History of Architecture 1

CONTENT:
UNIT-I PREHISTORIC AGE
UNIT-II ANCIENT RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS: EGYPT
UNIT-III ANCIENT RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS:

MESOPOTAMIA
UNIT-IVCLASSICAL PERIOD: GREECE
UNIT V CLASSICAL PERIOD: ROME

DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
OF ARCHITECTURE -I 3
ANCIENT EGYPT
UNIT II
ANCIENT EYGPT –UNIT II
1. History
2. Landscape and culture of Ancient Egypt
3. Religious and funerary beliefs and practices
4. Monumentality
5. Tomb architecture
6. Evolution of the pyramid from the mastaba
7. Temple architecture: mortuary temples and cult temples
8. Great Pyramid of Cheops, Gizeh
9. Temple of Ammon Ra, Karnak
10. Temple of Abu Simbel (Rock Cut)

42 OF ARCHITECTURE -I
HISTORY
• Ancient Egyptian culture flourished between c.
5500 BCE with the rise of technology (as evidenced
in the glass-work of faience) and 30 CE with the
death of Cleopatra VII, the last Ptolemaic ruler
of Egypt.
• Ancient Egyptian history is a long and complex one
with more than 3,000 years of details.
• Throughout these 3,000 years ancient Egyptians
lived under about 30 dynasties, with each
dynasty being based on the lineage of the
kings/pharaohs.
• Throughout all these years, the country
experienced many changes, some being very
drastic.
• The land began as two (Upper & Lower Egypt), with
King Menes uniting the two regions at around 3,500
B.C.E.
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GEOGRAPHY
Geography Ancient Egypt was divided into two
regions:
▪ Upper and
▪ Lower Egypt
• Lower (northern) Egypt consisted of the Nile
River's delta made by the river as it empties into
the Mediterranean.
• Upper Egypt was the long, narrow strip of
ancient Egypt located south of the Delta
The Nile River
1. The Nile was the lifeblood of ancient Egypt It
made life possible in the otherwise barren
desert of Egypt.
2. It is the longest river in the world (over 4,000
miles).
3. It served as a source of food for the people of
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5. The Nile was crucial for farming 44 URE -I
NILE RIVER FLOODING
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GEOGRAPHY
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1. Prehistory - The time before writing
2. The Dynastic Period - The time of Egyptian Pharaohs
or Kings
3. The Greco-Roman Period - Egypt ruled by Greek Kings DR.M.G.R
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4. The Archaic Islamic Period - After the Arab Invasion OF
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5. The Colonial Period - Egypt ruled
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CULTURAL ADVANCES AND DAILY LIFE
1. Ancient Egypt can be thought of as an oasis in the desert of
northeastern Africa, dependent on the annual inundation of
the Nile River to support its agricultural population.
2. The country’s chief wealth came from the fertile floodplain of

the Nile valley, where the river flows between bands of limestone
hills, and the Nile delta, in which it fans into several branches
north of present-day Cairo.
3. Between the floodplain and the hills is a variable band of low
desert that supported a certain amount of game.
4. The Nile was Egypt’s sole transportation artery.
5. They also worshipped natural elements (Nile river, earth)and

some animals that were considered sacred: crocodile, cat ,
beetle.
6. Egyptian religion was ‘polytheistic’, that is ,they believed in
various gods and goddesses and Pyramid , Mastabas , TempleS
CULTURAL ADVANCES AND DAILY LIFE
1. Papyrus (from which comes the English word `paper’) was only one of the
technological advances of the ancient Egyptian culture.
2. The Egyptians were also responsible for developing the ramp and lever
and geometry for purposes of construction,
3. Advances in mathematics and astronomy (also used in construction as
exemplified in the positions and locations of the pyramids and certain
temples, such as Abu Simbel),
4. Improvements in irrigation and agriculture,
5. Ship building and aerodynamics.
6. The Kahun Papyrus (c. 1800 BCE) is an early treatise on women’s health
issues and contraception and, as there was no religious proscription
against dissecting a human body.
7. Dentistry was widely practised and the Egyptians are credited with
inventing toothpaste, toothbrushes, the toothpick, and even breath mints.

AGRICULTURE
1. Agriculture centered on the cultivation of
cereal crops, chiefly emmer wheat and
barley .
2. The fertility of the land and general
predictability of the inundation ensured
very high productivity from a single
annual crop.
3. This productivity made it possible to
store large surpluses against crop
failures and also formed the chief basis
of Egyptian wealth
4. Papyrus, which grew abundantly in
marshes, was gathered wild and in later
times was cultivated.
5. It may have been used as a food crop,
and it certainly was used to make rope,
matting, and sandals.
6. Above all, it provided the characteristic
Egyptian writing material, which, with
cereals, was the country’s chief export in
Late period Egyptian and then Greco-
Roman times. DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
CLOTHING
• The ancient Egyptians wore light clothes made from linen.
• Linen is made from flax - a plant which was grown along the Nile
MEN WOMEN
• All men wore a wrap-round skirt • Egyptian women wore full length
that was tied at the waist with a straight dresses with one or two
belt. shoulder straps.
• the material was wrapped around • During the New Kingdom period it
the legs as well. became fashionable for dresses
• The length of the skirt varied to be pleated or draped.
depending on the fashion of the • The dresses worn by rich Egyptian
time - in the time of the Old women were made from fine
Kingdom they were short while in transparent linen.
the Middle Kingdom they were calf • Like the men, rich Egyptian
length. women decorated their clothes
• During the New Kingdom period it and wore jewellery and
was fashionable to wear a pleated headdresses
garment

RELIGION IN ANCIENT EGYPT
• Religion was very important to the Ancient Egyptians.
• Their religion was strongly influenced by tradition, which caused them to
resist change.
• "Egyptians did not question the beliefs which had been handed down to
them; they did not desire change in their society.
• Their main aim throughout their history was to emulate the conditions which
they believed had existed at the dawn of creation" (Pg. 81, David, 1988).
• DIVINE KINGSHIP.
1. One of the very strong traditions was that of Divine Kingship.
2. Divine Kingship is the belief that the Pharaoh was not only the King (political
ruler) but also a god.
3. The Pharaoh was associated with Horus, son of Re the sun god.
4. Later it was believed that at death he became Osiris, or an Osiris, and
would help the Egyptians in their afterlife
5. Due to their beliefs, the Pharaoh held an immense amount of power.
6. In addition, the priests in Ancient Egypt were also very powerful.
7. When things were going well, the people believed the priest and pharaoh
were doing their jobs well; when things in the country were not going well,
the people believed the pharaoh and the priest were to blame.
The religion of Ancient Egypt was a polytheistic (many gods) religion with
one short period of monotheism (one god).
DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY Their
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HISTORY
different gods and goddesses.. OF ARCHITECTURE -I 54
1. FUNERARY PRACTICES
1. One of the more famous aspects of the Egyptian religious beliefs was their
ideas of the afterlife.
2. Ancient Egyptian civilization was based on religion; their belief in the rebirth
after death became their driving force behind their funeral practices
3. They believed the physical body had to be preserved to allow a place for
their spirit to dwell in the afterlife.
4. Death was simply a temporary interruption, rather than complete
cessation, of life, and that eternal life could be ensured by means like piety
to the gods, preservation of the physical form through Mummification, and
the provision of statuary and other funerary equipment.
5. Each human consisted of the physical body, the 'ka', the 'ba', and the 'akh'.
The Name and Shadow were also living entities.
6. To enjoy the afterlife, all these elements had to be sustained and protected
from harm.
The gods Osiris, Anubis,

DR.M.G.R andFAOHorus,
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Canopic Jars
The removed internal organs were separately treated and, during much
of Egyptian history, placed in jars of clay or stone
Ancient Egyptian Tombs
The Egyptians believed that the next life had to be provided for in every
detail and, tombs were decorated with depictions of the deceased at his
funerary meal, activities of the estate and countryside, and the abundant
offerings necessary to sustain the spirit
Mummies and Coffins
the mummy and coffins were placed in a rectangular outermost coffin
made primarily out of sycamore wood. The posts of the coffin are
inscribed with religious texts. On the top of the coffin sits an alert jackal,
probably a reference to Anubis, the jackal-headed god who was the
patron of embalmers and protector of cemeteries.
Burial Masks
A special element of the rite was a sculpted mask, put on the face of the
deceased. This mask was believed to strengthen the spirit of the mummy
and guard the soul from evil spirits on its way to the afterworld.
Funerary Art
Egyptian funerary art was inseparably connected to the belief that life
continues after death andDR.M.G.R
that in order to make the journey between this
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ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS AND MATERIALS
1. Egyptian architectural designs were monumental but not architecturally

complex:
2. They used posts and lintels, not arches, although Egyptian stone masons
had a strong influence on later Greek sculpture and architecture.
3. The lack of wood was balanced by an abundance of sun-baked mud bricks,
and stone (mostly limestone, but also granite and sandstone), although most
major structures had to be built near the Nile, as building materials were
transported by river.
4. Stone was first introduced during the era of the Old Kingdom (2686-2181),
initially only for tombs and temples, and architectural sculpture.
5. Bricks were used for everything else, including royal palaces, fortified
buildings, temple walls and outbuildings, as well as municipal and other civic
complexes.
6. Most famous Egyptian architecture was completed during two periods:
RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS/MONUMENTS
• Massive structures characterized by thick, sloping walls with few
openings.
• Possibly a method of construction used to obtain stability in mud
walls.
• The incised and flatly modeled surface adornment of the stone
buildings has derived from mud wall ornamentation.
• The use of the arch was developed during the fourth dynasty ,all
monumental buildings are post and lintel constructions,
• Flat roofs are constructed of huge stone blocks supported by the
external walls and the closely spaced columns.
• Exterior and interior walls, as well as the columns and piers,were
covered with hieroglyphic and pictorial frescoes andcarvings painted
in brilliant colors. DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS/MONUMENTS
• Many motifs of Egyptian ornamentation are symbolic, such as the
scarab, or sacred beetle the solar disk the vulture palm leaves, the
papyrus plant buds and flowers of the lotus
Hieroglyphs were inscribed for decorative purposes as well asto record
historic events or spells.
Ancient Egyptian temples were aligned with astronomically significant
events, such as solstices and equinoxes,
•required precise measurements at the moment of the particular event
.•Measurements at the most significant temples may have been
ceremonially undertaken by the Pharaoh himself.

MONUMENTAL ARCHITECTURE IN EGYPT
• The significance of monumental architecture lies not only in the function it
is built to serve but also in the cultural values it represents.
• Monumental architecture is aesthetic as well as functional, and in its
aesthetic aspects it is a form of cultural expression.
• In Bronze Age Mediterranean civilizations, the development of
monumental architecture was influenced primarily by the political
structure of the state.
• Perhaps the most disparate forms of monumental architecture in this
region were developed in Pharaonic Egypt and Minoan Crete, reflecting
the differences in their political systems.
• As an example of Egyptian monumental architecture, THE STEP
PYRAMID reveals much about Egyptian social values and the central
structure of the Egyptian state
Djoser's Step Pyramid atDR.M.G.R

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PURPOSE- MONUMENTAL ARCHITECTURE IN EGYPT
• Monumental architecture in Pharaonic Egypt is represented primarily by
the funerary complexes of the pharaohs.
• The principle function of these elaborate complexes was to ensure that the
pharaohs, who were exalted as living gods, would attain the afterlife they
desired.
• This required that two basic conditions be fulfilled:
• the body had to be preserved from disturbance or destruction;
• and the material needs of the body and the ka (soul) had to be
met
• Pharaonic burial complexes were also centers of worship for the

god-king interred there and were designed to exalt his memory and deeds
• The fact that monumental architecture was associated exclusively with

burial complexes and temples demonstrates the paramount importance
placed upon the afterlife by the Egyptians.
• While ordinary buildings were needed to last only for a lifetime and could
be replaced whenever necessary, tombs—or “castles of eternity”—
were designed to last forever
TOMB ARCHITECTURE - MASTABAS
The greatest stimulus for the ancient Egyptians was
• THEIR BELIEF IN AN AFTERLIFE
This was reflected in their architecture and most prominently by the

enormous amounts of time, money, and manpower involved in the building
of their tombs
TOMB ARCHITECTURE - PURPOSE
Egyptians believed that the soul could live only if the body was preserved
from corruption and depredation.
From the predynastic era forward, the ancient Egyptians strove to
develop methods for preserving the bodies of the dead. Initially
1. embalming methods were used, and
2. later architectural tombs were devised to preserve the
corpse
The body would be placed in a deep, sealed chamber such as a

Mastaba. Because the remains were not in contact with the dry desert
sand, the natural process mummification of the remains could not take
place. DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
EGYPTIAN TOMB
ARCHITECTURE
•Ancient Egyptians believed that preserving the
body after death was important to keep their soul
alive.
•Mummification
• After 70 days, a funeral procession was

headed towards the tomb.
• Mummies were placed in a sarcophagus

which was highly decorated .
• This fabulous wealth in gold, silver and jewels

belonging to the Kings, Queens and nobility,
attracted the attentions of robber - the tomb
raiders.
The tombs were of three main types:

1. MASTABAS
2. ROYAL PYRAMIDS
TOMB ARCHITECTURE - MASTABAS
A MASTABA is a type of
1. Ancient Egyptian tomb

2. In the form of a flat-roof.
3. A Rectangular structure
4. With outward sloping sides that marked the burial site of many
eminent Egyptians of Egypt's ancient period.
5. Mastabas were constructed out of mud-bricks or stone
The word Mastaba comes from the Arabic word for a stone bench
( ,)‫مسطبة‬because when seen from a distance it resembles a bench.

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER-
1. a deep chamber was dug into the ground and lined
with stone or bricks.
2. The exterior building materials were initially bricks
made of sun dried mud which was readily
available from the Nile River
3. The above-ground structure was rectangular in
shape, had sloping sides, a flat roof,.
4. The mastaba was built with a north-south
orientation.
5. This above ground structure had space for a small
offering chapel equipped with a false door to
which priests and family members brought food and
other offerings for the soul of the deceased.
6. A second hidden chamber called a "serdab"
( ,)‫سرداب‬from the Arabic word for “cellar,” housed a
statue of the deceased that was hidden within the
masonry for its protection.
7. High up the walls of the serdab were small openings.
8. These openings “were for allowing the fragrance of
burning incense, and the spells spoken in rituals, to
reach the statue. OF ARCHITECTURE -I 67
MASTABAS
TEMPLES OF EGYPT
MORTUARY TEMPLES CULT TEMPLES
• For ministrations to deified • For the popular worship of the
Pharoahs • Ancient and mysterious Gods
• Developed from the offering chapels
of the Royal Mastabas and the • Worship of local deities
Pyramids
• Rectangular palisade court
• In the MIDDLE KINGDOM royal
burials were made in the hillside • Entrance through the narrow end
hence temples gained importance
• Pennon poles flanked the entrance
• In the NEW KINGDOM they were
detached from the Then customary • Emblem of the deity in the center
corridor tombs
• Soon they resembled the Cult • Pavilion, vestibule and sanctuary
Temples • in the further end of the court
• Stages of development difficult to

• trace due to successive rebuilding
Processions
• B.ARCH
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TEMPLES OF EGYPT
COMPONENTS :
1. Walled open courts with
colonnades along the
main axis
2. Led to a covered shelter
comprising of
3. transverse columned
vestibule(Hypostyle Hall)
4. sanctuary beyond
5. Axial gateway to court
6. The Gateway extended to Forming towering sloping sided pair of Pylons with
a tall Portal -Pennon mast, gorge cornice roll
the entire width of the moulded outer angles
court Temple within enclosure and about it were houses
of priests, Official buildings, stores, granaries and
a sacred pool or lake
EXAMPLES
1. TEMPLE OF KHONS – KARNAK 1198 BC
2. TEMPLE OF MENTUHETEP – DER EL BAHARI THEBES -2130–1580 BC M .KINGDOM
3. TEMPLE OF HATSHEPSUT – THEBES 1520 BC NEW KINGDOM
4. GREAT TEMPLE OF AMON – KARNAK 1530 – 323 BC NEW KINGDOM
5. TEMPLE OF LUXOR – THEBES 1408 – 1300 BC NEW KINGDOM
6. TEMPLE OF HORUS, MAMMISI TEMPLE EDFU – 237- 57 BC, HATHOR DENDERA 110BC-68AD

KARNAK TEMPLE COMPLEX

• Karnak is a complex in Egypt where ancient ruined temples are

located.
• These temples are from the era of Pharoah Ramses II, from
around 1391-1351 BC. This area was the most important place
for worship during this time.
• There are four main temples in the complex, and the Precinct
of Amun-Re is the largest.
• Here, people worshiped the god Amun-Re
• The Karnak complex is the work of several Pharaohs and is
dedicated to the supreme deity Amon-Ra.
• The site consists of several huge temples, a forest of columns,
pylons, obelisks, and avenues of sphinxes.
• An ancient obelisk still stands and is said to weigh
approximately 323 tons with a height of 29 metres.
• The majority of the complex was built around 1,500 BC
• The Temple of Amun in Egypt,

unusually, is built along two
axis running both east-west
and north-south.
• It's construction took place
over many centuries, and at
the command of many
different Egyptian kings.
• The original core of the
temple was located near the
center of the east-west axis
on a mound which was itself
almost certainly a very ancient
sacred site.
• This original core was then
expanded both towards the
Nile in normal Egyptian
fashion, but also in the
direction of the outlying Mut
temple to the south
THE GREAT HYPOSTYLE HALL AT THE TEMPLE OF AMUN,
KARNAK,

KARNAK,
1. This is a veritable forest in stone, and
measures some 99.4 by 51.82
meters.
2. The 134 colossal papyrus
columns
3. The center 12 columns are larger,
standing some 21 meters tall, with
open capitals,
4. The remaining 122 columns outside
of these stand 15 meters high and
have closed capitals
5. The exterior walls of the Great
Hypostyle Hall in the Temple of Amun
at Karnak mostly portray the military
actions of Ramesses II .
KARNAK,
The axis of the • Western pylon of the temple we see

north-south an aisle bordered by twelve huge
transverse columns with open papyrus
way with a capitals.
clear view of • These columns measure 18.5 meters,
the abacus, from the top of their base to the top of
architrave, their capitals and twenty-one meters
torus, including their bases and abacuses.
cornice, • The architrave above the abacus
surmounted measures another two meters. The
by an upper circumference of the capitals reach
pillar and about 21 meters so that they are equal
architrave to the height of the columns, including
framing a the base and abacus.
window DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
1. KARNAK TEMPLE FIRST
PYLON
2. The first pylon is the last to be

built at Karnak and is the main
entrance into the temple today.
3. The north tower is about 71 feet

(21.70m), and the south tower 103
feet (31.65m). If the structure had
been completed it would probably
reached a height of between 124
feet (38m) to 131 feet (40m).
4. It was built by Nectanebo I (380-

362 BC)
5. An avenue of sphinxes leads to
the pylon. These sphinxes are
ram-headed, symbolizing the god
Amun and a small effigy of
Ramesses II, in the form of Osiris,
stands between their front paws.
KARNAK TEMPLE SACRED LAKE
1. Karnak Temple Sacred Lake is the largest of its kind and was dug by
Tuthmosis III (1473-1458 BC).
2. It measures 393 feet (120m) by 252 feet (77m) and is lined with stone wall
and has stairways descending into the water.
3. The lake was used by the priests for ritual washing and ritual navigation.
4. It was also home to the sacred geese of Amun (the goose being another
symbol of Amun) and was a symbol of the primeval waters from which life
arose in the ancient Egyptian’s idea of creation.
5. It was surrounded by storerooms and living quarters for the priests.
6. There was also an aviary for aquatic birds.

