena.

- The gladiatorial combats to death between criminals, wild beasts such as lions,
panthers and bulls were favorite spectacles.

- Romans used the skillful combination of materials according to the - The structure was enormously thick and heavy. So it was honeycombed at
purpose to which they were required. regular intervals by empty shafts and to lighten its bulk it was ingeniously
sub-divided by a web of infixed brick aches.
- Lava was used for firm foundation, tufa and bricks for walls, pumic
stone for huge vaults in order to reduce their weight whereas marble - The radiating concrete vaults were hidden support and formed the
was used for columns and seats. indestructible foundation of the four storeys.

- The robust Doric Order in the first storey 12.40 m high, then slender - Thus the entire gigantic edifice based on a unique set of highly developed
and lighter Ionic in the second storey 11.8 m high and ornate technique of great strength was very difficult to destroy. It was therefore
rightly said “when falls the colosseum, Rome shall fall".
Corinthian Order in the third storey 12 m high while Corinthian
pilasters in the topmost storey.
- It has also received bad name in the history because of the martyrdom
(Christians were fed to half-starved lions, burned alive, and hacked to death) of the
- The columns spaced at 6.8 m centre to centre were superimposed i.e, Christians that took place under its giant walls.
there were column above column, entablature above entablature and
arches above arches which induced with its grand effect, awe and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7-ETMTHx4I
admiration.
FORUMS FORUMS
- Forums were the public square or marketplace of an ancient Roman
city, the center of judicial and business affairs, and a place of assembly
for the people; it usually included a basilica and a temple.

- They are similar to Agora of Greek cities and found in all Roman
towns. They also expressed Roman social character, which remain
unchanged whatever the form of government ruled.
FORUMS were the public square or
marketplace of an ancient Roman
- The forums were surrounded by public buildings and colonnades for city, the center of judicial and
shelter. business affairs, and a place of
assembly for the people; it usually
included a basilica and a temple
- The central open space was used as a meeting place, market, political
demonstrations etc.

- Initially the forums were irregular in shape but later they became
more systematic and formal in newly built towns and rebuilt towns.

- Examples: Forum Romanum, Imperial forums (Forum of Ceaser,

Augustus, Vespasian, Nerva etc.), Forum of Trajan.

FORUM FORUM
OF OF
TRAJAN TRAJAN
FORUM OF TRAJAN FORUM OF TRAJAN
- Trajan was born in Spain and was raised as a soldier; the military
iconography has thus been suitably translated into a civic monument. - On the main axis just behind the basilica stands Trajan’s Column, with a
spiral sculptural relief reading from the bottom to the top that depicts
- The Forum of Trajan was entered through a gateway located in a gently the various important events of Trajan’s campaign in Dacia.
bulging wall.
- The freestanding column, an unconventional feature in its own right,
- At the far end was the sideways oriented Basilica Ulpia (107–13 CE), was also unusual for Roman architecture, insofar as it interrupted the
whose apses on both ends echoed the ones built into the colonnade of axial flow to the temple.
the forum that, in turn, emulated the ones in the Forum of Augustus.
- The column is flanked by libraries: one for Greek scrolls, the other for
- Two rows of gray granite columns lined the aisles, with light filtering Latin.
down, as usual, from a roof that covered the central space.
- The whole complex ended with Trajan’s temple, which was enormous,
- The roofs of the side aisles were covered by concrete vaults rising with columns measuring 2 meters across.
directly from the architraves, while the roof over the central aisle was
probably spanned with timber. - The forum’s unusual design may possibly derive from its emulation of
the central administrative area of a military camp: Trajan’s Column and
- Sculptures and relief panels show the campaigns and triumphs of the flanking libraries seem similar to the location of the general’s standard
emperor. and military archives, which were set up behind the basilica.

BASILICA OF TRAJAN
- It was built during 98 - 112 CE.

- It was built by Appolodorus of Damascus and located in Trajan's forum.

- The Greek and Latin libraries and the famous Trajan's column forms
part of basilica and thus form a complex.

- The central nave was 385' x 87' with double aisle each 23'9" wide, with
total internal height of 120'.

- The columns separating the nave and Aisle were red granite with
Corinthian capital out of marble.

- These columns supported the gallery above the aisles with clerestorey
lighting and simple timber roof.

