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Roman Construction and Technology: Building and engineering in Ancient Rome | ancient roman technology | Building methods in Ancient Rome | Building materials in Ancient Rome | Ancient Rome Buildings | bureaucracy of buildings in Ancient Rome | roman architecture | Ancient Roman Bridges | roman aqueducts | roman aqueducts structure | water in Ancient Rome | roman columns | romans road | Arches in Ancient Rome | Foundations and floors in ancient rome | Constructing walls in Ancient Rome | ancient roman inventions | Fire and fire-fighting in ancient rome |

Foundations and Floors in Ancient Rome

The foundations of walls and buildings were generally understood to be fundamental to the survival of the building and as a consequence they saw the need to sit their buildings on a compact subsoil if not rock. We might regard it surprising that often more material (stone generally) was used in the foundations than in the actual visible building. Foundations of 2 or 3m would not be uncommon and the remains of buildings such as Hadrian's temple in the piazza di pietra square in Rome provide an excellent example.

As an added technical feature the importance of damp proofing was also important so that in wetter countries of the north the floor level might be held off the ground by standing the floorboards on short pillars thus creating an aeration chamber underneath. This chamber would have vents left open into the sides so as to allow any dampness to dry out.

The villas of the Rich, important public buildings and public baths would go a step further and would run hot air through the under-floor chamber and pillars to provide heating into the living quarters above. This warm air could even be driven up the inside of walls through clay pipes, like mini-chimneys which eventually lead out through the roof.

Flooring was often made out of a wood structure and boards. The floor boards rested on cross beams which themselves rested onto supports built into the building's supporting walls. An extra refinement to this was to cover the wooden floors with a packed straw layer and cover this with smooth mortar which could be brought to a high finish or even tiled. This allowed the floors, particularly on the upper floors to provide noise proofing as well as greater comfort.

Roofs, like floors, were made of a wooden structure of trusses which rested on supports built into the bearing walls. The outer surface of the roof would be tiled with relatively standard tiles very much like those used nowadays. In some cases special tiles might be used in order to allow smoke out of kitchen areas and such like.

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Roman Construction and Technology: Building and engineering in Ancient Rome | ancient roman technology | Building methods in Ancient Rome | Building materials in Ancient Rome | Ancient Rome Buildings | bureaucracy of buildings in Ancient Rome | roman architecture | Ancient Roman Bridges | roman aqueducts | roman aqueducts structure | water in Ancient Rome | roman columns | romans road | Arches in Ancient Rome | Foundations and floors in ancient rome | Constructing walls in Ancient Rome | ancient roman inventions | Fire and fire-fighting in ancient rome |

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"Ancient Roman Bridges" was written by Giovanni Milani-Santarpia for www.mariamilani.com - Rome apartments