KARNAK TEMPLE BARQUE CHAPEL OF RAMESSES III
1. Rameses III (1184–1153 BC) built a
bark shrine south of the second pylon,
which was later enclosed by the court
yard constructed by Shoshenq I (943-
922 BC).
2. The shrine’s entrance was fronted by a
small pylon adorned with scenes of the
king smiting his enemies and two six
meter statues carved from red
sandstone flanked the door way.
3. Inside, the first court is lined with

Osride statues of the king; the west
side wear the red crown of the
south, while those on the east side
wear the white crown of the north.
4. Beyond the court is a vestibule also

fronted by Osiride pillars leading into a
small hypostyle hall which in turn leads
into three chapels for the barques of
Karnak. OF ARCHITECTURE -I 83
• TEMPLE OF ABU
SIMBEL
• Abu Simbel is the location of the most
famous temple of Ramses II.
• The most spectacular aspect of this
temple is its setting in the solid rock
above the banks of the Nile River
between the First and Second
Cataracts.
• As impressive as Abu Simbel is, it
probably would not be quite as famous
were it not for its relocation because of
the construction of the Aswan High Dam

TEMPLE
OF
ABU SIMBEL

FACADE
The facade of the Great
Temple of Ramses is about 38
meters long and 31 meters
high
1. The temple is dedicated to the most important gods of the New Kingdom,
Ptah (the creator god of Memphis), Amun-Re (the great god of
Thebes) and Re-Harakhte (sun god of Heliopolis), as well as to the
Pharaoh Ramses II himself.
2. The four colossi, statues of Ramses II (c. 1290-1224 BCE), are more than
20 meters high and about 4 meters from ear to ear.
3. The colossi depict Ramses II seated with his-Ihands on his thighs
OF ARCHITECTURE 87
INTERIOR
▪ Inside the temple, eight Osiride
statues of Rameses II are attached
to pillars and support the roof.
▪ The sun shines on Ramses II’s
statues only two days out of each
year: Oct 22 and Feb 22.
▪ These two days were his birthday
and his coronation day.
Battle of Kadesh
• The walls depict scenes which
show Ramses’ greatness in
battle.
• Ramses was particularly proud of
his victory at the battle of Kadesh
and depicted this on numerous
monuments including this temple.

• The young, handsome face is finely carved.
• He wears a double crown on his head and a
heavy nemes flares out on both sides of his
face.
• The line of the smiling lips is more than a
meter long
The doorway to the interior is 7 meters high. A statue of Re-Harakhte with the falcon head
is in a niche over the entrance. The god is flanked by low relief depictions of Ramses II
who presents him with a tiny statuette of Maat--goddess of Truth and Justice. The cornice
above the entrance has a frieze design of uraei ( figure of the sacred serpent, an emblem of sovereignty
depicted on the headdress of ancient Egyptian rulers and deities.) and above the cornice there are twenty-two
high relief statues of seated baboons with their hands raised in worshipping the su(he
who rises up) OF ARCHITECTURE -I 89
Smaller sculptures between the legs and at the base of the colossi
represent members of the royal family: "Princess Nebt-taui, Princess Bant-
anat and an unidentified princess on the southernmost colossus; Queen
Tu'e, the King's mother, Queen Nefertari, his wife, and his son prince Amen-
hir-khopshef to the left of the doorway; and beside the statues to the right
(north), Queen Nefertari, twice represented, and Prince Ramses.

THE ARCHITECTURAL COMPONENTS OF THE PYRAMID COMPLEX
Typically, a pyramid complex contains about 14 architectural components, each
with a specific function and location. This form originates in Dynasty IV and
continues throughout the Old Kingdom with little change except to accommodate
a new cult of for topographical reasons.
1. THE PYRAMID
About 97 pyramids still mark the desert edge of the Nile valley, and about 12
more exist but lack their superstructures. Often pyramids function as burial
places for kings and queens with the burial chamber usually located underneath
the pyramid. The chambers for Snofru and Khufu are exceptions. Other pyramid
types are called ritual or satellite pyramids. They are connected with the cult of
the king.
2. THE ENCLOSURE WALLS
Each pyramid has at least two enclosure walls, the inner one marking the
boundaries of the court and the outer one demarcating the sacred area of the
whole complex. The walls are built of stone rubble. Enclosure walls dating to the
Old Kingdom are not inscribed, but those of the Middle Kingdom bear the king's
titles, such as those of King Sesostris I at Lisht.
3. THE UPPER TEMPLE
Also known as the mortuary or funerary temple, the upper temple is located on
the east side of the- pyramid-the only exception is that of Wsrkaf (Dynasty V) at
Saqqara.
4. SUBSIDIARY PYRAMIDS
Usually located on the south side of the main pyramid, these smaller pyramids
function either as the burial of the king's wife or mother or as a satellite
pyramid.
5. BOAT PITS
Located around the pyramid and causeway, boat pits can be numerous, as in
the case of Kh'asekh-emwy who has 12 near his enclosure. The number varies
Unas has two boats while Khufu and Khafre each have five; yet Menkaure and
others have none.
6. WORKSHOP
Evidence from the workshop areas shows that statues, stone and pottery
vessels, flint-knives and other equipment necessary for the maintenance of the
cult were made within the complex. Also, bread and beer were made here to
feed the personnel at the pyramid cities.
8. THE LOWER TEMPLE
This temple, also known as the valley temple, takes its name from its location at
the edge of the agricultural floodplain.. The most complete temple belongs to
Khafre.
9. THE PYRAMID CITY
Located near the lower temple, the city housed the personnel who maintained the
cult of the king and was directed by an. overseer. The city always bears the same
name as the pyramid.
10. THE HARBOUR
During the pyramid's construction, stones, labourers and officials moved through
the harbour and canal, located in front of the lower temple. After construction, the
port brought in products needed for the maintenance of the cult of the deceased
king.
11. THE ESTATE
The funerary complex produced its own agricultural and animal products on a
farm located on the fertile flood plain. Half of the produce went to people living in
the pyramid city; the rest went to the sustenance of the living king.
13. THE WORKMEN'S COMMUNITY
Here lived the workmen and the artisans who were involved in the construction of
the pyramid.
14. R-S (MOUTH OF THE LAKE)
The area in. front of the lower temple that encompasses
DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY the harbour and canals
FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
is the delivery area, known as "the Mouth of the Lake"
The Giza pyramids were erected on a rocky plateau on the west bank of the Nile in
northern Egypt and were connected, by covered causeways, to mortuary temples in
the valley below the plateau. These temples had landing stages which were linked to
the Nile by a canal. In ancient times they were included among the Seven Wonders
of the World.
The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops in Greek) 2530 BC

Khafre's Pyramid Khufu's son (Chephren (in Greek)
The Pyramid of Menkure (Mycerinus in Greek) 2460 BCE
Not only did the pyramids serve as tombs for the Pharaohs who built them,
they also served to stimulate the Egyptian economy and to focus the energies of a
large kingdom that was just getting used to being unified

The pyramids on the Giza plateau are with 146.59m (Khufu / Cheops)
143.87m (Khafre / Chefren)

Khufu-Pyramid
1. Entrance with descending corridor
2. Entrance cut by grave robbers
3. Subterranean chamber
4. Grand Gallery
5. King's chamber, relieving chambers, granite portcullis slabs
6. Queen's chamber
7. Shaft
8. Limestone plugging the air shaft
A= "Air shafts". OF ARCHITECTURE -I 101
THE KING'S CHAMBER
1. The King's chamber lies on

43.03m
2. Lined with granite.
3. On top of the chamber are
five so called relieving
chambers
4. A granite sarcophagus lies in
the chamber, but it is not
known if there ever was a
corpse put to rest there; a
mummy or grave goods
haven't been found inside the
pyramid.
5. The King's chamber is a
hollow space in the middle of
a massive structure of stone.
The purpose of the relieving chambers
The chamber itself is a hard
probably was to absorb the enormous
granite nucleus surrounded
pressure on the King's chamber and to
by softer limestone. On the
redirect it into the surrounding
roof beams which lie on 48
stones. Because granite has a higher
meters, another 98 meters of
compressive strength than limestone
DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCHstone
HISTORYpress down
THE AIR SHAFTS
THE GRAND GALLERY 1. These shafts start from the King's
1. The entrance used today to enter chamber and the Queen's
the pyramid is a breach underneath chamber upwards and to the
the original entrance to the north and south.
pyramid. 2. The air shafts, which start in the
2. The Grand Gallery is very King's chamber are better known.
impressive, it is 46.71m long, the 3. They are made from limestone,
roof is 8.74m high and the walls are except where they cross the
made from granite. granite walls of the chamber.
3. The roof forms a 26°-angle and 4. The exit of the northern shaft was
consists of seven corbels. enlarged by tomb robbers to a
4. It is interesting, that the so depth of 11m and part of the shaft
called corbelled vault was destroyed.
"invented" at the same time as the 5. The southern exit of the shaft to
larger pyramids were built. the surface of the pyramid was
5. The first corbelled vault was built in restored. It is not known, if the
the pyramid of Meidum, then shafts were covered by the outer
Sneferu's pyramids and Khufu's casing stones or not, because the
pyramid followed stones are not there anymore.
6. Both shafts are not straight, but
slightly bent

MATERIAL
The pyramid was constructed of
• limestone,
• basalt, and
• granite stones
1. From two to four tonnes in weight each, adding up to a total estimated

weight of some 7 million tonnes, and a volume of 2,600,600 cubic metres.
2. It is the largest Egyptian pyramid .
3. At completion, the Great Pyramid was surfaced by white 'casing stones' –
slant-faced, but flat-topped, blocks of highly polished white
limestone.'casing stones'

• UNIT III ANCIENT RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS:
MESOPOTAMIA
• Urbanization in the Fertile Crescent – Sumerian,
Babylonian, Assyrian and Persian culture
• evolution of city-states and their character – law and
writing –
• theocracy and architecture – evolution of the
ziggurat – palaces.
• Ziggurat of Ur, Urnamu – Palace of Sargon, Khorsabad
– Palace at Persepolis

The Fertile Crescent is the region in
the Middle East which curves, like a
quarter-moon shape, from the Persian
Gulf, through modern-day southern
Iraq, Syria, Lebanon,
Jordan, Israel and northern Egypt
FERTILE CRESENT
NORTHEAST- ZARGOS MOUNTAINS
SOUTH-semi-circle, with the open side
toward the
WEST END AT THE SOUTH -east
corner of the Mediterranean,
CENTRE -directly north of Arabia
EAST -north end of the Persian Gulf.
GEOGRAPHY DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

THE WEST ASIATIC CIVILIZATION IS LOCATED IN THE FERTILE LANDS OF 2 RIVERS
TIGRIS
EUPHRATES
MESO-BETWEEN POTAMIS- RIVERS
MESOPOTAMIA CONSIST OF 2 PARTS:

AKKAD
SUMER
CLIMATIC FACTORS:
EXTREME HOT SUMMERS AND COLD WINTERS
LESS OF RAINFALL EXCEPT IN NORTHERS DISTRICTS
REFLECTED IN ARCHITECTURE TO PROTECT FROM HEAT IN THE FORM OF

COLUMNED HALLS AND PORTICOES
HIGH PLATFORM, DADOES (LOWER PART IS DECORATED WITH A DIFFERENT MATERIAL FROM THE UPPER PART)
PROVIDED IN ALL BUILDINGS TO PROTECT FROM FLOODS IN THE TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES DUE TO THE MELTING
OF SNOW IN THE ARMENIAN MOUNTAINS IN SUMMER
HARNESSED RIVERS IN THEIR COURSES WITH USE OF CANALS
BUILDINGS OF ALL TYPES:

ARRANGED AROUND LARGE AND SMALL COURT
NARROW ROOMS
THICK WALLS.
CLIMATIC FACTORS DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

MESOPOTMIA MEANS - THE LAND BETWEEN 2 RIVERS

They both have large riversystems,Nile river
runs through Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea
is in the north part of Egypt, the Euphrates and
Tigris rivers run through Mesopotamia. They also
have flooding and hot, sunny climate. They have
their own alphabet, Egyptians used
Hieroglyphics and the Mesopotamian s used
Cuneiform.
What did egyptians Mesopotamian society

DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY have incommon?
❑ Known as the Cradle/birthplace of Civilization,
❑ humans settle in these regions and domesticate plants and animals.
❑ domestication—farming and grazing—lure increasingly greater human
and animal migration to these spaces.
❑ rise to the social and political economic formations that characterize
the ancient urban spaces and states of Mesopotamia.
❑ These elements are tied to the growth of commerce and broader
cultural interaction.
❑ The structures of these civilizations—these empires, states, cities—did
not stop the interaction and the flow of goods, people, and ideas.
❑ IT resulted in the earliest formations of what has been called the
Afro-Eurasian Old World —the interaction between the Indus,
Mesopotamian, and Nile river systems.
❑ agriculture, urbanization, writing, trade, science, history and
organized religion
URBANIZATION OF THE FERTILE CRESENT

• first populated c.10,000 BCE
• 9,000 BCE the cultivation of wild grains and cereals was wide-spread
• 5000 BCE, irrigation of agricultural crops was fully developed
• 4500 BCE the cultivation of wool-bearing sheep was practiced widely
• The first cities -Eridu, followed by Uruk
• From 3400 BC - the priests were responsible for the distribution of
food and the careful monitoring of surplus for trade.
• 2300 BCE, soap was produced from tallow and ash and was in wide
use as personal hygiene .
• human beings created as help-mates to the gods and so should make
themselves presentable in the performance of their duties
• Sargon of Akkad (Sargon the Great) ruled over the first multi-
cultural empire in Mesopotamia, allowing for the growth of great
building projects, art works and religious literature
• 2000 BCE,Babylon controlled the Fertile Crescent and the region
saw advances in law literature ,religion ,science and math.

• 1900-1400 BCE trade with Europe, Egypt, Phoenicia and the Indian
sub-continent , resulting in the spread of literacy, culture and
religion to these regions.
• 600 BCE the Assyrians controlled the Fertile Crescent
• 580, the Neo-Babylonian Chaldean Empire under Nebuchadnezzar
II ruled the region.
• Alexander the Great invaded the area in 334 BCE, it was ruled by the
Parthians, Rome in 116 CE
• After the short-lived Roman annexation and occupation, the region
was conquered by the Sassanid Persians
• finally, by the Arabian Muslims in the 7th century CE.

• grew up beside the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
• had long been disseminated throughout the ancient world but the
cities themselves were mostly in ruins through the destruction
caused by the many military conquests in the region as well as
natural causes such as earthquakes and fire.
• Rampant urbanization and the over-use of the land also resulted in
the decline and eventual abandonment of the cities of the Fertile
Crescent.
• The city of Eridu, considered to be the first city on earth,
• built and inhabited by the gods, had been abandoned since 600 BCE,
Uruk.

Ancient Mesopotamia - Contributions to Technology
• One of the most important contributions to technology achieved by the
sumerians was the ability to control the tigris and euphrates rivers.
• The sumerians learned to build levees.
• They were no longer dependent on the yearly floods and had a stable year-
round food supply.
• This resulted in the first civilization because people didn't have to be nomadic.
• It also resulted the first basic forms of government called city-states.
• Each city-state consisted of a temple and public buildings at its center.
• There were social classes such as merchants, farmers, politicians, and priests.
Each city-state governed itself.
• wars between neighboring city-states was common.
Evolution of city states

• With the development of a city-state and government
came the first major architectural structure called a
ziggurat.
• One of the other most important technological

contributions made by the sumerians was the first
system of writing.
ZIGGURAT
• These city-states were independent of one another and
were fully self-reliant centers,
• each surrounding a temple that was dedicated to god
or goddess specific to that city-state.
• Each city-state was governed by a priest king
• Sumerian language as a form of communication,
• battlES for control over water supplies and the fertile
land.
• A typical Sumerian city was well fortified with thick
tall walls, which the king was responsible for CUNIFORM
maintaining.