- Each shorter end had semicircular apse with raised platform for tribunal
and an altar in front.
BASILICA OF
TRAJAN

https://youtu.be/TRY5y3k6OYw

PONT DU GARD
 - Aqueducts: A structure for carrying water across land, especially one
like a high bridge with many arches that carries pipes or a canal
across a valley.

- Pont du Gard was part of Nimes’s architecture.

- Large quantities of water were required for palaces, thermae,

fountains and a large population of Rome.

- Water was collected from springs and rivers and carried partly by
tunnels and partly by channels supported on walls or arches to a
reservoir outside the city.
Technical Construction : rolls of juxtaposed arches which is a form of standardization
of the construction - The water was supplied to the city of Rome by a network of nine
aqueducts.
Major arch gap : 25 m (one of the greatest of the Roman world)

- Materials used in the - Some of its water supply reached the city by way of the Pont du Gard,
construction of the Pont du Gard which was built to carry a stream of water across a steep valley (with
were obtained from the Estel another river at the bottom of it).
quarry, situated roughly 600 m
away from the monument on the - The bridge's purpose lies in the channel that runs across the top, closed
Gardon’s left bank. in from the sky with stone slabs, and the rest of the bridge was built to
hold that channel in place.
- The rock found there is a soft
coarse yellow limestone. - The water was brought almost 50 km, and along that distance it
dropped only about 17 metres (stands almost 50 m high), so the watercourse
- Another advantage of the stone was almost flat - but not quite.
quarry's location on the edge of
the Gardon river was that the - Water cannot be persuaded to flow uphill, and had the engineering
rock could be transported by been less precise – if the watercourse had wandered up and down even
boat to the building site on the a little - the water supply would not have flowed at all.
river’s right bank.
- In fact, it flowed well, and continued in use for some 800 years, until
sustained neglect meant that the watercourse silted up and stopped
working.
- In spite of the fact that the bridge is an impressive monument, it was
not built as a monument.

- The construction is in blocks of stone that were neither decorated nor

trimmed to an even surface.

- To make the arches, stone blocks were put in position on timber

formwork, which held them in place until there was a complete arch
that could support itself. Then the temporary timber structure was
taken away and moved to the next arch that was being built.

- These timbers were large because they had for a while to support very
heavy masonry. They rested on projecting stone corbels blocks that
were longer than the blocks above them.

- If the building had been intended for public view, these projections
would have been chiseled off. But at the Pont du Gard they are still in
place.

ROMAN BATHS
 -Baths of Caracalla (Italian Terme di Caracalla) public baths in ancient
Rome begun by the emperor Septimius Severus in 206 CE and completed
by his son the emperor Caracalla in 216 CE.

- Accommodate about 1,600 bathers, around 6,000 - 8,000 people a day

came to use them. used until the 6th century.

- It was not only a spa-like complex. There were libraries, a gym with
changing rooms, gardens, and a temple to Mithra (a pagan religion.)

-Consist centrally of a block of large vaulted bath chambers covering an

area of 230 by 115 metres, with courts and auxiliary rooms, surrounded
by a garden with space for exercise and games.

-There were three main bath chambers: the frigidarium, or cold room; the
caldarium, or hot room; and the tepidarium, or lukewarm room.

-Between the frigidarium and the tepidarium was the great hall, roofed by
an enormous vault with clerestory windows. (a prototype of the vaulted
naves of medieval churches)

-A typical Roman would arrive at the baths with at least two slaves
-There were also large open-air swimming pools (natatio). -with him. He would change in the apodyterium (changing room A
-on the layout) and one slave would stay behind and watch his
-Marble was used lavishly, and sculpture, mosaics, frescoes, and other -clothes. (Thieves liked to hang out at the baths with good reason.)
decorations ornamented the interior.
-After this, the Roman would head out to the palaestra (B) for some
-Concrete is the primary structural material for the building, in areas as moderate exercise. (Most commonly, you would wrestle or play a ball
tall as five stories. Today we use steel to reinforce concrete to create the game.) From here he would enter into the bathing process itself, usually
scale of space the Romans achieved. The concrete would have been likely starting with the caldarium (hot room C) to open his pores and get the
covered by brick and in more important areas, covered with decorative sweat out.
mosaics for either floors, walls or ceilings
-He would then move to the tepidarium (warm room D) to partake in
-There was a procession in temperature from cold to the hierarchy of the "strigiling", the Roman ritual of using curved metal tools to scrape off
caldarium at the end of the sequence. Additional spaces in the interior sweat and dirt. Romans would cover their bodies in oil to loosen the dirt,
bath building included pools, locker rooms and saunas as part of the and then wipe the oil of with the strigil. The second slave would be used
social bathing experience to perform this practice or hire someone at the baths to do it for him.

