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The Roman Empire had many accomplishments. Many are still used today. Some accomplishments of the Roman Empire are laws that became legal systems of Latin America and Europe. They also created sculptures which resembled the people of Rome. The Romans created the Roman Numerals. They were masters at building the roads, bridges and aqueducts to carry water. For example the bridge called Ponte Milvio, was used by Roman soldiers marching off to war. Some of the famous buildings are the Temple of Vesta, the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Theater of Pompey, and the Arch of Titus. The Romans were the first to organize a controlled army. Thermae (public baths), flush toilets, indoor plumbing, and complex sewer systems were also some achievements of the Roman Builders. The Pont du Gard was another feat of Ancient Romans. The Appian Way was the first military highway, this was Rome's greatest accomplishments. Other accomplishments were arches, concrete, bridges, arched roofs, ceilings, and aqueducts. A highway system was also invented. Corvus was another Roman invention. The Colosseum was built over 2,000 years ago. The Colosseum was made out of concrete and brick which was covered in stone. It is 48 meter high, 188 meters long, and 156 meters wide. There were three floors that had rows of arches. There were 80 arches and four of them can only be used by emperors. Later on they added the fourth story. When the Colosseum was completed, a celebration that lasted 100 days, was held. In this celebration 11,000 Jews, slaves, and Christians were killed. The Colosseum was built for Roman games. Gladiators would have battles, there were chariot races, men and wild beast battled, and other types of entertainment. The Colosseum could hold 50,000 people. The Colosseum was started by Vespasian in 80 A.D. and was completed by Domitian.
Pantheon was an ancient temple for the gods. Pantheon comes from the word "pantheion" which means "place for gods". This temple was completed about 1,900 years ago. The Pantheon is made of brick and concrete, just like the Colosseum. There is an opening at the top of the building that allows light to enter the entire building. There is also a porch at the buildings entrance that is supported by eight columns.
The Theater of Pompey is an ancient building in Rome. It was built around 55 B.C. This theater had a large central garden, statues, and there was space for holding meetings for the Senate. This was one of he largest theaters in the world! The Circus Maximus was built between Palatine and Aventine Hills. It extended 600 meters and was more than 100 meters wide. The Circus Maximus was built for chariot racing, hunts, and for mock battles. The Circus took place in 549 A.D. This idea, of the circus, was offered to the Romans by the King of the Goths. All of this brought in money. This building could seat 300,000 people. Circus Maximus burned down two times and collapsed at two occasions and killed many people.
The Appian Way was the first and the most famous military highway. They Appius Claudis Caecus began this highway's construction more than 2,300 years ago, this was during a war with the tribe of Italy, they were called Samnites. The road extended from Rome to Capua, but now it goes to Brindisi. The ideas and techniques were borrowed from the Greeks. They improved concrete. Also these roads do not need any repair for a hundred years because they were built so good. After the military campaign soldiers were done making the roads there was over fifty thousand miles of roads.
Romans created sculptures that resembled people. Many sculptures survived until today but some are broken and damaged. The sculptures are of Roman emperors. This began in Syracuse in 212 B.C. during the Second Pumic War. A Hellenistic Sculpture was taken to Rome and the Romans admired these sculptures. Greek artists settled in Rome in 146 B.C. and began making copies of Greek sculptures. Many sculptures were of Emperor Augustus of him lder and younger. There were different types of sculptures like the Relief Sculptures and Free Standing Sculptures. Another kind of sculpture was Relief Sculpture. These kind of sculptures were shallow and three dimensional. Carvings on flat surfaces were used for columns, arches, and temples, one example is the Ara Pacis from 13-9 B.C. Another relief sculpture was Trajan's Column( 106-113 A.D.) it had scenes of Trajan's Battles.
One other kind of sculpture was the Free Standing Sculpture. These statues were destroyed during the barbarian invasion. One example is Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius from 161-180 A.D. These statues were in public baths and temples.