• Within a Sumerian city’s walls were avenues that The Sumerians saw most of their
were used for religious processionals, and high, wealth and success from trade.
stepped temples know as ziggurats. The fertile land (the area was known
• Sumerian cities often had several ziggurats, each as the Fertile Crescent) upon which
dedicated to a different god or goddess. they lived provided a
• king of a Sumerian city lived in a luxurious palace, successful agriculture industry as
most of his people lived in very small thatched well.
houses that were crowded together and separated
by narrow alleyways.
• This was evidence of a distinct social system that
was in place in Sumer..
• The majority if a city-state’s people were considered
the lower class, and that class was made up mostly
of farmers.
Each city-state consisted

of a temple and public
buildings at its center.
There were social classes
such as merchants,
farmers, politicians, and
priests. Each city-state
governed itself.

❑ Farmers, Artisans, and traders
began gathering in specific areas in
the villages in order to buy and
sell their products.
❑ The farming villages turned into
small centers of trade and later
grew into Cities, as more people
began settling there.
❑ In Mesopotamia, each town and city
was believed to be protected by its
own, unique deity or god.
❑ The temple, as the center of
worship, was also the center of
every city.
The Mesopotamians believed that
these pyramid temples connected
heaven and earth.
THEY ALSO BELIEVE THAT
everything that occurs is
preplanned by the gods

Sumerian CULTURE.
• the most important aspect of Sumerian culture was the
innovation of the Sumerian system of writing.
• The Sumerians writing system is called Cuneiform, or,
"wedge shaped" writing.
• The roots of Sumerian writing come from financial
transactions.
• To keep track of financial transactions, the ancient
Sumerians used little clay figurines, representing a certain
amount of a commodity, such as sheep or corn. They would
group say, five sheep tokens with three corn tokens in a ball
of clay to represent a transaction.
• On the outside of the ball of clay they would impress the
tokens in the clay to make an imprint, making the contents of
the ball (transaction) known.

First civilization were the sumerians.
Lived in political units called CITY
STATES.
The sumerians were polytheistic,
they believed in many God and
Goddesses.
Gods and Goddesses were closely

tied to nature.
Ziggurats – large pyramid like
temples in which people could climb
steps to reach a shrine at the top
Keeping Gods happy was important
to the city states.
civilization DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

Each city state had a ruler who held political power and was chief servant to
the Gods.
SOCIETY IN ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA WAS PATRIARCHAL-MALE DOMINATION.
BASIC STRUCTURE OF MESOPOTAMIA-
FREE PEOPLE
SLAVES
PRIEST AND KINGS WERE THE HIGHEST RANK PEOPLE IN MESOPOTAMIAN
SOCIETY.
MIDDLE CLASS-WARRIORS AND TRADESMEN, EDUCATED BUREAUCRATS.
LOW CLASS- PEASANTS, FARMERS , ETC.,
SOCIAL STRUCTURE:
1. RULING FAMILY
2. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, PRIESTS
3. MERCHANTS, ARTISANS
4. PEASANTS
Government and social structure

• BUILT THE FIRST WHEELED VEHICLES
• DEVELOPED IRRIGATION SYSTEMS AND CANALS
• EXPLORED MATHEMATICS, ESPECIALLY ALGEBRA

AND GEOMETRY
• Invented the system of writing.
CONTRIBUTION DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

• ECONOMY WAS BASED ON AGRICULTURE AND FARMING
• AGRICULTURAL PROSPERITY ENABLED THEM TO DEVELOP CRAFTSWORK
AND TRADE.
• THEY TRADED NATURAL RESOURCES LIKE JEWEL AND PRECIOUS STONES,
AND ALOS POTTERY, SLAVES, ARTWORK
• TRADE LED TO THE INVENTION OF MONEY.
money
trade
craftwork
Irrigated agriculture
Stock farming
ECONOMY DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

RELIGION DOMINATED LIFE
SUMER
GODS OF TRIADS
SHAMASH-SUN GOD
NANNA-MOON GOS ASOCIATED WITH HURICANES
ISHTAR- GODDESS OF PASSION
ALSO WORSHIPPED HEROES AND DEMONS
HORNED DRAGONS- SYMBOL OF WARRIOR GOD MARDUK
BULLS- SYMBOL OF ADAD- GOD OF THUNDER
EAGLE- ANZUBIRD- FAVOURITE GENIE OF UR
GODS THOUGHT TO RESIDE IN THE HOLY MOUNTAINS OR ZIGGURATS
HENCE TEMPLES WERE BUILT FOR THEM ON ELEVATED PLATFORMS KNOWN AS
ZIGGURATS (HOLY MOUNTAINS)
THE SHRINE WAS AT THE TOP WITH A HUGE FLIGHT OF APPROACH STEPS
EACH CITY HAD ATLEAST ONE ZIGGURAT (TOTALLY 30 ZIGGURATS WERE PRESENT)
ASSYRIAN GODS: BABYLONIAN Gods:

ANU- SKY GOD
Marduk- warrior earth
ANLIL- EARTH GOD
EANNA- WATER GOD god
ASHUR- NATIONAL DEITY
religion DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

• Mesopotamian religious practices varied
through time and distance, it was basically
characterized by polytheism.
• Gods represented places and powers in ancient
mesopotamia.
• Priests were an important part of the
mesopotamian social structure. Temples could
be found anywhere in the city.
• There were hundreds of thousands of deities.
• Each god had priests, temples and followers.
• The primary god of mesopotamians who
was the god of heavens. Mesopotamian
religion was not only polytheistic, but
also henotheistic, where certain gods
are viewed superior to others.
• Later period that the mesopotamians
began ranking the deities in order of
importance.
• They saw gods as high masters who
were to be obeyed and feared.
religion DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

A ziggurat was a temple
standing on a base, similar to
the early Egyptian pyramids.
Ziggurats were constructed
of bricks made from dried mud.
Priests were the only ones
allowed inside the holy
ziggurats.
This made the priests an upper
member in social standing.
ziggurats DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

• The earliest language written in
Mesopotamia was Sumerian
• Akkadian came to be the dominant
language during the Akkadian Empire
and the Assyrian empires
• cuneiform script was invented for the
Sumerian language. Cuneiform
literally means "wedge-shaped",
FORMED BY PRESSING A PEN LIKE
INSTRUMENT CALLED STYLUS, WITH
TRIANGULAR TIP INTO SOFT CLAY TABLETS.
• The standardized form of each
cuneiform sign appears to have been
developed from pictograms.
Writing was developed because the city-states needed a way to keep records,
DOCUMENTS AND LITRARY WORKS. The sumerians developed a writing system called
cuneiform writing. Cuneiform means wedge shaped. It was called this because
cuneiform writing was made up of many pie shapes that represented individual
words. Clay tablets were used and then left to dry in the sun to become permanent
records
LITREATURE AND WRITING DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

CUNIFORM SCRIPT..
1ST- PICTOGRAPHIC: each symbol was a picture that represented a
word which was quiet similar to it.
2nd- IDEOLOGY: the symbols and their combination represented
concepts. Eg: man + crown = king.
3rd- phonetics: each symbol corresponded to a sound or syllable.
LITREATURE AND WRITING DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

• The first code of laws that we have any records of are those of a
Sumerian king of Ur known as Ur-namma who ruled from 2112 BCE to 2095
BCE. (By the way, historians no longer use “BC” and “AD” to denote years.
The usage is now “BCE” for “Before the Current Era” and “CE” for
“Current Era”.) Ur-Namma forthrightly declared the reason for his laws:
• In other words, the purpose of the laws was to protect the weak from the
powerful.
Here are some of the laws in his code:
• 1. If a man commits a homicide, they shall kill that man.
2. If a man acts lawlessly, they shall kill him.
3, If a man detains another, that man shall be imprisoned and he shall weigh and
deliver 15 shekels of silver.
6. If a man violates the rights of another and deflowers the virgin wife of a young
man, they shall kill that male.
7. There is also a group of laws that impose fines for the following crimes of violence:
cutting off the foot: 60 shekels
shatters a bone: 60 shekels
cuts off the nose: 40 shekels
knocks out a tooth: 2 shekels
8. If a slave woman curses someone acting with the authority of her mistress, they
shall scour her mouth with one sila of salt.
• If a man rent a boat to a sailor, and the sailor is careless, and the boat is wrecked or goes
aground, the sailor shall give the owner of the boat a new boat as compensation.
• If a builder build a house for someone and does not construct it properly, and the house which he
built fall in and kill its owner, then that builder shall be put to death
law DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

Materials used: adobe bricks
Invented- the arch , the dome(cupola)
important buildings:
Palaces
Ziggurats: temples in the shape of a terraced pyramid with
successively smaller levels, the last one was a sanctuary
Architectural achievements
MAIN BUILDIBNG MATERIALS:
CLAY BRICKS-BRICKS MADE OF CLAY
SUN DRIED FOR ORDINARY WORK
KILN DRIED FOR SUPERIOR WORK
BRICKS WERE LAID IN LIME MORTAR, BITUMIN, STONE AND TIMBER SCARCE
COLOURED GLAZED TILES WERE USED FOR DECORATIVE PURPOSES.
ALABASTER A WHITE TRANSPARENT FORM OF MINERAL GYPSUM OFTEN

CARVED INTO ORNAMENTAL WORKS
WOOD AND SILVER FROM ANATOLIA ND LEVANT
GOLD AND INCENSE FORM ARABIA
WOOL USED BY WOMEN
LINEN WOVEN AND USED BY THE RICH
TIN AND LAPIS LAZULI(A BRIGHT BLUE ROCK FROM THE HILLS OF IRAN AND
CAUCASUS)
BUILDING MATERIALS
City of UR- SUMERIAN CULTURE
FOUND ON THE EUPHRATES RIVER
THE FAMOUS MESOPOTAMIAN KING UR NAMU HAS ERECTED THE HOLY ZIGGURAT- HOLY
MOUNTAIN
COSTUMES: IT WAS SIMPLE
KINGS WORE SHEEPSKIN, BARE WAIST UP
ROYAL WOMEN WORE ELABORATE HAIR DRESSES.
TEMPLE COMPLEX:
CONTAINS STORE HOUSES AND WORKSHOP
A NO. OF MUD BRICK VAULTS TO POCCESS VALUABLES LIKE GOLD AND SILVER.
ROYAL TOMBS THROW LIGHT ON MASS SACRIFICE WAS CARRIED OUT.

ENTIRE CITY WAS SURROUNDED BY CANAL WHICH ACTS AS MOAT.
CHARACTERISTIC FEATURE:
STREETS WERE NARROW
HOUSES SINGLE STORIED
CENTRAL COURTYARD
RICH HOUSES WERE DOUBLE STORIED
UPPER CLASS OF SCRIBES FORMED THE TOP ADMINISTRATIORS HEADED BY THE KING
CITY OF UR HAD TRADE LINKS WITH ARABIA, INDUS VALLEY
IMPORTANT WAREHOUSING CENTRE
UNDER 3RD DYNASTY UR NAMMU ACHIEVED HIGEST GLORY.
DECLINE:
THE EUPHRATES SUDDENLY CHANGED ITS COURSE AND STARTED RUNNING 14KM EAST OF THE
CIY.
CANALS DRIED
LOST SHIPPING TRADE
LOST ITS VALUE
Mesopotamian architecture-sumerian
DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY culture
ZIGGURATS DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
Ziggurats
Temples were originally built on platforms.
During the third millennium B.C., these were made higher
and bigger.
Eventually it was decided to build even higher temples on
platforms which were stepped.
These stepped towers we call ziggurats.
By 2000 B.C. mud-brick ziggurats were being constructed
in many Sumerian cities.
Later, ziggurats were constructed in Babylonian and
Assyrian cities.
They are part of temple complexes.
ZIGGURATS DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

• The question of the origins and function of the ziggurat is still a matter of
controversy among the specialists.
• the raised structure served the practical aim of protection against floods, or
whether the platforms served primarily as a place for the deities with a shrine,
• a place to house the god or goddess,
• located on the top and, therefore, it served as a way of contact and
communication with the celestial gods.
• What seems to be certain is that its form, after a more or less extended
period of development, was consolidated in Ur, and disseminated afterwards in
the Mesopotamian area across time and across cultures.
The idea that the form of the ziggurat evolved from the ritual destruction and
reconstruction of existing structures which served as foundations for new
constructions that were, in this manner, systematically and progressively
raised higher and higher, has been proposed (based also on examples from
Neolithic practices, Meso-American cultures and also Egypt. As well as
different interpretations of its symbolic meaning.
Evolution of ziggurats DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

The ziggurat is a kind of artificial mountain emerging in the Mesopotamian
flatlands.
It was part of an architectural complex that may have included also,
among other structures, temples and other public buildings, different civic and
commercial spaces, etc.
Access to the ziggurat was probably restricted and controlled as a space for
the performance of specific rituals under the direction of priests.
In its architectural form, size, technological aspects, labor force

organization and employment,
the ziggurat embodied and expressed the unified and unifying power of new social-
historical structures.
It expressed the profound identity of worldly and sacred powers,
the unity of religion and politics which characterized the ideology proper to the
initial forms of the State that emerged as functional specialization,
and related social stratification processes and structures developed and were
consolidated in the city-states of Mesopotamia: from more or less humble
beginnings to its culmination and diffusion in the pioneer civilization of the
Sumerians.

• The Sumerians, as we know, established the early cultural matrix, including
writing and literature, architecture and the arts, religion, political forms and
ideologies, etc pointing the way to many of the essential future developments in
the region. The ziggurat and White Temple at Uruk (ca. 3200-3000 BCE) and the
partially reconstructed large ziggurat of Ur ( ca 2100 BCE) are two examples
of the accomplishments of the Sumerians in architecture.
A famous ziggurat in the Ancient World was the monumental Etemenanki ("temple
of the foundation of heaven and earth") dedicated to the god Marduk in
Babylon in the 6th century BCE, the period of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty. It is
associated with the biblical narrative of the Tower of Babel

Ziggurat of Ur (ca 2100 BCE), Tell
Muqqayar, Iraq
Reconstruction of Ur-Nammu's ziggurat
Ruins of White Temple at Uruk, Iraq

•Very old
•Extensively remodeled by
URNAMMU (2125 BC) founder of
III DYNASTY
•& his Successors
•The complex consists of
•The Ziggurat
•Court
•Secondary court
•3 great Temples
•All these stood on an REMAINS OF THE ZIGGURAT OF URNAMMU
Rectangular Platform
•At the heart of an Oval shaped
•Walled city6.1m above the plain
Dedicated to the Moon God
Nanna
The patron deity of the city of
the city
Of Ur
BRICKWORK
ARCHITECTURE ZIGGURATS AND PRECINTS AT UR

DETAILS:
• 62m x 43m at the base COURT OF
• 21m high NANNAR
•The Temple was at the summit
•Oriented to the cardinal points
•Had a solid core of Mud Brick

•Covered with a skin of burnt brickwork 2.4m thk.
•Laid in bitumen
•With layers of matting at intervals to
PRECINCT
improve cohesion
ZIGGURATS OF URNAMU DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

DETAILS
•Sides were convex
•Giving an added effect of mass
•Broad shallow corner Buttresses
•Approached by 3 flights of steps leading to
the
•Entrance Gateway for the 1st platform,
•2 flights of steps to the 2nd platform
•1 flight of steps to the 3rd platform with
the Temples
•Weeper holes through the brickwork
allowed for Drainage and slow drying out
of the interiors
•Trees were planted on stages of Ziggurat
as the sacred mountain & required watering
ZIGGURATS OF URNAMU DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

•At the top stood the Temple of Nanna where
sacred ceremonies took place annually
There was a huge courtyard around the base surrounded by
Shrines for Cult worship
•Temple had courtyards surrounded by a no. of rooms for
•Animal sacrifice
•Cooking
•Workshop
•Storeroom for grain, Oil, fruits, cattle
MAUSOLEUM OF KINGS OF POWERFUL III DYNASTY OF UR
Close to the Ziggurat Precinct at Ur

Rooms were
•Corbel vaulted in kiln fired bricks
•Approached by long flight of steps
•The floors were raised to avoid flood water
•No proof the kings were buried in the city
MESOPOTAMIAN ARCHITECTURE DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

•Atrium type
•Living quarters grouped around an open court
•Over hanging II floor balcony supported on palm logs
•Walls up to 2nd floor – kiln fired

•Above – mud bricks
•Façade plain & not decorated
•The lower floor had

•Kitchen, servants quarters, guest rooms
•Water privy under stairway
•The higher floor

•Duplicated layout below
•Occupied by owners
Private house – ur sumer

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
2nd millennium, Old Assyrian, Middle Assyrian Periods

•Polychrome ornamental bricks
•High plinths , dadoes
•Stone slabs used on edge
•Carved with low relief work
•Introduced in the reign of ASHURNASIRPAL II( 883-859BC)
•TEMPLES with and without Ziggurats
•Late Assyrian Period(911-612 BC)

•Palaces were numerous and important
•Emphasis on the central role of monarchy
•Brick barrel vaulting revealed from excavations
ASSYRIAN ARCHITECTURE (1859 – 539 BC)

Built by SARGON II and abandoned
At his death
•Square planned
•Defensive perimeter
•Covered nearly 1 sq. mile but not
Totally occupied by buildings
•There were 2 gateways in each
Serrated wall
Except in the NW wall housing the
Citadel enclosure
•Comprised of
•Palace for the kings brother
•Temple to NABU
•Official buildings
•Palace of Sargon
CITY OF KHORSABAD (722 – 705BC)

COMPLEX OF:
•Large & small courts
•Corridors
•Rooms
•Totally covering 23 acres
•Each building raised on a Terrace
•The Palace Terrace reached the
•level of the town walls
•Approached by broad ramps
•Main entrance to the Palace Grand Court
•Flanked by great towers
•Guarded by winged bulls – 3.8m high
•Supporting a semi circular arch decorated with
•brilliantly coloured glazed bricks
•Had 3 main parts each abutting
•the ground court
•Left – group of 3 large & 3 small Temples
•Right – service quarters & administrative offices
•Opposite – Private, Residential apartment with State Chambers behind
Palace of khorsabad DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

