Ancient Roman architecture

thumb|Digital reconstruction of the 2nd century BC Basilica Sempronia, in the [[Forum Romanum]] thumb|19th century reconstruction of the 2nd century AD Basilica Ulpia, part of the [[Trajan's Forum, Rome]] thumb|Ruins of Yererouk basilica 4th–5th century AD thumb|Ruins of the late 5th century AD basilica at Mushabbak, Syria thumb|Reconstruction of the basilica at Fano from a description by its architect [[Vitruvius|alt=]]

architecture of the ancient Romans

thumb|200px|A peripteros surrounded by a Peristasis (architecture)|peristasis

thumb|right|200px|Temple layout with cella highlighted in gray

building material used in construction during the late Roman Republic

architectural support

treatise on architecture by Vitruvius

thumb|Map of Rome in the time of the Roman Republic. The pomerium at that time is marked in pink; the Capitoline Hill|Capitoline and Aventine are extra pomerium, 'beyond the wall', with their boundaries in yellow. The pomerium or pomoerium was a religious boundary around the city of Rome and cities controlled by Rome. In legal terms, Rome existed only within its pomerium; everything beyond it was simply territory (ager) belonging to Rome.

type of aqueduct built by the Romans

In ancient Rome, the domus (: domūs, genitive: domūs or domī) was the type of town house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It was found in almost all the major cities throughout the Roman territories. The modern English word domestic comes from Latin domesticus, which is derived from the word domus. Along with a domus in the city, many of the richest families of ancient Rome also owned a separate country house known as a villa. Many chose to live primarily, or even exclusively, in their villas; these homes were generally much grand

large open-air venue used for chariot races and other events in the ancient Roman Empire, sometimes inclusive of open fields and large plazas

castle in Turkey

The Comitium () was the original open-air public meeting space of Ancient Rome, and had major religious and prophetic significance. The name comes from the Latin word for "assembly". The Comitium location at the northwest corner of the Roman Forum was later lost in the city's growth and development, but was rediscovered and excavated by archaeologists at the turn of the twentieth century. Some of Rome's earliest monuments, including the speaking platform known as the Rostra, the Columna Maenia, the Graecostasis, and the Tabula Valeria, were part of or associated with the Comitium.

arches with intradoses that are full semicircles; shape common in ancient Roman architecture

thumb|right|Cryptoporticus of Nero|Emperor Nero at [[Domus Transitoria, Palatine Hill]] In Ancient Roman architecture a cryptoporticus (from Latin crypta and porticus) is a covered corridor or passageway. The usual English is "cryptoportico". The cryptoportico is a semi-subterranean gallery whose vaulting supports portico structures aboveground and which is lit from openings at the tops of its arches.

right|thumb|Reconstructed horreum at the Saalburg fort in Germany

bridge built by the ancient Romans

Roman quarry in the eastern desert of Egypt

horticulture of ancient Rome

Roman masonry in diamond-shaped bricks of tuff, covering a core of opus caementicium

thumb|Sanctuary of Poseidon, Kalaureia In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a peribolos was a court enclosed by a wall, especially one surrounding a sacred area such as a temple, shrine, or altar. This area, however, is not a necessary element to these structures since those built earlier only included markers (e.g. horoi or boundary stones) to indicate imaginary boundaries. Excavations reveal that there are sanctuaries that included a peribolos later in its history, signifying a change in religious mentality. During the Roman times, there were pereboloi used as meeting places to conduct b

thumb|upright=1.4|Diagram of a typical Roman domus, with a taberna on each side of the entrance

thumbnail|The different levels of the cavea in the Roman Theatre at Bosra. Ima cavea in blue, media cavea in red and summa cavea in yellow. The cavea (Latin for "enclosure") are the seating sections of Greek and Roman theatres and amphitheatres. In Roman theatres, the cavea is traditionally organised in three horizontal sections, corresponding to the social class of the spectators: the ima cavea is the lowest part of the cavea and the one directly surrounding the arena. It was usually reserved for the upper echelons of society. the media cavea directly follows the ima cavea and was open to t

thumb|Various forms of cippi A '''''' () was a low, round, or rectangular pedestal set up by the Ancient Romans for purposes such as a milestone or a boundary post. They were also used for somewhat differing purposes by the Etruscans and Carthaginians.

monument in the form of a column

The chorobates, described by Vitruvius in Book VIII of the De architectura, was used to measure horizontal planes and was especially important in the construction of aqueducts (mainly during Roman Times).

UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bosra, Syria

thumb|upright=1.2|Cubiculum (bedroom) from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale, buried in the [[eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, with reconstructed furniture, and an Egyptian style mosaic]] thumb|upright=1.2|The bedroom without furniture, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art A cubiculum (: cubicula) was a private room in a domus, an ancient Roman house occupied by a high-status family. It usually led directly from the atrium, but in later periods it was sometimes adjacent to the peristyle. It was used for the functions of a modern bedroom, sleep and sex, as well as for business mee

Centuriation (in Latin centuriatio or, more usually, limitatio), also known as Roman grid, was a method of land survey used by the Romans. In many cases land divisions based on the survey formed a field system, often referred to in modern times by the same name. According to O. A. W. Dilke, centuriation combined and developed features of land surveying present in Egypt, Etruria, Greek towns and Greek countryside.

hallway of columns in some styles of Greek temple

thumb|260px|Trajan's Kiosk on Agilkia Island

A sacellum is a small shrine in ancient Roman religious contexts. The word is a diminutive of sacrum (neuter of sacer, "belonging to a god"). The numerous sacella of ancient Rome included both shrines maintained on private properties by families, and public ones. A sacellum might be square or round.

triumphal arch in Mainz, Germany

Roman theatre in Sabratha, Libya

thumb|A venereum in the House of Sallust Venereum (after goddess Venus) was an element of ancient Roman private apartments found particularly in Pompeii. It was originally interpreted as a specialized apartment or room dedicated to sexual activities. One venereum was found in the House of Julia Felix and another one in the House of Sallust, both in Pompeii. In the latter house, the venereum was a garden with several separate rooms.

thumb|House of Augustus, south wall of the "Large oecus" with frescoes in the Pompeian Style, [[Palatine Hill, Rome]] Oecus is the Latinized form of Greek oikos, used by Vitruvius for the principal hall or salon in a Roman house, which was used occasionally as a triclinium for banquets.

former mosque in Syria

architectural ornament

Roman ritual plowing undertaken when formally establishing a new settlement

Coenaculum, the term applied to the eating-room of a Roman house in which the supper (coena) or latest meal was taken. It was sometimes placed in an upper storey and reached by an external staircase.

ancient roman building techniques