Another kind of sculpture is Portrait Sculptures, it busts of famous Romans and emperors. These sculptures bust of the Emperor Constantine the Great.
These baths were called thermae. Taking a bath was the most important part of a Roman's day. Roman baths are used for getting clean and for healing. There were 170 baths in Rome, by 300 A.D. baths increased to over 900 baths. Each city had at least one thermae. Everyday, after dinner, they would go to a public bath and take a shower, but in order to get in, they had to pay a small entrance fee, but mostly rich Romans attended. Most thermae were decorated nicely with paintings and colored marble. A thermae also had a place to store their clothes while they were showering. There also was a gymnasium, ball courts, exercise grounds, swimming pools, rooms for gaming, reading rooms, and libraries. There were also vending machines.
Water mills were invented to help grind their grain. Romans introduced water power two other countries of the Roman Empire. The water mill requires gears to transmit the power. On the water mill their is shaft with a horizontal axis.
The Pont du Gard is in south France, but was built by the Roman Empire. Pont du Gard was given its name by the Gard Department. it was built around the year 19 B.C. This aqueduct has three levels and is 49m high. It was attributed to Augustus' son-in-law. The Pont du Gard carried water across Gardon river valley. Also, the stones weighed six tons. In the 19th century this aqueduct became unusable but they used the stones for their own purposes. Then in the 18th century it was used as a conventional bridge. In the late 18th century it was restored again as a major tourist site. On 1998, the Pont du Gard was hit by a flooding, this was a widespread damage in the area. Roads and neighboring facilities were badly damaged but the aqueduct was not seriously damaged. The French government sponsored a major redevelopement project. This improved visitor facilities and created a museum on the North bank. This project cost 32 million dollars. After the project was finished things were a lot quieter because of the vehicle traffic removal. The Pont du Gard is one of the top five tourist attractions. There were 1.4 million visitors in 2001.
The Arch of Titus is located south-east of the Forum in Rome. It is on the Via Sacra. Emperor Domitian constructed it after his brothers death in A.D.81. It was built to remind the Romans that they were at war with the Jews. The Arch of Titus was made of cut stone masonry. On the outside there are bronze lettering of the name of Titus, they did this so that the people would remember the emperor. The Arch of Titus has an attica, which is the top part of the arch, on top of the attica there was quardriga. A guardriga is a carving of a chariot being pulled by four horses with a statue of Titus Ceasar on the chariot.
A corvus was a Roman military device. It was used as a naval warfare during the First Punic War. The corvus is described like a bridge that is 1.2 m wide and 10.9 m long. The corvus had a parapet on both sides. Corvus means raven, which is why on the underside of the device there is a spike that is shaped like a bird's beak. When the corvus was lowered it was designed to pierce the enemy's ship deck. Because of the corvus, the Roman military won many battles. But the corvus had many disadvantages, too. Two entire fleets were lost because of the storm and this is when they abandoned the ship.
Systems of underground passages and rooms are called catacombs. They were used as chapel and burial places and chapels of the Christians. They are decorated with Christian symbols and paintings. From A.D 100 and early 400 Christians hid there during there periods of persecutions.
This is San Castillo, it is one of the most famous catacombs. Some other famous catacombs is Sant' Agnese and San Sebastiano.
San Sebastiano
The Temple of Vesta still stands today, even though it was burned two times. The temple is small and round. Theories say that the temple was dedicated to Hercules, who was the god of protecting Tibur. The Temple of Vesta was 2,395 meters high and there were 18 pillars, but today only 10 pillars are standing. The temple thatched roof, and was made of wattle and daub. The temple was burned down twice, in 14 B.C and 64 CE, but they fixed it up after the burns. Trajan and Julia Domna fixed the temple after the burns. It burned down once again in 191. There were many inventions created by the Romans in Ancient Rome. Many of these inventions are still used today or are influenced by some of these inventions. Some things we used today are roads, concrete, bathroom, and the sculptures. A few of these inventions are still standing in Rome until this day, for example the Colosseum, the Arch of Titus, and the Pantheon.
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