Palace of khorsabad
Palace of khorsabad
Palace of khorsabad
State Chambers
•Had own court as large as the first one
•Around this were dado slabs over
•2.1m high
•Bearing relief of the
•king and his courtiers
Throne room
•Lofty 49m x 10.7m
•Outermost of the suite that was planned around its own internal court
•Had a flat timber ceiling – although timber was expensive
•Plastered walls bore a painted decoration of triple band of friezes
•Framed in running ornamentation about 5.5m high overall, around the room
•Above a stone dado or reliefs
Grand & Temple Court

•Decoration by sunken vertical paneling on the whitewashed walls
•Towers finished in stepped battlements above ,
•Stone plinth below –plain or carved

Drainage
Within the mud brick platforms of the palace
Jointed terracotta drains to carry away rain water
•Joining of larger drains of burnt brick covered with
•vaults which were slightly pointed
•The brick course was laid obliquely to avoid wood
centering
Temples
•At the foot of the façade of the 3 chief temples were
•High plinths projecting from the wall
•Plinths faced with polychrome bricks portraying sacred
motifs
•Served as pedestals for high cedar masts
•The wall behind paneled with a series of half columns –
imitation of palm logs

Ziggurat
•Only zig. Of the city is associated with the palace temples as at Nimrud
•Not with the large Nabu temple nearby
•Square base 45m
•7 tiered
•Rose to a ht. Of 45m including the shrine at the top
•Ascended by a winding ramp 1.8m wide
•Successive tiers were paneled and battlements on top were painted
•In different colours on plastered surfaces
Structural
•Peculiar – mud bricks not left to dry in the sun
•Laid in a pliable state with mortar rarely used
•Indicates sense of urgency
•Kiln fired bricks used lavishly for facings and pavements
•Stone blocks upto 23 tons 2.7m long used for the palace platform
•Cedar, cypress, juniper, maple- palace roofs and painted beams
•Perimeter wall of city 20m thick using dressed stone
•Footing of 1.1m and mud brick superstructure

•ANCIENT RELIGIOUS AND NATIONAL CENTER
•Administrative capital
•Built on a high rocky crop above the Tigris
•Strong defensive wall
•An outer wall added in the 9th c. BC
•Built along the Tigris river for 3km.
•The first shrine in the city dedicated to Ishtar (early dynastic period)
•The Ziggurat temple of Ashur restored by Tukulti-NinurtaI (1250-1210BC)
•Double temple of Anu & Adad had twin Ziggurats
•2 temples without Ziggurats
•2 palaces
•One for administrative purposes
OTHER EGS.
CITY OF NIMRUD – ASHURNASIRPAL II (833-859BC)
CITY OF NINEVAH – SENNACHERIB (SARGON’S SON 705-681BC)
CITY OF ASHUR ( DR.M.G.R

1250-1210 BC)
UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH
OF ARCHITECTURE -I
HISTORY
157
CITY OF ASHUR ( DR.M.G.R
1250-1210 BC)
UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH
OF ARCHITECTURE -I
HISTORY
158
Persia was the mountainous plateau to the east of the lower Tigris-Euphrates
Valley.
The Persian empire was larger than the Babylonian and Assyrian empires, extending
eastward to India and reaching westward to Greece.
Its capitals were Persepolis and Susa. As a world empire it lasted 200 years
PERSIAN ARCHITECTURE ( 538-331 BC )

The Persian Kings were:
Cyrus (538-529 B.C.) Conquered Babylon
and allowed the Jews to return.
Cambyses (529-522 B.C.) Stopped work on
the Temple.
Darius I (521-485 B.C.) Authorized
completion of the Temple.
Xerxes (Ahasuerus) (485-465 B.C.) Esther
was his Queen.
Artaxerxes I (465-425 B.C.) Authorized
Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem.
Xerxes II (424 B.C.)
Darius II (423-405 B.C.)
Artaxerxes II (405-358 B.C.)
Artaxerxes III (358-338 B.C.)
Arses (338-335)
Darius III (335-331 B.C.) He was defeated by
Alexander the Great (331 B.C.) at the
famous battle of Arbela, near Nineveh. This
was the fall of Persia and the rise of
Greece.
PERSIAN ARCHITECTURE ( 538-331 BC )

Started by king Darius I
Mostly executed by XerxesI
Finished by ArtaXerxes I
Various buildings stood on a
Platform
•Partly built up
•Partly excavated
•Faced in well laid local stone
•Bound with iron clamps
•460m x 275m in extent
•Rising 15m above the plain
•At the base of the rocky spur
Approach:
On the NW
A magnificent flight
of steps 6.1m wide
shallow enough for horses to ascend
Palace of persepolis
GATEHOUSE
Built by Xerxes
Had mud brickwalls
Faced with polychrome bricks
Front and rear portals guarded
by
stone bulls
The original main entrance, with a

large double staircase leading to the
terrace, seen from the south
The southern façade of the palace
APADANA
Led by a doorway on the south
Grand audience hall
76.2m square
Had 36 columns
Walls 20’0” thick
Stood on its own terrace 10’0” high
Began by Darius
Completed by 2 of his successors
Had 3 porticoes
Double colonnades
stairways on N & NE
minor rooms in S
towers in 4 angles
Arranged in 3 tiers of
Relief sep. by a band of
Rossettes
Nobles, courtiers,
Guardsmen in a procession
As relief work
Deep jambs
PALACE OF DARIUS
Small in comparison
Lay immediately south of the Apadana
Near the west terrace wall
TRIPYLON
Terraced
Lay centrally among buildings
Acted as a reception chamber
And a guard room
For the more private quarters
Of the Palace grounds
THE TREASURY
Built by Darius
SE angle of site
Double walled
Administrative and store
house building
Had collumned halls of
different sizes
Only a single doorway
BUILDING OF DARIUS
Arranged in the loose fashion of earlier times
Xerxes added his building in between
PALACE OF XERXES
Built near SW corner
Connected with the Harem
An L shaped womens quarter
Court formed by L shaped harem & Tripylon
Court enclosed south of Tripylon
Xerxes' Palace, almost twice as large as

that of Darius, shows very similar
decorative features on its stone
doorframes and windows, except for two
large Xerxes inscriptions on the eastern
and western doorways. Instead of showing
the king's combat with monsters, these
doorways depict servants with ibexes.
Unfortunately, all the reliefs in this
palace are far less well preserved than
those of the Palace of Darius.
HALL OF HUNDRED COLUMNS / THRONE HALL
Commenced by Xerxes
Finished by Artaxerxes
68.6m square(225’0”)
Columns 11.3m high
supporting a flat cedar roof
Walls were double except on the N
N-a portico
faced a forecourt
had its own gatehouse
separated from the Apadana
by a wall
Had 2 doorways
7 windows on the entrance wall
Matched on the other 3 sides except that
niches replaced windows
All framed in stone surrounds in 3.4m thick
brick wall
HALL OF 100 COLUMNS RUINS
RELIEF AT JAMB
HALL OF HUNDRED COLUMNS / THRONE HALL
Palace of Persepolis
TOMB OF ARTAXERXES
artefacts DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
Greek history is generally divided into the following eras:
Paleolithic (circa 400,000 – 13,000 BP)

Mesolithic (circa 10,000 – 7000 BCE
Neolithic (circa 7000 – 3000 BCE)
Bronze Age (circa 3300 – 1150 BCE)
Cycladic (circa 3300 – 2000 BCE)
Minoan (circa 2600 – 1200 BCE)
TIMELINE
Helladic (circa 2800 – 1600 BCE)
Mycenaean or Late Helladic (circa 1600 – 1100 BCE)
Dark Ages (circa 1100 – 700 BCE)
Archaic (circa 700 – 480 BCE)
Classical (480 – 323 BCE)
Hellenistic (323 – 30 BCE)
Each era had its own unique cultural characteristics, and the transition between them
was often tumultuous.
GREECE’S
GEOGRAPHY
1. Mountains divided Greece
into different regions.
2. 75% of Greece is covered
in mountains.
3. Lowlands-fertile land.
4. Hills-good for animals
5. Greece is located on the
Balkan peninsula about the
size of Louisiana in the
Mediterranean Sea.
6. Located on the continent of
Europe, it’s very close to
Egypt, the Persian empire
(which includes Turkey) and
Rome
GREECE’S GEOGRAPHY
CLIMATE OF ANCIENT GREECE
• Rain fell during winter months.
• Summers were hot and dry which allowed
Greeks to spend most of their time outdoors at
agoras (marketplaces). Early Athenian coin, 5th century BC
• Women got water from fountains
• Men shopped • Statues of gods and heroes
• Greece has a Mediterranean climate Winters
are mild and wet
• Summers are warm and dry
• Greeks enjoyed outdoor events such as:
1. PLAYS
2. RELIGIOUS AND
3. POLITICAL EVENTS
4. SPORTS AND
5. ATHLETIC COMPETITIONS
LANDSCAPE AND CULTURE OF
GREECE
• People living in river valleys depended on
the rivers flooding for fertile land.
• Did not depend on flooding.
• Had no rivers.
• Had mountainous land and deep valleys
with rugged highlands (hills).
• Mountains divided the people
• These seas made Greece a crossroads for
trade. Greece had long coastlines with
many bays which were good for trading.
• Most people lived along the coast.
• Soil was rich and there was a mild climate
which was good for farming and raising
animals.
• The Greeks sold their crops to other lands
located across the seas.
• Trade spread Greek ideas and Greeks got
the alphabet and coins from other
civilizations
MINOAN CIVILIZATION
The Minoans were primarily a mercantile people engaged in overseas trade. Their
culture, from 1700 BC onward, shows a high degree of organization
MINOAN CIVILIZATION
• The Minoans first came to settle on the
Island of Crete.
• Most historians presume that they
made their way from Asia Minor.
• Of all the societies of the ancient world,
the Minoans were probably the most
MINOAN SITES
affluent. This can be largely attributed
Minoan settlements, tombs and
to their trading ethos and the fact that
cemeteries have been found all
massive resources were not used by
over Crete but the four principal
the military, which may have been
palace sites (in order of size)
largely paid for by the trading activities
were at
of the naval vessels themselves.
1. KNOSSOS,
• The Cretan form of government is not
2. PHAISTOS,
known, but it was probably kingship
3. MALIA AND
4. ZAKROS
I. The Minoan civilization (3000-1400 BC) arose in the Aegean sea at the same
time Egypt and Mesopotamia were forming.
• Early civilization appears to have been very primitive.

• By 2000 BC a complex civilization began to flourish on the island of Crete.
• Archaeologists have found remains of the city of Knossos which had over 100,000
people at its height and covered over five acres.
• Civilization got its name from the legendary king Minos
II. The ruins of Knossos gives us the best image of Minoan life.
•
Palace of Knossos was excavated by Sir Arthur Evans in the late 19th century.
• Buildings were decorated with beautiful and colorful frescos.
• Knossos was not fortified.
• Knossos had an intricate sewer and plumbing system made out of terra cotta.
• Evidence indicates a large and complex maze existed under the palace.
• The Minoans appear to have been a serene and happy people.
• They seemed to have worshiped a religion centered around the Bull.
• Legends exist about the Minotaur and its eventual death at the hands of
Theseus, a legendary Greek hero.
• Although a written language (Linear A) exists, it has not been fully
deciphered.
MINOAN CIVILIZATION
The sophistication of the Minoan culture and its trading capacity is evidenced by the
presence of writing –
• firstly hieroglyphic and
• then Linear A scripts (both, as yet, undeciphered), predominantly found on various
types of administrative clay tablets
MINOAN CIVILIZATION
I The MYCENAEAN CIVILIZATION flourished in the late Bronze Age
• From the 15th to the 13th century BCE and
• Extended its influence not only throughout the Peloponnese in Greece but also
across the Aegean
• The Mycenaeans were influenced by the earlier Minoan civilization (2000-1450 BCE)
which had spread from its origins at Knossos,
• Architecture, art and religious practices were assimilated and adapted to better
express the perhaps more militaristic and austere Mycenaean culture
II MAJOR MYCENAEAN CENTRES

1. Mycenae (traditional home of Agamemnon)
2. Tiryns (perhaps the oldest centre),
3. Pylos (traditional home of Nestor),
4. Thebes,
5. Midea, Gla, Orchomenos,
6. Argos, Sparta, Nichoria and
7. probably Athens.
III LANGUAGE
• the Greek language and writing in the form of Linear B (an adaptation of the Minoan
Linear A).
MYCENAEAN CIVILIZATION
IV TRADE
1. Mycenaean civilization had trading contact with other Aegean
cultures
2. Evidenced by the presence of foreign goods in Mycenaean
settlements such as gold, ivory, copper and glass and
3. Discovery of Mycenaean goods such as pottery in places as far
afield as Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Levant, Anatolia, Sicily and
Cyprus.
4. Perishable goods such as oil and wine were also significant
Mycenaean exports
V MYCENAEAN ART
Expressed in
1. fresco,
2. pottery and
3. jewellery,
4. tendency to more schematic and less life-like representation
5. Geometric designs were popular,
6. decorative motifs such as spirals and rosettes.
7. Terracotta figurines of animals and especially standing female
figures were popular, as were small sculptures in ivory, carved
stone vessels and intricate gold jewellery.
VI MYCENAEAN RELIGION
1. Importance given to animal sacrifice, communal feasting, pouring of libations and
offerings of foodstuffs
2. Burial was an important ritual as evidenced by the presence of monumental tholos
tombs, prominent grave sites and the quantity of precious objects which were
buried with the dead - golden masks, diadems, jewellery
VII MYCENAEAN ARCHITECTURE

1. A large palace complex has been found at most of the Mycenaean centres.
2. These complexes,also display important architectural features in common.
3. The complexes were built around a large rectangular central hall or Megaron
4. Megaron-consisted of an entrance porch, a vestibule and the hall itself.
5. A second, smaller hall (Queen’s Megaron),
6. Many private apartments and
7. Areas set aside for administration, storage and manufacturing
8. The whole palace complex was surrounded by a fortification wall of large unworked
blocks
Historians divide Ancient Greek civilization into two eras, the Hellenic period (from
around 900 BC to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC), and the Hellenistic
period (323 BC to 30 AD
Hellenic ▲ Hellenistic
Time Period 510 BCE - 323 BCE 323 BCE - 146 BCE
Zoroastrianism
Derived from philosophers; (monotheism), Ahura-
Religion
questioning of gods Mazda, mystery cults,
Mithraism
Exuberance, sensuality; Commodification;
Art marble statues; Doric & naturalism; extravagance;
Ionic Columns Corinthian Column
Homeric Epics; lyrical Dramas; pastorals; history,
Literature
poetry; comedy biography; utopia
Quest for truth; Individuals Reason; Groups (Cynics,
Philosophy
(Plato, Aristotle, Socrates) Epicureans, Stoics)
Thales, Pythagorean, Archimedes (geometry,
Science
Aristotle, Hippocrates physiology); the body
The difference between the Hellenic period and Classical Greece lies in
the date of 323 BCE: When Alexander the Great died
HELLENIC AND HELLENISTIC
CULTURE
• witnessed the invention • witnessed philosophers who focused on
of philosophy. reason rather than the quest for truth.
• many individual • These philosophers possessed a
Philosophy philosophers, each of fundamental regard for reason as the ke
whom had followers that to solving problems
often branched out from
the original philosopher's
train of thought
Art in the Hellenic world is In the Hellenistic world, art became less "a
what we recognize as and more "commodity." This shift in focus
Greek art today. It led to the creation of many "trash" works.
embodied exuberance, Sculpture of the period emphasize extreme
cheerful sensuality, and naturalism and unashamed extravagance,
Art coarse with. Marble statues rather than the former idyllic beauties and
and reliefs depicted human perfect Davids
greatness and sensuality. A
notable achievement is the
rise in architecture of the
Doric and Ionic columns
LANDSCAPE AND CULTURE OF

GREECE
THE GREEK POLIS ORIGINATOR OF POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND
SCIENCE
2. Brief History of Greece

• The first great civilization in Greece and Crete was the Minoan
.• It lasted roughly from 2000 BCE until 1400 BCE
.• Around 1400 BCE, the Mycenaean civilization supplanted the Minoan, and
dominated Greece until about 1100 BCE, when barbarians known as Dorians invaded.
3. Emergence of the Polis, or Greek City-State

• Starting around 800 BCE a new civilization, the Hellenic, became dominant in
Greece.
• The Hellenic civilization was composed of two strands, the Dorian and the Ionian.•
This civilization gave rise to a new form of social/political organization: the polis.
4. The Polis
• The polis was an independent, self- governing city of between 50,000 and 300,000
people
.• Several dozen polises (Greek “poleis”) dotted the Greek countryside
• In each polis, politics, religion, and social life were closely intertwined.
THE GREEK POLIS

5. Types of Government
• Two types of government were used in the Greek Polises
.• The Dorians generally had an oligarchic form of government
.• The Greek word oligarchy means rule by the few.
• The Ionians developed the first democratic form of government.• Democracy means
rule by the people.
6. Sparta and Athens

• Generally speaking, the Dorians depended upon agriculture, while the Ionians were
seafarers and merchants
.• The two primary polises were Sparta and Athens
.• Sparta was Dorian, oligarchic, and had an agriculture-based economy
.• Athens was Ionian, democratic, and depended on seafaring and trade.
THE GREEK POLIS

• Hippodamos was a Greek architect from the ancient city-state of Miletus.
• He played a major role in the development of city planning.
• In the system he created, the city and people were divided into three groups.
1. the artisans,
2. soldiers, and
3. farmers.
Next he divided the city into three parts.

1. One was for worshipping the gods.
2. Another was for the military.
3. The last third was property in which the common people lived.
• This was HIppodamos' way of planning cities socially.

