Ancient Roman Architecture

building · ancient rome · engineering · concrete

Borrowed from Greeks. Roman architects loved the look of Greek buildings and copied their style, but they made something completely new and different by using it in their own way.

Concrete was revolutionary. Romans invented a special concrete mix that was incredibly strong and long-lasting, which let them build bigger and bolder structures than anyone had before.

Arches and domes. Instead of just using straight columns like Greeks did, Romans invented ways to build arches and domes that could span huge spaces without needing support in the middle.

Built to last forever. Roman buildings were so well-engineered that thousands of them are still standing and being used today, more than 2,000 years after they were built.

All over the map. Roman buildings spread across their whole empire, and you can still find ruins and working structures in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.