-The Baths of Caracalla are now the site of summertime open-air -The tepidarium was a busy place, as this is also the place where Roman
performances of ballet and opera. could get a massage or have his body hair removed.
-Next up was a dip in the frigidarium (cold room E) to close the pores and
https://youtu.be/-h579DfQOcg
refresh him. Finally, he could relax in the outdoor natatio (swimming pool
F) before heading back to the apodyterium to change back into his clothes. https://youtu.be/zhon2e3vfTo 01:04 hr

-Our Roman might leave then, or go the the gardens, or watch some
wrestling, or listen to some music, any of which would most certainly be
going on in the baths on a typical day.
A hypocaust (Latin: hypocaustum) is a system of central heating in a
building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and
may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air
passes. This air can warm the upper floors as well.
 Mosaic
Floor

FRESCO
https://youtu.be/mbzqlOj-yHU
https://youtu.be/zhon2e3vfTo 57
min
 - Severus attacked the Parthian Empire and as a reward for this foreign
victory (in 195), the Senate awarded him a triumphal entry into the city
and an arch, which is shown on this gold piece.

- The monument is almost 21 meters high, has a width of more than 23

meters, and is made of Proconessian white marble from the Sea of
Marmara, which was very much en vogue during the reign of Septimius
Severus.

- There was also an equestian statue. The most important parts of the
Arch of Septimius Severus are the four reliefs, which measure almost 4 x
5 meters and show scenes of the wars against the Parthian Empire.

- Like the relief on the Column of Trajan, the four reliefs has to be read
from bottom to top.

- The western façade, unfortunately, is very damaged, because it has

always been exposed to the wind and a fire in the Middle Ages.

Relief 3 (Capitol, left)

Relief 1 (Forum,left)
- Moving to the Capitol side, we get a better view of the reliefs, which
- On the first relief, which is extremely damaged, we can see preparations
show the second Parthian campaign (197-198). On the left-hand side, we
for the first of the two wars, a battle scene, and the liberation of Rome's
see how the Romans attack Seleucia, an important city on the Tigris. The
ally Nisibis in 195, which had been attacked by the Parthians when the
Parthian soldiers flee towards the left and right. The upper part shows
Romans were involved in a civil war. An enemy leader flees to the right.
how the citizens surrender.

Relief 2 (Forum, right) Relief 4 (Capitol, right)

- Because the right-hand side of the eastern face of the arch is damaged - On the right-hand side of the side facing the Capitol, we see the last
as well, we do are not completely certain what is shown. A possible battle of the war: the siege and sack of Ctesiphon, the Parthian capital. A
hypothesis is that it shows the revolt of a Roman ally, Edessa, the capital siege engine is employed (bottom left) and the city surrenders (right). In
of Osrhoene. The town is attacked with siege engines (bottom) and king the upper register, we see how Septimius Severus declares that his oldest
Abgar VIII surrenders (central scene). In the upper register, we see how son Caracalla will be his co-ruler and that his younger son Geta will be
Septimius Severus announces the annexation of Osrhoene and Nisibis. crown prince.
Other sculpture
- The arch stands on the Via Sacra in the Forum Romanum of Rome and
There are more reliefs on the arch of Septimius Severus: Victorias are
has the three arches typical of later Roman triumphal arches.
flying in the spandrels, there four statues of the four seasons, and the
pedestals are decorated with prisoners of war. Below the four main
- The larger central archway was used for traffic, whilst the two outer
reliefs, we can see how the loot is being transported.
arches were closed off by steps.

- In terms of construction materials the core and foundations are of

tavertine whilst, the whole is faced with Proconnesian marble, a feature
of which is its grey and white bands. The eight composite columns, four
on each façade, are of the same marble type.
- It was possible to climb the arch via an inner staircase within the south
pier, although the entrance was actually 5 m above ground level for
security. There was both a walkway above the second cornice and
access to the roof through the hollow attic.
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