• His more major impact on city planning was his block pattern.
• He proposed that the more important buildings in cities such as temples
would take up more than one block and the whole city would be surrounded
by a wall to protect it from invaders
• Smyrna and Miletus provide the earliest evidence for Greek planned
towns
GREEK CITY PLANNING

Despite their plans being adapted to local needs, cities of this period had certain
common characteristics,
1. The division of the city into large areas demarcated by wide main roads or avenues
(plateiai).
2. These areas were subdivided by a grid system of narrow streets (stenopoi).
3. In most grids the streets intersected at right angles (orthogonal grids).
4. Different districts were designated for specific purposes, such as commercial
districts, residential districts, public and religious zones, and in the case of ports,
harbor areas. evidence for an integrated plan, such as the way public buildings were
grouped together.
THE GREEK POLIS

Greece's architecture is traditionally divided into three periods:
1. Archaic (c.650-480 BCE);
2. Classical (c.480-323 BCE) and
3. Hellenistic (c.323-27 BCE
Greek architecture is important for several reasons:

(1) Because of its logic and order.
• Logic and order are at the heart of Greek architecture.
• The Hellenes planned their temples according to a coded scheme of parts, based
first on function, then on a reasoned system of sculptural decoration.
• Mathematics determined the symmetry, the harmony, the eye's pleasure.
(2) Because of its invention of the classical "orders“

:namely, the Doric Order, the Ionic Order and the Corinthian Order - according to the
type of column, capital and entablature used
(3) Because of its exquisite architectural sculpture.

Architects commissioned sculptors to carve friezes, statues and other architectural
sculptures, whose beauty has rarely, if ever, been equalled in the history of art.
GREEk ARCHITECTURE
TYPES OF BUILDINGS
Unlike their Minoan and Mycenean ancestors, the Ancient Greeks did not
have royalty, and therefore had no need for palaces.
This was why their architecture was devoted to public buildings, such as th
1. Temple, Including The Small Circular Variant (Tholos)

2. The Central Market Place (Agora)
3. With Its Covered Colonnade (Stoa)
4. The Monumental Gateway Or Processional Entrance (Propylon)
5. The Council Building (Bouleuterion)
6. The Open-air Theatre;
7. The Gymnasium (Palaestra)
8. The Hippodrome (Horse Racing)
9. The Stadium (Athletics); And
10. The Monumental Tomb (Mausoleum)
But of all these buildings, it is the temple that best captures

the qualities of Greek design
GREEk ARCHITECTURE
CULTURAL FACTORS
• Religious belief was constantly changing with new cults introduced
time to time
• Gods were all powerful
• Regular ritual of sacrifice to the God which required an open altar or
space
• Temple buildings developed later based on the importance and
wealth of the cult
• Buildings were considered as offerings and were hence
magnificently executed
OTHER TYPOLOGIES:
1. Agora:
• the Greek society and political system was dependent on gatherings
• With the growth of an organized town, the Agora was a central
element in the town plan
• The Agora was an open space with structures required for
functioning of the polis at its edge
2. Domestic architecture:
• houses turned their back on the streets
• Inward facing a courtyar
• Division between male and female quarters
THE GREEK typologies

3. Greek city:
• Temple was the principle building – a simple rectangular roofed structure

• Designed to be admired from outside
• Buildings were built around a central courtyard or space
• Appreciated only from within the court
• Series of separate buildings with porticoes or colonnades
• Colonnaded courts a feature of Hellenistic cities
THE GREEK typologies

GREEK AGORA – URBAN ARCHITECTURE
The word Agora is Greek for 'open place of assembly’
and, early in the history of Greece, designated the area in
the city where free-born citizens could gather to hear civic
announcements, muster for military campaigns or discuss
politics.
Later the Agora defined the open-air, often tented,
marketplace of a city (as it still does in Greek) where
merchants had their shops and where craftsmen made and
• sold
Thetheir wares
Agora was the heart of ancient Athens, the focus of political, commercial,
administrative and social activity, the religious and cultural centre, and the seat of
justice.
• A large, open public space which served as a place for assembly of the citizens and,
hence, the political, civic, religious and commercial center of a Greek city.
• Buildings for all of these various purposes were constructed as needed in and around
the agora.
.
GREEK ARCHITECTURE – ARCHAIC
PERIOD 8TH – 6TH c. BC
GREEK AGORA – URBAN ARCHITECTURE
•Situated to the N of the

Acropolis
•Built during the early Archaic
period
•An essential stage in its
development as a civic core
was due to the drainage
developed by Peisistratos in
the 2nd half of the 6th c.
•Drain built in polygonal

masonry along the W
boundary of the Agora
•The civic and the religious

buildings were built along the
perimeter of the agora

The main typologies in the Greek Agora
were:
I Temples
Temple of Hephaisteion
II Stoas-
• a portico or a detached colonnade
• These provided shelter and
were multifunctional
• They were separate self
• contained rectangular
• buildings which developed
• giving the Agora the
• appearance of a
• colonnaded courtyard
Stoa of Zeus
• Doric stoa on the W
• Late 5th c.
• 2 aisles with projecting wings
• Inner ionic colonnade due to
greater height which
supported a wooden ridge
beam
GREEK ARCHITECTURE – ARCHAIC PERIOD 8TH – 6TH c. BC
2. Stoa of Attalus
• Addition during Hellenistic
• 2 storied 116m x 19.4m
• Doric in ground floor and Ionic in upper with a
balustrade
• Marble structure
• A row of rooms on both floors
3.Royal stoa
4.South stoa
• 80.5m x 14.9m
• Doric colonnade
• Inner ionic colonnade
• Behind the colonnade was a row of 15 rooms
each 4.9m square with off center doors and
plinths around the walls to accommodate
7 dining couches
• Superstructure of mud brick
• Floors and colonnades of beaten earth hence
rarely well preserved
GREEK ARCHITECTURE –
5.Middle stoa
ARCHAIC PERIOD 8TH – 6TH c. BC
III Administrative buildings:
Provided closed accommodation
a)Bouleuterion was the council house
Held 500 people
Square building with windows and a
pyramidal roof
Had an anteroom and an auditorium
b)Tholos was a circular hall used for dining
by the council
Made of unbaked mud brick
Conical roof with tiles
IV Heliaea – courtyard structure on the S-
meeting place of the jury
V Shrine of Theseus – walled enclosure
containing famous wall paintings
VI Fountain houses- colonnaded structures on
the S side with a portico
VII Mint – public buildings
VIII Altar dedicated to the 12 Olympian gods
IX Gymnasias ,stadias added later for the
public
Temple of Hephaistos
Agora at Athens
Stoa of Zeus Eleutherios

Temple of Apollo Patroos
Bouleuterion
Metroon
Agora at Athens
The Odeion of Agrippa

The Royal Stoa (Stoa Basileios).
Altar of the Twelve Gods
Tholos
Gymnasium
Acropolis at Athens – 650 BC –330 BC
The Acropolis hill, so called the "Sacred Rock"
of Athens, is the most important site of the city.
The cult of the city's patron goddess was
established as early as the Archaic period (650-
480 B.C.).
During the Classical period (650-330 B.C.)

three important temples were erected on the
ruins of earlier ones:
•the Parthenon,
• the Erechtheion, and
•the Temple of Nike, dedicated to
•Athena Parthenos,
•Athena Polias, and
•Athena-Apteros Nike.
•The Propylaea, the monumental entrance to

the sacred area was also constructed in the
same period.

Acropolis at Athens – 650 BC –330 BC

The Pre-Parthenon
Peripteral temple; slightly east of center of the Acropolis, under the remains of the Parthenon
Date: 488 B.C. - 480 B.C.
Period: Archaic
Details:
•6 x 16 columns.
•Double cella with long cella at east end and smaller cella at west end, with Opisthodomos and
Pronaos.
•East cella, 2 rows of interior columns, 10 columns in each row.
•West cella, 4 interior columns arranged in a square in the center.
•Construction interrupted by the Persian invasion of 480/79 B.C., and the Parthenon was built
over its ruins.
The Parthenon
•The Parthenon is a Doric peripteral temple,

•which means that it consists of a
•Rectangular floor plan
•Series of low steps on every side, a
•Colonnade (8 x 17) of Doric columns

•extending around the periphery of the entire
structure.
•Each entrance has an additional six columns
in front of it.
•The larger of the two interior rooms, the

Naos, housed the cult statue.
•The smaller room(the Opisthodomos) was

used as a treasury.

The Parthenon
FLANK
TREASURY NAOS ANTIS

(Offering)
PROSTYLE
•The upper level of the plinth measures about 225 x 85 feet (30.88 m x 69.50 m).
•The Peristyle is Octastyle
•Doric columns
•17 columns in the flank (2x8 +1)
•Columns – 6’3” dia. – 4’9” dia. At the top
•33’ high ( 5.5 times dia.) DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
The Parthenon

The Parthenon
Optical Correction
Entasis is a design technique used to counteract a certain optical
illusion. When a column or other structure is designed with parallel
sides, the sides appear to have a slight inward curve
Entasis is the inclusion of a slight outward curve in the sides - making
them not parallel - to counteract this optical effect. Except in the temple,
the floor below has a curvature.
The goal is to give the appearance of straight lines through the use of
curves and optical illusion

The Parthenon – Optical Corrections
•The plinth gradually increased in height, by about 4” in the
middle of the long sides and by about 3” at the center of the
facades.
•Intermediate steps were provided at the centre of each of

the short sides.
•Vertical features were made to incline inward in order to

correct the common appearance of leaning outward at the
top.
•In the Parthenon, the axes of the columns are not vertical,
but they are inclined inward nearly 3”.
•They are said also to be inclined toward each other to such
a degree that they would meet at an altitude of one mile
above the ground.
•The 11’ frieze and architrave is inclined inward about 1½”
•Parthenon column, which is 34’ in height, the entasis for

columns amounted to about ¾”
•Columns viewed against a background of white sky appear

of smaller diameter than when they are viewed against a
dark background. OF ARCHITECTURE -I 215
The Parthenon
Details:
•Inside, the Temple has a double cella (inner
sanctum) with pronaos (the antechamber, with
the only door into the cella) and opisthodomos
(the rear room).
•The smaller west cella had 4 interior

columns.
•Inside the east cella was a U-

shaped colonnade of 9 columns
and a pier on each long side, and 3
columns between the 2 piers on the
short side.

The Parthenon - Statue
•Toward the west end of the interior colonnade was

a statue base for the cult statue of Athena
Parthenos with a large shallow rectangle cut to
create a reflecting pool in front of it.
•The Phidias' statue was made of gold and

ivory with polychrome details.
•Athena fully armed with spear, helmet, aegis

and, accompanied by a snake, and holding in
her extended right arm a statue of victory.
•The ceiling was of wood, with painted and
gilded decoration.
• Light was admitted, as normally in Greek

temples, only through the doorway when the
great doors were opened.
•Bronze doors are postulated for both eastern

and western cellas.

The Propylaea
•The monumental gateway of the Acropolis
was designed by the architect Mnesikles and
constructed in 437-432 B.C.
• It comprises a central building and

•two lateral wings.
•The colonnades along the west and east

sides had a row of Doric columns while two
rows of Ionic columns divided the central Waiting room
corridor into three parts.
•The walls of the north wing were decorated

with painted panels or wall paintings and that
is why it was called the "Pinakotheke".
•The ceiling of the Propylaea had coffers with

painted decoration and a perforated sima Ionic columns
around the roof.

The Erechtheion
•The Erechteion lies on the N side of
the Acropolis
•Constitutes of –
oSalt pool – spot where Posiedon
struck the ground with his trident)
oShrine of Erechtheus – legendary
king of Athens
Layout:
oThe Erechteum was completed in 406 BC. It has a Prostasis on the east side, a
monumental propylon on the north and the famous porch of the Caryatids on the south.
oThe main temple was divided into two sections, dedicated to the worship of the two
principal gods of Attica, Athena and Poseidon-Erechtheus
Details:
oUnusual & irregular in plan
oGathering together of several elements into a complex but unoted arrangement
oSite was contoured
oThe cella was built on 2 levels
oThe E part higher than the W part
The Erechtheion
•W part:
oContained an anteroom and 2 inner rooms
placed side by side
•E porch:
oAt a higher level
oHexastyle prostyle
oColumns 21’7” high
•Entablature:
oHas a continuous frieze in dark limestone
with attached marble figures
oExtends along the sides of the cella across W
end
•E Cella:
oEntered through a door flanked unusually by
windows
•W cella:
oIlluminated by openings between columns
The Erechtheion
Low porch:
•The SW porch is low
•Projected at higher ground level
•The only part of the temple which rests on the foundation of the
old temple
•Had statues of young girls – Maidens- “Caryatid porch”
•There are 4 statues in the front and one behind each of the
corner figures making it 6 in all
•The maidens stand on a low wall with an opening between the E
rear figure and the main cella wall through which a staircase leads
to the anteroom
Entablature:
•On the maidens head is an Ionic frieze with Dentils
•Supports a flat roof
N Porch:
•Lower ground level with similar plan
•Ionic columns 25’ high
•W side not aligned with the W wall which projects further W
•The porch thus has 2 doors the main central door with ionic jamb
and lintel detail
•The smaller door on the W leads to the sanctuary of Pandrosus
•Contained the sacred olive tree given by Athena
•This porch has a continuous DR.M.G.R
Frieze UNIVERSITY
of dark limestone with
FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
attached white figures OF ARCHITECTURE -I 221
GREEK ARCHITECTURE – CLASSICAL PERIOD 479-336 BC
GREEK ORDERS - DORIC
The principle orders of Classical Greek architecture are:
• Doric
• Ionic
• Corinthian
DORIC ORDER
The Doric order was the most commonly used order for the facades of temples
and structures till the mid classical period when the ionic orders were also used in the
exteriors
DORIC COLUMN
• The Doric Column stands directly on the Crepis (Crepidoma)
• The Crepidoma is normally 1-3 in temples
Shaft height:
• The columns are thick with the Height = 4D (diameter)
• In the 5th c. the height was increased to 5½– 5¾ D
• In the Hellenistic period the height was increased to 7D
Shaft:
The shaft tapers to ¾ - ⅔ D
Divided into 20 flutes or channels, 12, 16,18, 24
Sharp “arrises”
Slight convex profile called Entasis to counteract concave appearance of straight
columns
Hypotrachelion: Shaft terminates in the form of 3 grooves or 1 on block which forms
the capital
Capital:
The distinctive capital
consists of the Abacus and
the Echinus
Abacus:
•This is the square slab
forming the top of the
capital
•With or without
moulding
•Supported the
Entablature
Echinus:
•Near the base of the
Echinus are Annulets 3-
5 in number which stop
the vertical lines of the
Arrises and flutes of the
shaft
•It projects considerably
and is fuller in outline in
the early period

DORIC ENTABLATURE
Consists of 3 main components:
1. Architrave –
• The principal beam which is made up of 2 – 3 slabs of stone in
depth, the outermost showing a vertical face in the façade
• Taenia: The flat projecting band capping the
Architrave
• Regulae: strips of stone at intervals corresponding
to the Triglyphs
• Guttae: small conical drops below the Regulae
normally 6 in number
2. Frieze –
Triglyph:
• These consist of 2 vertical channels (glyphs)
and 2 half channels at each side, hence
amounting to 3 (tri)
• Aligned over each column and centrally over
each intercolumniation
• 2 Triglyphs meet in the corner to form a
beveled edge
• Doric orders must end with a Triglyph, the
outermost one is moved outwards from its
position over center of the column
• The columns are hence brought closer at the
corners
Metope:
• The square DR.M.G.R
spaces UNIVERSITY
which are FAO
ornamented
B.ARCH HISTORY
with fine relief sculpture
3. Cornice / Geison –
The upper or the crowning part

Soffit: the underside with an inclination to the slope of
the roof
Mutules: Flat blocks over each Triglyph and Metope

ornamented with 18 Guttae in 3 rows of 6 each
Corona: vertical face with an overhanging drip at the

bottom
Sima: continuous gutter - often omitted eg. At the

Parthenon
Crowns the raking cornice of the
pediment
Not provided with Mutules
Antifixae: ends of cover tiles stopped by an ornamental

element DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
GREEK ORDERS - IONIC
IONIC ORDER
The Ionic order includes the Base and the Capital. It made its
appearance in the 4th c. BC
IONIC COLUMN
Base:
There were different forms of the base used in eastern Greek are,
which developed in the 5th c. BC in Athens with a small moulding
Shaft:
Height is 9 – 10 D (including the base & shaft)
24 flutes with flattened Arrises, 40,44,48 flutes also present
Capital:
•Consists of 2 pairs of Volutes or spirals
•⅔ D with 1 pair in the front of the column and the other at the back
•Joined on the sides by a concave cushion
•Plain or ornamented with numerous flutes, fillets or beads
•The Volute scroll rests on an Echinus which is circular in plan
•Carved with an Egg & Dart Moulding usually with running
Palmettes where it disappears under the Volutes
•The Abacus is shallow
•The Ionic Capital presented difficulties at the corners where a Canted
Volute was used
•In the Hellenistic period the capital hasDR.M.G.R
4 frontsUNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
GREEK ORDERS – IONIC CAPITAL

GREEK ORDERS - IONIC
Entablature:
Consisted of 2 components:
1. Architrave –
Normally a 3 fasciae (3 rows in front face)
Capped by 2 mouldings, a low Astragal and a high Ovolo
2. Cornice –
• The cornice supported on a frieze of large Dentils
• The Entablature was hence light compared to the Columns being
only -1/6 H
• The height was increased by the addition of the vertical parapet
Sima with carved decoration as for the Frieze with Dentils under
the cornice
• There were a lot of differences in the order from place to place

