Roman Innovation

The Roman Aqueduct

The Roman aqueduct was used to transport water from one location to another, usually into cities. These aqueducts can be found all over Europe. They utilized the physics and architecture of the arch to keep them strong and standing against the test of time.

Most Romans did not have running water in their homes. Instead, water that came to the cities through these aqueducts provided water to hundreds of private and public baths. The first public bath in the city of Rome was built in 19 B.C.E.

Roman Arches and Domes

Romans used arches and domes to create stability in their buildings. This style of architecture allowed their buildings to last for centuries.

Concrete

Many ancient Roman structures like the Pantheon, the Colosseum and the Roman Forum are still standing today thanks to the development of Roman cement and concrete. The Romans first began building with concrete over 2,100 years ago and used it throughout the Mediterranean basin in everything from aqueducts and buildings to bridges and monuments. Roman concrete was considerably weaker than its modern counterpart, but it has proved remarkably durable thanks to its unique recipe, which used slaked lime and a volcanic ash known as pozzolana to create a sticky paste. Combined with volcanic rocks called tuff, this ancient cement formed a concrete that could effectively endure chemical decay. Pozzolana helped Roman concrete set quickly even when submerged in seawater, enabling the construction of elaborate baths, piers and harbors.

ROMAN PANTHEON (Below)

ROMAN COLOSSEUM (Below)

The image above is of the Roman Colosseum, the location where many gladiators fought to the death for the entertainment of thousands of spectators. The most notable feature of the Colosseum is the arches. These arches give the building the support it needs to stand the test of time.

The two images on the left are the inside of the Pantheon (top left) and the outside of the Pantheon (bottom left). This building has one of the most recognizable domes in all of Rome. The Pantheon was built as a Roman temple but now serves as a Catholic church.

Roman Stone Paved Roads

Romans constructed 50,000 miles of stone-paved roads during their reign. You may have heard the saying "All roads lead to Rome." This is because the Roman military built roads everywhere they went in order to make it easier to travel back and forth to Rome. To build these stone-paved roads, Romans invented concrete. They used concrete to fortify their buildings and roads. Concrete is what enabled so many Roman structures to last for over 1,000 years. We still use concrete today.

Other Roman Innovations

Roman Numerals

Roman numerals originated in ancient Rome. They used combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to represent numbers. We still use Roman numerals today. One major flaw of this system is that there is no way to represent the number zero.

Julian Calendar

Julius Caesar ordered the creation of a new calendar 2,000 years ago. The result was a solar calendar called the Julian Calendar. Our calendar today is still influenced by the ancient Romans.

January is named after the Roman god Janus, who had two faces so he could see the future and the past. February is named after a Roman festival of purification. March is named after the god Mars, the Roman god of war. April is named after the Latin word aperire, which means "to open." May is named after a Greek goddess. June is named after the Roman goddess, Juno, - the god of marriage and childbirth. July and August are both named after Roman rulers. July is named after Julius Caesar and August is named after the first Roman emperor, Augustus. September, October, November, and December are all named after the Roman numbers 7, 8, 9, and 10 because they were originally the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth months.

Mosaics

Romans perfected the art of mosaics. They used cubes of stone, ceramic, and glass to create different images and designs.

Mosaics were used to tell stories, much like paintings do. Many capture the dramatic and violent moments in ancient history.

The image on the left is a section of one of the most famous mosaics in human history. To the left, you see the ancient Greek conqueror, Alexander the Great. If you look closely you can make out all the tiny stones that went into this piece. If you look below you can see the full mosaic, which depicts Alexander the Great defeating Persian King Darius in battle. This entire image is made of tiny colored stones.

This mosaic is almost 9 feet wide and over 16 feet long. It is located on a floor in a house discovered in the city of Pompeii.

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