• The order was first used for the treasuries
• In the 5th c. used for Temples such as the Erechtheon & Temple
of Nike
• In the mainland a frieze was inserted in the entablature but the
dentils were omitted
• The frieze when present was a continuous band of sculpture
• The Ionic Temples did not have Antifixae on the flanks, instead
the Sima was carried along the side cornices too
• Often ornamented with an Acanthus scroll
• Carved lion heads served to throwDR.M.G.R
rainwater from the
UNIVERSITY roof
FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
GREEK ORDERS - CORINTHIAN
CORINTHIAN ORDER
•This order 1st made its appearance in the 5th c. BC as a decorative variant of
the Ionic
•The main difference was in the capital
•Used first only for the internal colonnades or fancy monuments
•Its use as an external colonnade was in the Hellenistic Period
•The distinctive capital is much deeper than the ionic and was of a variable
height first
•The proportion of the capital was finally - 1⅓ H
•The invention of the Corinthian Capital was due to Callimachus
•a famous sculptor in bronze. He observed a basket over the grave of a maiden.
The basket was placed over the root of the Acanthus plant, the stems and foliage
of which grew and turned into volutes at the angle of the tile
Corinthian Capital:
•A deep inverted bell
•The lower part is surrounded by 2 tiers of 8 acanthus leaves
•From between the leaves of the upper row rise 8 Caulicoli (caulis-stalk)
•Each is surmounted by a calyx from which emerge volutes or helices supporting
the angles of the abacus and the central foliated ornaments
•Each face of the moulded Abacus is curved outwards to the corners where it
ends either in a point or is chamfered
[Explain the Ionic shafts and entablature for the Corinthian too. Only the
capital and the Height is different]
GREEK ORDERS - CORINTHIAN

IONIC
ENTABLATUR
E
IONIC BASE

GREEK TEMPLES
The Greeks recognized separate areas as sacred to God in

Towns and Villages
Some were on sites occupied in the Late Bronze Age where
there were remains of earlier walls and some continuity of cult
Others were chosen buildings of natural distinctions such as
proximity of springs
Towns:
Some sanctuaries were in walled citadel
Several others in the countryside
Rarely walled, formal gateways infrequent
All sanctuaries included a temple
Temples: MEGARON PLAN

Varied in detail
Consisted of a simple rectangular building to hold the
statues of gods
The statue stood in the Cella or Naos
The width of the Naos was limited by restricted sizes of
timber roofs DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
GREEK TEMPLES
Columns:
Placed either between the ends of side walls in ANTIS
In a row in front of them – PROSTYLE
Description:
Conventional consists of a Greek numeral + word STYLE (stylos is the greek word for column)
Distyle -2 Tristyle -3
Tetrastyle -4 Pentastyle -5 FLANK
Hexastyle -6 Heptastyle -7
Octastyle -8 Enneastyle-9
Decastyle -10 TREASURY
(Offering) NAOS ANTIS
(Odd nos. were unusual in early buildings)
Distyle was common in the Antis
PROSTYLE
No. of columns forming the façade:
Peripteral - cella surrounded by columns
Columns along the flank variable
In Doric Temples of 5th c. the No.of columns on the flank = 2 no.on façade +1
Length reflects internal arrangement
There may be extra rooms or false porches at the back
Externally:
Temples made larger and impressive using double rows of external columns
Dipteral – 2 rows
Tripteral – 3 rows
Eg. Temple of Athena Nike – Tetrastyle
Temple of Athena Delphi – Hexastyle
Pseudodipteral the outer columns are DR.M.G.R
spaced UNIVERSITY
as though FAO
there wereHISTORY
B.ARCH a 2nd or internal row which is not
present or omitted OF ARCHITECTURE -I 235
GREEK TEMPLES
Temples in Sanctuaries:
These may contain more than 1 temple
They may include a temple of lesser importance than the principal building.
Eg. Temple of Artemis in Asklepios at Epidaurus
Or may be temples constructed at different periods but of equal importance
Eg. Temple of Selinus in Sicily
Altars:
Often monumental,Rectangular
Embellished with architectural motifs and mouldings
Triglyphs & Metopes, Friezes
Screens of columns
All sanctuaries had altars
Sanctuary:
Became full of monuments, statues, other offering rooms
Often placed on an elaborate high base, with exedrae, rectangular or semicircular seats and recesses
Possible to distinguish the most sacred area which was near the temple and altar
Less holy areas devoted to human involvement in cult and ritual
Less Holy Areas:
Outer areas
Theatre, Stadium, Hippodrome, Exercise ground, Palastroi, Gymnasium close to stadium
Sacred banquet for privileged worshippers who consumed their share of sacrificial meals while
reclining on couches
Thesaurus- Treasury- Building resembling a small peripteral temple offered to God from individual cities
Lavishly decorated
Commemorating some important event
Victory in War – Athenian treasury
DR.M.G.Rin Delphi FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
UNIVERSITY
Unit 5
ROME
• ROMAN HISTORY: REPUBLIC AND EMPIRE
• ROMAN RELIGION AND THE ROMAN TEMPLE
• ROMAN CHARACTER
• LIFESTYLE
• ROMAN URBAN PLANNING
• ART AND ARCHITECTURE AS IMPERIAL
PROPAGANDA:FORUMS AND BASILICAS
• DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE
• ORDERS IN ARCHITECTURE: TUSCAN AND COMPOSITE.
• ROME: FORUM ROMANUM AND OTHER IMPERIAL FORUMS,
ENCLOSURE AND MANIPULATION OF SPACE:
• PANTHEON – PUBLIC BUILDINGS:
• COLLOSEUM,
• CIRCUS MAXIMUS,
• THERMAE OF CARACULLA.
• ETRUSCAN PERIOD – 8TH C. BC – 250BC
• REPUBLICAN ROME – 250 BC – 30 BC
• IMPERIAL ROME – from 30 BC
• UPTO HADRIAN’S PERIOD IN 138 AD
• DECLINE IN 476 AD
Unit 5
OF ARCHITECTURE -I ROME 240
Early Rome, 753-509 B.C.
By about 750 B.C. the Greeks had established about fifty city-states on the southern
peninsula of Italy. To the north lived the tribes of the Etruscans. The Romans adopted
many Etruscan customs over the years. The Romans even adopted the Etruscan toga.
The vault and the arch were Etruscan in origin as were gladiatorial contests.
Etruscan power and influence over the city of Rome was indeed strong and thanks to
their trading interests, the city began to grow.
By the mid-6th century, temples and public buildings could be found
throughout the city.
The Capitoline Hill became the religious center of the city and the Forum,
formerly a cemetery, became a public meeting place, thus serving a similar role as
the agora had at Athens. Rome under the Etruscans resembled a Greek city. Like
Greek cities, it had a senate: an advisory council of elders who were mainly patricians.
Rome's most important temple and meeting place was a building like a Greek
acropolis, called the capitol. The capitol had a Greek-like public assembly called the
comitia - where plebeians were a minority and outvoted.
Rome Becomes a Republic
The Roman Republic was more like a confederation of states under the control of
a representative, central authority.
One of the most important developments during the early history of the Roman
Republic was the "Struggle of the Orders." Between 500 and 300 B.C., there developed
within the body of the citizenry, a division between two social groups or classes:
patricians and plebeians.
Unit 5
Evolution of republican states DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
Rome was at war throughout most of the years of the Republic.
The Punic Wars with Carthage
First Punic War (264-241 B.C.)
Second Punic War (218-201 B.C.)
Hannibal (247-182 B.C.)
Third Punic War (149-146 B.C.)
Macedonia and in Asia Minor (205-148 BC with the annexation of Greece and Asia Minor
to the Roman world.
By 44 B.C., the Romans controlled all of Spain, Gaul (France), Italy, Greece, Asia Minor,
and most of North Africa
From 133 to 27 B.C., the Roman Republic was engaged in a constant succession of civil
wars, making up what has come to be known as the Roman Revolution
These civil wars led to a succession of military dictatorships with that of Julius Caesar
being the most successful (49 – 44 BC)
A further period of flux and civil war after his assassination led to the formation of a
Triumvirate – Mark Anthony, Octavius, Lepidus
The Roman world was now divided between these rulers (Antony: eastern provinces;
Octavian: western provinces; Lepidus: Sicily and North Africa).
At the Battle of Actium (31 B.C.), the forces of Antony and Cleopatra were defeated.
With the battle of Actium, the world of the Roman Republic comes to an end, and the new
world of the Roman Empire begins.
[Give the example of the Forum Romanum for Republican Rome]
Unit 5
Evolution of republican states DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS FACTORS
Etruscan period:
there was a Greek influence in the belief in a Pantheon of gods
there was an expanding class of nobles
the main building typologies were houses and temples, roads
and other public works
the religious beliefs reflected in the burial of the dead in cemeteries outside the
cities with the most important ones being buried in tombs which are the surviving
monuments
Republican Rome:
the Romans were farmers, and were not very religious
it was a strictly Patriarchal system of society
they honoured Vesta-Goddess of Hearth
hence there were not much of temple buildings during the period
by mid 1st c. BC permanent places of entertainment were admitted into the capital
the focus was on the Forum, which were the chief place of public assembly not
only for business and political discussions but also for entertainment and
spectacles
the practice of new religious cults and practices to the adoption of the Hellenistic
way of life and art
there was strong concept of free entertainment, circuses, chariot races and
gladiatorial combats which had its origin from funeral rites involving human
sacrifices for the well being of the dead
Unit 5
FACTORS INFLUENCING ARCHITECTURE
ROME
Later Roman:
Local religious practices continued with new temples for the local gods
The imperial throne was occupied by Non Romans
Personal well being was the prime as long as there was no conflict with
the state
The society was hence open to the spread and the growth of new
religions from the East
This included the worship of the son, and finally Christianity
there was hence a rise of church forms although pagan worship
continued till 391
there were also secular buildings such as baths and gymnasiums
Unit 5
FACTORS INFLUENCING ARCHITECTURE
ROME
Roman religion:
• In Ancient Rome a fundamental basis of the religion was the belief that if
the Gods were happy then they would receive good fortune. It was
therefore important to worship the Roman Gods on a daily basis.
• The ancient Etruscans mirrored the Greek traditions
• building large temples to honour their Gods and this was in turn mirrored
by the Romans
• The Romans built temples to worship their Gods and Goddesses.
• The Romans believed that gods controlled their lives
• Romans had hundreds of different gods, for all occasions.
• A group of twelve of the main gods and goddesses
• The religion of the Romans was a polytheistic religion taken from the
Greek religion.
• The Greek and then the Roman priests needed a story or myth which
contained a family tree and explained the beginnings of the main Gods
and Goddesses (Dii Consentes).
Famous Roman Temples
The ruins of many famous temples in Rome.
1. The round temple of Vesta dates to the time of Numa Pompilus
2. Temple of Castor and Pollux in the Roman Forum
3. Temple of Saturn
4. Temple of Vespasian
5. The Temple of Julius Caesar
Unit 5
Roman religion ROME
ROMAN TEMPLES
Facts and Features of Roman Temples
1. Temples were large, ornate and numerous.
2. The temples were located in important positions such as
at one side of the forum or alongside one of the major
roads
3. had a gabled roofs
4. They had a deep porch called a portico with high columns
5. A frontal staircase giving access to a high platform was
called a podium
6. The distance between columns of rectangular were Temple of jupiter
proportional to the diameter of the column (Roman
optimus maximus
Columns)
7. New materials were used in the construction of Roman
Temples such as concrete with brick and stone facing
and marble veneers
8. Walls were painted in Fresco - the frieze often depicted
Roman life
9. Sculptures of Gods and Goddesses were used as
decoration in the form of free standing statues
10. Treasures were sometimes kept in the underground
chambers of the temples Temple of venus and roma
11. Some Roman temples were round, notably some of the
Temples dedicated to Vesta
12. A deep porch with free-standing columns Unit 5
Roman temples ROME
ROMAN TEMPLES
1. A frontal staircase giving access to a high platform
2. New materials were used in the construction of Roman
Temples such as concrete with brick and stone facing
and marble veneers
3. Walls of Roman Temples were painted in fresco - the
frieze often depicted Roman life
4. Sculptures of Roman Gods and Goddesses were used
as decoration in the form of free standing statues
5. Many Roman Temples were commissioned by Roman
Generals to thank the Gods for the generals' victories
6. Roman Temples were large, ornate and numerous
7. Outside the Roman Temples traders sold small birds Temple of ceasar
and animals which were offered to the Gods as
sacrifices
8. The Roman temples were located in important positions
such as at one side of the forum or along a major road
9. The distance between Temple columns were
proportional to the diameter of the column
10. Engravings of Roman Temples were featured on
Roman coins
11. Roman Temples were dedicated to specific Roman
Gods and Goddesses
Unit 5
Roman temples ROME
• The Ancient Romans used a specific scheme for
city planning that centered around military defense
and civil convenience.
• The basic city plan consisted of a central forum
with city services, surrounded by a compact grid of
streets and wrapped in a wall for defense.
• The wall was also used to mark the city limits and
was covered by a Portcullis, or fortified gate at the
front of the city.
• They would lay out the streets at right angles, in
the form of a square grid. All roads were equal in
width and length, except for two diagonal ones
that intersected in the middle to form the center of
the grid.
• Each square marked by four roads was called an
insula, the Roman equivalent of a modern city
block. Each main road held a gateway with
watchtowers.
• The collapse of Roman civilization saw the end of
Roman urban planning. The Ancient Roman city
planning style is still very clear in Modern Rome
and it has influenced many towns across Europe
and the world.
• It was the only megalopolis in the West
Unit 5
URBAN PLANNING ROME
Large stone
The city functions as a trading water fountains
paved roads
center for goods, as seen in the
marketplace.
Plan showing
insulae, shops
and markets
Unit 5
URBAN PLANNING ROME
Roman Columns
Columns are vertical, upright pillars.
Columns may provide support or simply be purely
decorative.
The lower portion of a column is called the base or
stylobate.
The middle section is called the shaft. The upper
portion of a column is called the capital.
The area which the column supports is called the
entablature.
Types of Roman Columns -:

Doric Columns - Simplest Style of Columns
Ionic Style of Columns with Spiral Scrolls
Corinthian Columns - Most Decorated Style of
Columns
Roman COLUMNS Unit 5

ROME
1. The Corinthian order is the most elegant of
the five orders.
2. Its distinguishing characteristic is the striking
capital, which is carved with two staggered
rows of stylized acanthus leaves and four
scrolls.
3. The shaft has 24 sharp-edged flutes, while the
column is 10 diameters high.
4. The ratio of total column height to column-shaft
height is in a 6:5 ratio.
5. The full height of column with capital is often a
multiple of 6Roman feet while the column
height itself is a multiple of 5
6. The abacus upon the capital has concave
sides to conform to the outscrolling corners of
the capital, and it may have a rosette at the
center of each side.
FEATURES:
• Fluted (grooved) shaft
• Capital decorated with scrolls, acanthus leaves,
and flowers
• Ornaments on the capital flare outwards,
suggesting a sense of height
Roman ORDERS-CORINTHIAN Unit 5

ROME
1. The Tuscan order has a very plain
design, with a plain shaft, and a simple
capital, base, and frieze. It is a
simplified adaptation of the Doric order
by the Romans.
2. the solidest and least ornate
3. The Tuscan order is characterized by
an unfluted shaft and a capital that
only consists of an echinus and an
abacus.
4. In proportions it is similar to the Doric
order, but overall it is significantly
plainer.
5. GENERALLY USED FOR THE
LOWER FLOOR.
6. The column is normally seven
diameters high.
Roman ORDERS-TUSCAN Unit 5

ROME
Patricians and Plebeians:
The life of the Romans was dependent on
their class structure. The Romans were
divided into three tribes and the people
were initially separated into two ranks or
classes. The small ruling class of nobles
were called the Patricians and the lower
class were called the Plebeians. Slaves
were added to the people of Rome and
another class called the Equites, or Knights,
of Rome.
Law, Crime and Punishment:
The law played an important part in the life
of the Romans. Civil Law and Criminal Law.
The Law of the Twelve Tables was the
ancient legislation on which the law was
based on. The extension of the Roman
empire, the increase of riches, and
consequently of crime, gave occasion to a
great number of new laws
Julian Calendar, Numerals, Coins and
Weights and Measures
Their numerals and number system, names
of Romans, the names of the days of the
week and the months, weights, measures
and coins.
Unit 5
Roman LIFESTYLE ROME
Dwellings:
Romans lived in a variety of different
dwellings depending on class. The rich had
villas, and the poor lived in small
apartments over shops
Roofs were not allowed to be higher than
17 meters (during the reign of Hadrian) due
to the danger of collapse, and most
apartments had windows. Water would be
brought in from outside and residents would
have to go out to public latrines to use the
toilet. Because of the danger of fire, the
Romans living in these apartments were
not allowed to cook- buy food in from
takeaway shops (called thermopolium)
Sewers:
The Romans were a very clean people,
taking regular communal baths. They had
two main supplies of water – high quality
water for drinking and lower quality water
for bathing
have a sewer system built under the city
The Census:
The Roman Empire began the practice of
taking a census, or a 'count,' of all the
people within its boundaries
Unit 5
Clothes
A tunic was the most important part of
Roman clothing.
It was a long, white shirt, composed of two
cotton pieces; without sleeves or with the
short ones.
Roman tunics varied in details depending
an office that was held by their owners.
toga
Tunics were worn only in house, if Roman
wanted to go out, he had to put a toga on.
Toga was a piece of cotton material that
was about 3 metres wide and
approximately 6-7 metres long. It was very
difficult to compose toga appropriately, so
there were ‘special’ slaves who had to deal
with it.
tunic
Unit 5
ETRUSCAN & EARLY ROMAN
BUILDING TYPOLOGIES:
Primitive huts
Temples: Sacred enclosures which were open to sky with an altar
Templum: space on the ground or in the sky for taking omens
MATERIALS:
Wattle & daub for huts
Thatched roof
Timber & mud brick
PLANNING:
GREEK MEGARON TYPE from the 6th c.
Large houses with internal courts with rooms opening out from the court
Flat sloping ceilings
Coffered doorways, coloured dado
Roof and beams given additional support by columns which were
Etruscan hut
square, polygonal or circular
Fluted with different capitals
Wattle & daub

Unit 5
Architectural character-etruscan & early roman
ROME
TEMPLE LAYOUT
Greek influence of a building within an enclosure
The original name for this building being Aedes
The temple building was rectangular, raised on a
podium with a wide spreading roof supported on
columns
The differences in Greek and Roman temples were:
1. Temple set at the back of the enclosure
2. Axial arrangement with an open air altar between
the front of the temple and the entrance to the
enclosure
3. Columns used in front of the building to carry
porch. Not peripteral
4. Simple rectangular cella
5. Normally 3 cellas for the triad of gods
6. Proportions shallower than Greece
TOWN PLANNING
• Grid layouts
• Attention given to drainage seen in the principle
sewer of Cloaca Maxima
• Defensive walls of ashlar or polygonal masonry
• Bridges of stone piers and timber spanning
Unit 5
Architectural character-etruscan & early roman
ROME
BUILDING TYPOLOGIES: Temple buildings:
Sanctuaries, Temples High podium approached by flight of
Forums, Basilicas & related structure steps
Balneae & thermae Simple rectangular cellas, columned
Theatres, Amphitheatres and circuses porticoes
Triumphal arches Timber roof or suspended coffered
Town gates, Houses & villas ceiling
Tombs Use of stone for columns and architraves
Aqueducts and bridges Placed in the city Forum
Public baths and places of entertainment Axial planning
MATERIALS: Eg. Temples of Fortuna Primigenia at
Local travertine and tufa Palestrina
Import of foreign marble Temple of Hercules Victor at Tivoli
Growing mastery of concrete Basilicas
CHARACTER: 1st large scale building where interior
dominated exterior
Introduction of new proportions due to new materials
Small enclosed forum surrounded by
Adoption of the classical Greek orders – Corinthian
Arches, vaults and domes colonnades or stoas
The central space had a trussed timber roof
Used in utilitarian buildings such as warehouses
Open at the sides to lower aisle
Appeared as a sequence of barrel vaulted bays
Cleresorey lighting
Dome used chiefly over the Frigidarium of baths
Hall of justice hence had an apse on one side
Eg. Basilica at Pompeii
Houses:
Atrium present
Blank street façade
2 storied
travertine Garden surrounded by columns opening
into private rooms
Architectural character-LATE REPUBLICAN AND EARLY
Portico villas Unit 5
IMPERIAL ROME
LATE IMPERIAL
Temples
Forum, Basilica & related structure
Baths, Thermae, Balneae
Bridges
Triumphal arches
Pillars of victory
CHARACTER:
Spatial planning due to the complete mastery
of vaults and concrete
Interior treatments received great importance
eg. Pantheon
The interiors were not just 4 walls and a roof
Dome
Dissolved the distinction between the roof and
the walls
Large spaces without intermediate supports
Gave a lot of freedom
Vaults also gave a new dimension
Baths very popular
Axial planning with sequence of spaces
opening to one another with groined vaults
Architectural character-LATE IMPERIAL Unit 5

ROME
Interiors:
Coloured marble for the interiors
Gilded vaults and ceilings
Decorated with paint or mosaic
Statuary
Fountains with water running from the
mouths of lions carved in marble or
bronze into marble basins
Exteriors:
Decorative use of orders
Plain & unadorned
Facing of stucco or marble
Wall surfaces broken by windows
Changes in town planning and houses
Imperial forum
Largest basilica and market place
under Trajan
Numerous levels with shops and
terraces
Mass housing developed after the fire
in 64 AD
Straight broad streets with blocks or
Insulae
Use of timber prohibited, concrete used
Arches carried on free standing
columns
In the final phases of architecture we see the construction of
the largest Basilica Nova by Maxentius completed by
Constantine.large rectangular groin vaulted space. Influenced
the Byzantine Empire which followed Unit 5
Architectural character-LATE IMPERIAL
ROME
VAULTS:
Cementae and mortar were tipped on timber
formwork in horizontal layers
This gave rise to a stepped profile in the exterior or
one that was flattened to a conical top
Groined vault from the Helllenestic
Use of concrete for the vaults did away with the use
of the stone dressing and freedom of form
DOME:
It was the simplest vault to build
The early domes were more conical than
hemispherical
Open to sky at the crown
ARCHES:
Semicircular arches used for large spans
The flattened segmental arch was also used for
openings
COLUMNS:
The columns and the architraves were slender
The spacings between the columns were wider
The 2 main orders used in the Roman times were the
Roman Tuscan order and the Corinthian Order
The Roman Tuscan order was similar to the Greek
Doric Order except that it was taller and usually
unfluted Unit 5
Architectural elements
ROME
Developments curing the Imperial Period:
Brick faced concrete was the universal material used for
construction
The structures were faced with stucco or marble
The vaults were of concrete with tiles laid on the
undersurface flat on the timber formwork
The vaults were lightened by the creation of voids in the
vaults by the insertion of Amphorae
The simple barrel vaults developed into the Groined vaults
Ribs in brickwork were added to the groins
Coffers were used in the construction for structures spanning
large spaces Eg. Pantheon Dome
Buttresses were also a common feature in buildings
Architectural elements Unit 5

ROME
• Roman houses
• The poor lived in dilapidated cottages or rented rooms and flats in tenement
houses. These narrow and high tenements were built in a quick and dirty way,
and they often collapsed or became destroyed by fire.
• Storeys of such buildings stuck out toward the street.
• the poorer citizens avoid staying in their own homes and spend their time in the
city, which offered a lot of entertainment to them.
• Wealthy Romans - they lived in luxury villas, surrounded by vast gardens and
ponds.
• Roman houses consisted of three parts: a front one and a middle, which was
covered with tiles and of a peristyle.
• There were lots of columns, flowers, pictures and a fountain in it.
• Under a peristyle there was a cellar.
• Atrium was a kind of a presentable lounge, “family life” concentrated in peristyle
and nearby rooms.
• Slaves lived close to the atrium.
Architectural elements Unit 5

ROME
Dormus:
the domus was the type of house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy
freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras.
these homes were generally much grander in scale and on larger acres of land due
to more space outside the walled and fortified city.
The elite classes of Roman society constructed their residences with elaborate
marble decorations, inlaid marble paneling, door jambs and columns as well as
expensive paintings and frescoes.
the homes of the early Etruscans, predecessors of the Romans, were simple, even
for the wealthy or ruling classes.
They were small familiar huts constructed on the axial plan of a central hall with an
open skylight.
It is believed that the Temple of Vesta was, in form, copied from the these early
dwellings because the worship of Vesta began in individual homes.
The huts were probably made of mud and wood with thatched roofs and a centre
opening for the hearth's smoke to escape.
This could have been the beginnings of the atrium, which was common in later
homes.
As Rome became more and more prosperous from trade and conquest, the homes
of the wealthy increased in both size and luxury emulating both the Etruscan atrium
house and Hellenistic peristyle house.
Many poor and lower middle class Romans lived in crowded, dirty and mostly
rundown rental apartments, known as insulae.
ROMAN HOUSES-domestic architecture Unit 5

ROME
• The DOMUS included:
• multiple rooms,
• indoor courtyards,
• gardens and beautifully painted walls that
were elaborately laid out.
• THE VESTIBULUM (entrance hall) led
into a large central hall: the atrium, which
was the focal point of the domus and
contained a statue of an altar to the
household gods.
• Leading off the Atrium were CUBICULA
(bedrooms), a dining room triclinium
where guests could recline on couches
and eat dinner whilst reclining, a tablinum
(living room or study) and tabernae (shops
on the outside, facing the street).
• In cities throughout the Roman Empire,
wealthy homeowners lived in buildings
with few exterior windows.
• Glass windows weren't readily available:
glass production was in its infancy.
• Thus a wealthy Roman citizen lived in a
large house separated into two parts, and
linked together through THE TABLINUM
or study or by a small passageway.
• To protect the family from intruders, it
would not face the streets, only its
entrance providing more room for living
spaces and gardens behind.
ROME
ROME
• Roman homes were like Greek homes.
• Only two objects were present in the
atrium of Caecilius in Pompeii: a small
bronze box that stored precious family
items and the lararium, a small shrine to
the household gods, the Lares.
• In the master bedroom was a small
wooden bed and couch which usually
consisted of some slight padding.
• As the domus developed, the tablinum
took on a role similar to that of the study.
In each of the other bedrooms there was
usually just a bed.
• The triclinium had three couches
surrounding a table.
• The triclinium often was similar in size to
the master bedroom.
• The study was used as a passageway.
• If the master of the house was a banker or
merchant the study often was larger
because of the greater need for materials.
• Roman houses lay on an axis, so that a
visitor was provided with a view through
the fauces, atrium, and tablinum to the
peristyle.

ROME
ROME
Interior Architectural Elements
VESTIBULUM (Fauces) The vestibulum was the

main entryway hall of the Roman Domus.
It is usually only seen in grander structures,
however many urban homes had shops or rental
space directly off the streets with the front door
between.
The vestibulum would run the length of these front
Tabernae shops.
This created security by keeping the main portion
of the domus off the street. In homes that did not
have spaces for let in front, either rooms or a
closed area would still be separated by a separate
vestibulum.
ATRIUM (plural atria) The atrium was the most
important part of the house, where guests and
dependents (clients) were greeted.
The atrium was open in the centre, surrounded at
least in part by high-ceilinged porticoes that often
contained only sparse furnishings to give the effect
of a large space.
In the centre was a square roof opening called the
compluvium in which rainwater could come,
draining inwards from the slanted tiled roof.
ROMAN
Directly HOUSES-domestic
below the compluvium was the architecture
impluvium. Unit 5
ROME
IMPLUVIUM An impluvium was basically a drain pool, a shallow rectangular sunken
portion of the Atrium to gather rainwater, which drained into an underground cistern. The
impluvium was often lined with marble, and around which usually was a floor of small
mosaic.
Fauces These were similar in design and function of the vestibulum but were found
deeper into the domus. Separated by the length of another room, entry to a different
portion of the residence was accessed by these passage way we would call halls or
hallways.

ROME
• Tablinum Between the atrium and the peristyle, the tablinum would be
constituted. Sort of office for the dominus, who would receive his clients for
the morning salutatio. The dominus was able to command the house visually
from this vantage point as the head of the social authority of the
paterfamilias.
• Triclinium The Roman dining room. The area had three couches, klinai, on
three sides of a low square table.
• Alae The open rooms on each side of the atrium. Their use is unknown.
• Cubiculum Bedroom. The floor mosaics of the cubiculum often marked out a
rectangle where the bed should be placed.
• Culina The kitchen in a Roman house. It was dark and gloomy and smoke
filled the room because there was no chimney. This is where slaves
prepared food for their masters and guests in Roman times.
• Posticum A servants' entrance also used by family members wanting to
leave the house unobserved.

ROME
• Exterior:
• The back part of the house was centred around the peristyle much
as the front centered on the atrium. The peristylium was a small
garden often surrounded by a columned passage, the model of the
medieval cloister. Surrounding the peristyle were the bathrooms,
kitchen and summer triclinium.
• The kitchen was usually a very small room with a small masonry
counter wood-burning stove. The wealthy had a slave who worked
as a cook and spent nearly all his or her time in the kitchen. During
a hot summer day the family ate their meals in the summer triclinium
to stave off the heat.
• Most of the light came from the compluvium and the open
peristylium.
• There were no clearly defined separate spaces for slaves or for
women. Slaves were ubiquitous in a Roman household and slept
outside their masters' doors at night;
• women used the atrium and other spaces to work once the men had
left for the forum. There was also no clear distinction between rooms
meant solely for private use and public rooms, as any private room
could be opened to guests at a moment's notice.

ROME
ROMAN HOUSES-INSULAE-domestic architecture Unit 5
ROME
• a kind of apartment building that
housed most of the urban citizen
population of ancient Rome,
• including ordinary people of lower- or
middle-class status (the plebs) and all
but the wealthiest from the upper-
middle class (the equites).
• The traditional elite and the very
wealthy lived in domus, large single-
family residences, but the two kinds of
housing were intermingled in the city
and not segregated into separate
neighborhoods.
• The ground-level floor of
the insula was used for tabernae,
shops and businesses, with the living
space upstairs.
• Like modern apartment buildings,
an insula might have a name, usually
referring to the owner of the building.
•
ROMAN HOUSES-INSULAE-domestic architecture Unit 5

ROME
• insulae, like domus, had running
water and sanitation
• They were built in timber, mud brick,
and later primitive concrete, and
were prone to fire and collapse
• At first insulae were usually built of
wood. They were usually three or
four storeys high.
• Living quarters were typically
smallest in the building's uppermost
floors, with the largest and most
expensive apartments being located
on the bottom floors.
The insulae could be up to six or
seven stories high, and despite
height restrictions in the Imperial era,
a few reached eight or nine stories
• A singleinsula could accommodate
over 40 people in only 3,600 sq ft
(330 m2); however, the entire
structure usually had about 6 to 7
apartments, each had about 1000 sq
ft
ROMAN HOUSES-INSULAEdomestic architecture Unit 5

ROME
ROMAN HOUSES-INSULAEdomestic architecture Unit 5
ROME
• A Roman villa was living space during the Roman Republic and the Roman
Empire.
• A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class.
• there were two kinds of villas:
• the villa urbana, which was a country seat that could easily be reached
from Rome (or another city) for a night or two,
• the Villa rustica, the farm-house estate permanently occupied by the
servants who had charge generally of the estate.
• Wealthy Romans escaped the summer heat in the hills round Rome,
• The late Roman Republic witnessed an explosion of villa construction in
Italy,
ROMAN HOUSES-VILLA-domestic architecture Unit 5

ROME
ROMAN HOUSES-VILLA-domestic architecture Unit 5
ROME
• The Empire contained many kinds
of villas, not all of them lavishly
appointed with mosaic floors and
frescoes.
• Some were pleasure houses
• Suburban villas on the edge of cities
were also known, such as the
Middle and Late Republican villas
that encroached on the Campus
Martius, at that time on the edge of
Rome, and which can be also seen
outside the city walls of Pompeii.
• It is possible that these early,
suburban villas were also in fact the
seats of power (maybe even
palaces) of regional strongmen or
heads of important families
(gentes).
• A third type of villa provided the
organizational center of the large
holdings called latifundia, that
produced and exported agricultural
produce; such villas might be
lacking in luxuries.
• Unit 5
ROMAN HOUSES-domestic architecture
ROME
RESOURCES / MATERIALS:
Etruscan:
Local stone used for defense walls, temple platforms and tombs
Mud bricks
Unfired mud brick and rammed earth which replaced wattle and daub
Fired terracotta for tiles
Timber for posts, beams and roofing members
Republic Rome & Early Imperial:

Fired bricks
Mortar – Pozzolana (Volcanic Earth) , lime and sand
Marble was imported from Carrara
Tufa – a porous volcanic stone
Travertine –fine hard limestone
Peperino – volcanic
Bricks were tile shaped known as Bipedales these were 2’ square and 2” thick
Later Rome:
Dressed stone was used in E & N Africa
Fired bricks for the walls and vaults
Mortar – Italian Pozzolana
The skills and the construction were available in provinces due to the movement of
architects and highly skilled craftsmen Eg. Apollodorus of Damascus
MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES OF Unit 5

DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO CONSTRUCTION
B.ARCH HISTORY
TECHNIQUES USED IN CONSTRUCTION:
Etruscan and Early Roman:
Local materials were used for the primitive buildings
Techniques were adopted from the Greeks in 7th c.BC
Timber was mainly used for the columns, spanning openings, framing walls
and the roofs
Tiles and terracotta used for the facing
Tufa – cut into square blocks and used for Ashlar Masonry known as
“Opus Quadratum”
Hard limestone was used for undressed polygonal rubble for defense walls
No mortar was used in Ashlar or polygonal work
The joints were packed with earth and smaller stones
Mortar was lime and sand from Greek influence in 3rd c. BC
Later Republican Rome and Early Imperial:

the most important development was the Stone Voussior Arch
these were significant in contributing to the development of the arch and the
barrel vault
the vault was supported on free standing Piers which affected the
construction of the Bridges and the Aqueducts
this demanded the arched spans on low broad piers
Semicircular Arches with timber centering was used
B.ARCH HISTORY
3 important developments were:
Cut stone replaced timber, rubble and mud brick with
fastening of blocks with Bronze and Iron clamps
Mortars
Fired Bricks of tile proportions replaced unfired bricks
Pozzolana replaced lime-sand mortar forming Monolithic
Masses

B.ARCH HISTORY
ROMAN WALLING SYSTEM:
Early wall facings were of stone either in rubble or the polygonal masonry
These were formed with the use of smaller pieces of stone about 4” across
There are 3 main walling systems used in the Roman period
OPUS INCERTUM:
These stones were dressed only on the outside face giving the wall the appearance of rough small scale
polygonal work
OPUS RETICULATUM:
Use of similarly sized pieces of soft Tufa dressed on the outer surface and cut Pyramidal to tail back into
the concrete behind to obtain a good key
They create a net like pattern on the surface
Hare the larger blocks of the square stone were set giving greater strength to the vertical angle
OPUS TESTACEUM & OPUS MIXTUM
Fired brick substitute Reticulate Tufa or combinations using brick at the corners in the place of stone quoins
The bricks were cut into triangular forms tailing back into the concrete to give a good key
At intervals in the height of the wall, full bricks were also laid to the full thickness of the walls for stability
between the bonding surfaces until the mortar hardened
The strength of the walls depended on the concrete core only
The walls were finished with stucco or marble on both the surfaces

B.ARCH HISTORY
•Sanctuaries, Temples
•Forums, Basilicas & related structure
•Balneae & thermae
•Theatres, Amphitheatres and circuses
•Triumphal arches
•Town gates, Houses & villas
•Tombs
•Aqueducts and bridges
•Public baths and places of
entertainment
MATERIALS:
•Local travertine and tufa
•Import of foreign marble Basilica at pompeii
•Growing mastery of concrete
CHARACTER:
Introduction of new proportions due to new
materials
•Adoption of the classical Greek orders –
Corinthian
Arches, vaults and domes
• Stone voussuoir arches used in utilitarian
buildings
• Appeared as a sequence of barrel vaulted Unit 5
Architectural character
bays DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
Temple buildings:
•High podium approached by flight of steps
•Simple rectangular cellas, columned porticoes
•Timber roof or suspended coffered ceiling
•Use of stone for columns and architraves
•Placed in the city Forum
•Axial planning
Eg. Temples of Fortuna Primigenia at Palestrina
•Temple of Hercules Victor at Tivoli
Basilicas
•1st large scale building where interior dominated exterior
•Small enclosed forum surrounded by colonnades or stoas
•The central space had a trussed timber roof
•Open at the sides to lower aisle
•Cleresorey lighting
•Hall of justice hence had an apse on one side
•Eg. Basilica at Pompeii
Houses:
•Atrium present
•Blank street façade
•2 storied
•Garden surrounded by columns opening into
private rooms
•Portico villas
Unit 5
Architectural character DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
Unit 5
Architectural character
The CIRCUS is the term given to a stadium or a large open arena in Rome used
predominantly for chariot racing
The Circus Maximus was the oldest circus in the city which underwent a series of
changes, enlargements, modifications and embellishments
Location:
Lies in the valley between the Palatine and the Aventine hills
Unit 5
Architectural character DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
Components:
•Marked track
•Low central wall SPINA around which the chariots
were raced
•Starting gates CARCERES
•Wooden seats initially
•Cone shaped columns at the ends of the Spina to
mark the turning points
•The plan of the Circus Maximus underwent a series of
changes to its final plan by the end of the 1st cent. BC
Details:
•600m x 200m
•Restored by 4th cent. AD to its final
form
•3 tiers of seating
•12 Carceres
•Each race consisted of 7 laps
•3.6 km. Distance
•Bas relief gives a good idea of a
racing quad Riga
•Normally had 4 chariots in a race
together
Unit 5
CIRCUS MAXIMUS-1ST c. BC DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
Entrance arch
Reconstruction of seating
Unit 5
CIRCUS MAXIMUS-1ST c. BC
Reconstructed painting of a Chariot race
Unit 5
CIRCUS MAXIMUS-1ST c. BC
The Circus Maximus is
FORM:
•Rectangular with an apsidal end.
ENTRANCE:
•The main entrance was through an entrance arch in the
center of the apsidal end
•The entrance arch has 3 arches, the central one being
higher then the arches in the sides
CARCERE:
•The carceres are on the opposite side of the apsidal end
SEATING:
•The seating in the Circus were in 3 tiers with a separate
pavilion for the aristocrats and the Emperor
•The space beneath the seating was used for commercial End showing the Carceres
purpose in the form of shops and other services in the
circumferential passageways- a typical detail in all
theatres in Rome
EXTERIORS:
•The exterior of the circus is in 3 tiers
•The lower tier consists of arcades
•The upper tiers contain square openings alternating with
blank walls decorated with pilasters
•The topmost tier inside has a continuous row of
colonnade
Unit 5
CIRCUS MAXIMUS-1ST c. BC DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
The name amphitheatre is given to a public building of
the Classical period (being particularly associated with
ancient Rome), which was used for spectator sports,
games and displays.
DIFFERENCES – THEATRE & AMPHITHEATRE

Apart from function, the important outward distinction
between an amphitheatre and a theatre is that an
amphitheatre is round or oval in shape (whereas a
theatre is semi-circular).
ROMAN THEATRE
DIFFERENCES – AMPHITHEATRE & CIRCUS
However, an amphitheatre differs from a circus, which
was used for racing and looked more like a very long,
narrow horseshoe.
The best-known amphitheatre in the world is the Roman

Colosseum, which is more correctly termed the Flavian
amphitheatre, after the Flavian dynasty who had it built.
An amphitheatre in a community became a prized symbol

of Roman citizenship in the outlying areas of Italy.
ROMAN AMPHITHEATRE
Unit 5
ROMAN AMPHITHEATRES DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
The Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheater was
•begun by Vespasian, inaugurated by Titus in
80 A.D. and completed by Domitian.
•The first permanent amphitheater to be built in
Rome.
•Built over a great artificial lake which was
part of Nero’s palace
Practical and Efficient Organization for
producing spectacles and controlling the large
crowds make it one of the great architectural
monuments achieved by the ancient Romans.
•Designed to seat 50,000

•Used system of radial ramps and
stairs giving access to circumferential
passageways
•Structural system:
•Vaults spanning between the radial
and circumferential dividing walls
supported the many tiers of seating
as well as the ramps and
passageways
Unit 5
COLLOSEUM- ROME (70-80 c.) DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
Unit 5
COLLOSEUM- ROME (70-80 c.)
PLANNING
•The amphitheater is a vast ellipse
GROUND STOREY TOP STOREY with tiers of seating for 50,000
spectators around a central
elliptical arena.
•Plan is 188m x 156m
•The wooden arena floor was 86m
x 54m, and covered by sand.
•80 walls radiate from the arena
and support vaults for
passageways, stairways and the
tiers of seats.
•At the outer edge circumferential
arcades link each level and the
stairways between levels
•There are close to 80 separate
entrances around the
circumference.
IONIC STOREY
CORINTHIAN STOREY
Unit 5
PLANNING:
•Seating (cavea) was divided into
different sections.
Hierarchy in seating:
•PODIUM- the first level of seating,
was for the Roman senators; the
emperor's private, cushioned,
marble box was also located on
this level.
•Above the podium was the
Maenianum Primum, for the
other Roman aristocrats who
were not in the senate.
•The third level, the Maenianum

Secundum, was divided into three
sections.
•Lower part (the immum) -wealthy citizens,

•Upper part (the summum) was for poor citizens.
•A third, wooden section (the maenianum secundum in legneis) was a wooden
structure at the very top of the building, added by Domitian.
•It was standing room only, and was for lower-class women.
Unit 5
Additions:
•After the Colosseum's first two years in
operation, Emperor Domitian ordered the
construction of the hypogeum (literally
meaning "underground"),
•A 2 level subterranean network of

tunnels and cages where gladiators
and animals were held before
contests began.
•Numerous trap doors in the floor
provided instant access to the arena for
caged animals and scenery pieces
concealed underneath
•Larger hinged platforms, called
hegmata, provided access for elephants
and the like.
•Today the arena floor no longer exists,
though the hypogeum walls and corridors are
clearly visible in the ruins of the structure.
•The entire base of the Colosseum covers an

area equivalent to 6 acres
•There are also tunnels, still in existence,
configured to flood and evacuate water from
the Colosseum floor, so that naval battles
could be staged prior to the hypogeum's
construction. Unit 5
Unit 5
Cooling system:
Another innovative feature of the
Colosseum was its cooling system, known
as the valerium,
•which consisted of a canvas-
covered, net-like structure made of
ropes, with a hole in the center.
•This roof covered two-thirds of the
arena, and sloped down towards the
center to catch the wind and provide
a breeze for the audience.
•Sailors, standing on special
platforms, manipulated the ropes on
command.
•At the top brackets and sockets
carry the masts from which the
velarium, a canopy for shade, by
PASSAGEWAYS:
suspension
The Colosseum incorporated a number of vomitoria - passageways that
open into a tier of seats from below or behind.
The vomitoria were designed so that the immense venue could fill in 15
minutes, and be evacuated in as little as 5 minutes.
Each entrance and exit was numbered, as was each staircase.
Unit 5
Exterior detailing:
•The 3 tiers of outer arcades are tripled at the first 2
levels, carrying the vault to create the double
ambulatories at the 3 levels.
•There is a direct access to the 1st 2 tiers of seating for

those of equestrian rank and other roman citizens
•Flights of stairs from the top ambulatories give access
to the 3rd tier which is separated from the others by a
high encircling wall in place of the innermost arcade
•The three tiers of arcades are faced by three-quarter

columns and entablatures,
Doric in the first
storey,
Ionic in the second
Corinthian in the third.
•Above them is an attic story with Corinthian

pilasters and small square window openings in
alternate bays for lighting as it was set within a
portico
•In the other bays there were large bronze
shields in place of windows
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The facade of three tiers of arches and an
attic story is about 48.5 m (158 ft) tall —
roughly equivalent to a 12-15 story
building.
CONSTRUCTION:
The organization was possible due to the
roman’s type of construction
The construction utilized a careful
combination of types:
Concrete
for the 12m deep
foundations,
Travertine for the piers and
arcades,
Tufa infill between piers for the
walls of the lower two levels, and
Brick-faced concrete used for
the upper levels and for most of the
vaults.
Unit 5
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The Pantheon is a building in Rome which was
originally built as a temple to the seven deities of
the seven planets in the Roman state religion, but
which has been a Christian church since the 7th
century. It is the best preserved of all Roman
buildings and the oldest important building in the
world with its original roof intact. It has been in
continuous use throughout its history.
The most important temple in terms of

technical achievement and influence
Its most notable feature being the Dome
with a span of 43.2m was unchallenged
until 1420-36 when Brunelleschi vaulted
the Florence Cathedral
The Original Pantheon was a rectangular temple built by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, son-
in-law of Augustus, the first Roman emperor, as part of a district renewal plan in 27-25 BC.
Hadrian (117-138) rebuilt the structure; maker's stamps in the bricks allow us to peg his
restoration between 118 and 125 AD.
Still, the inscription on the architrave attributes the construction to Agrippa during his third
council ship. The inscription reads M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIUM·FECIT, "Marcus Agrippa,
son of Lucius, consul for the third time, built this."
The portico in front of the Pantheon is what remains of Agrippa's original temple.
The Pantheon contains the tombs of Rafael and of several Italian Kings.
Pantheon is a Greek word meaning "to honor all Gods."
PANTHEON ROME-118-126 CE Unit 5

ROME
(LATE IMPERIAL- 96 – 476 CE) OF ARCHITECTURE -I 305
PLANNING:
The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns
(eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment opening into the
rotunda, under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus), the Great
Eye, open to the sky.
Its monumental porch
originally faced a rectangular
colonnaded temple
courtyard and now affronts
the smaller Piazza della
Rotonda.
The portico leads into the

rotunda but there is no other
relationship between them
Through great bronze doors,

one enters one great circular
room.
The interior volume is a

cylinder above which rises
the hemispherical dome.
Unit 5
PANTHEON ROME DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
PORTICO:
The portico consists of 3 rows of 8 columns, 14 m (46
feet) high of Egyptian granite with Corinthian capitals.
They support an entablature facing the square, which
bears the famous inscription in Latin, attributing the
construction to Agrippa
Opposite the door is a recessed semicircular apse, and

on each side are three additional recesses, alternately
rectangular and semicircular, separated from the
space under the dome by paired monolithic columns.
The columns are unfluted monolithic columns

The columns are 14m high and 1.5m dia. at the base to
1.3m dia.at the top
Corinthian capitals of white Pentelic marble

The pediment may have had a bronze eagle relief
affixed to it
On the rear wall on either side of the entrance to the

rotunda are 2 deep niches, which held the statues of
Augustus and Agrippa
The roof is no longer the original one
Unit 5
EXTERIOR:
•The walls of the rotunda rise through 3
storeys
•Constructed of brick faced concrete,

stone cornices, ring of brick relieving
arches
•Originally all the brickwork would have

been faced with marble and stucco
•The dome has a shallow stepped

profile
•The only natural light enters through

an unglazed oculus at the center of the
dome and through the bronze doors to
the portico.
•As the sun moves, striking patterns of

light illuminate the walls and floors of
porphyry, granite and yellow marbles.
Unit 5
INTERIORS:
Geometrically it is a large sphere with the
dome taking one half and the cylindrical
drum the other
The exterior is divided into 3 tiers while the
interior is divided into 2 tiers
The planning in the interior is as

follows:
Lower storey:
•The pantheon has 8 recesses around the
circumference
•The principal axis has an apsidal end for
the main altar
•There are 2 rectangular and 1
semicircular niche on either side of the
main axis
•These niches are divided from the main
space by means of 2 monolithic columns
•The columns are of marble and fluted
•Corinthian capitals carry the entablature
marking the division between floors
Unit 5
UPPER STOREY:
•The dome has a span of 43.2 m (142 feet), the largest
dome until Brunelleschi's dome at the Florence
Cathedral of 1420-36.
•The interior of the roof is intended to symbolize the

heavens.
•The Great Eye, 8.7m across, at the dome's apex is
the source of all light and is symbolic of the sun
•Its original circular bronze cornice remains in position.

•The interior features sunk panels (coffers), which
originally contained bronze star ornaments. This
coffering was not only decorative, however but reduced
the weight of the roof, as did the elimination of the apex
by means of the Great Eye.
•5 rows of 28 square coffers of diminishing size

radiate from the central unglazed oculus with a
diameter of 8.7 m (29 feet) at the top of the dome.
•The coffers had large gilded bronze rossettes in the

center
Unit 5
The floor of the Pantheon is concave towards the
center and has a total of 20 drains on the floor
Unit 5
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PANTHEON ROME
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PANTHEON ROME
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PANTHEON ROME
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PANTHEON ROME
Construction technology:
•The dome is constructed of stepped rings of

solid concrete with less and less density as
lighter aggregate (pumice) is used,
diminishing in thickness to about 1.2 m (4
feet) at the edge of the oculus.
•The dome rests on a cylinder of masonry walls

6 m (20 feet).
•Hidden voids and the interior recesses hollow out

this construction, so that
•It works less as a solid mass and more like three

continuous arcades which correspond to the three
tiers of relieving arches visible on the building
exterior.
•Originally, these exterior walls were faced with

colored marbles.
Unit 5
The complex must have been staggering both
in size and opulence: it originally
accommodated some 1,600 bathers and
Other activities such as sports and theatricals.
The underground vaulted facilities for servicing

the calidarium (hot baths) and tepidarium
(lukewarm baths) were incredibly complex.
In semi ruins today, the bath remains
impressive, especially on summer evenings,
when it is used for staging opera.
The THERMAE Of CARACALLA gives the best

idea of a fully developed Imperial Bath
The main block measures 225m x 115m without the projecting mass of the caldarium
The entire block is arranged in the sequence of bathing
On the main axis of the block were the
•Natatio or the open swimming bath
•Cold poolor Frigidarium
•Tepidarium
•Domed circular Caldarium
Unit 5
Thermae of caracalla-212-216 ce DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
1. ANTEROOMS
2. APODYTERIA (room for
undressing)&
12 13 STAIRCASES
3. OPEN PERISTYLES
4. SUITES OF
BATHROOMS
5. CALIDARIUM
6. SUDATORIUM
7. TEPIDARIUM
8. CENTRAL HALL
9. FRIGIDARIUM
10. LECTURE HALLS &
15 LIBRARIES
11. MARCIAN AQUEDUCT
12. ENTRANCE
13. COLLONADES
14. SMALL SHOPS
15. EPHEBEUM
(GYMNASIUM)
14
Unit 5
Thermae of caracalla-212-216 ce
Layout:
•The plan is totally symmetrical about a principal axis
•Compact arrangement of all the parts of the bath in a single block
•The entire block is set in a large landscaped park surrounded by
Shops & Pavilions, Services
•The main block measures 225m x 115m without the projecting mass of the caldarium
•The entire block is arranged in the sequence of bathing
•On the main axis of the block were the
Apodyteria – dressing room
Natatio or the open swimming bath- a place for swimming
Frigidarium or cold pool
Tepidarium
Caldarium
Palaestra – gymnasium
Sudatorium – sweating room
The Thermae were like a modern leisure center: there were

Gardens surrounding the main building where people could walk and meet their friends,
Libraries, multi-purpose halls and a small outdoor stadium (which used the steps up
to the cistern as a stand).
•Around the perimeter of the site were rooms used as shops, bars or brothels: renting these out
probably helped to cover costs, as entrance to the baths was free.
•The building was sumptuously decorated with statues and mosaics, but unfortunately only a few
fragments are still in place.
Unit 5
Details:
•The bath stood on a platform 60’ high
Underneath were
•Storehouses
•Corridors
•Furnace
•Hot air ducts
•The colonnade on the entrance side

screened the 2 series of baths
•There was a public park –XYSTUS
•Rooms for wrestling and games
•Halls for lectures and drama
•Stadium
•The water was supplied from the Marcian
aqueduct The central hall- 180’ x 89’
•Roof rested on 8 piers of masonry granite
columns
•Lit by windows in the clerestorey below
the vaults
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Frigidarium:
•Cold water bath
•Formed a retreat in summer
•Lighting was through fenestrated groined vaults
•Lavishly decorated rooms
•Stuccoes vaults
•Mosaic floors of black and white
•Polychrome marble for walls
•Colossal statuary
Tepidarium:
•Warm room
•Warmed by wall flues
•Stepped with 8 columns supporting the roof
Caldarium:
•Hot room
•Domical roof
•Lit by large windows in its drum
•Translucent windows
•Walls had flues to heat the apartment
Palaestra:
•Physical exercise room
•Open peristyle
•Separate room for athletes to bathe
•The other rooms opened off to each side duplicating one another
•2 exercise yards on the 2 extremes
•Large expanses of wall with small window openings
•The rooms on either side of the Caldarium had a view towards the gardens
Unit 5
Hypocaust system:
•Inside the main building a complicated distribution
system carried the water directly to the cold pools or to
boilers over wood fires where it was heated for the
warm and hot baths.
•Outlets from each basin and in the floor of each room
led to the drains, which ran below the level of the
distribution pipes and took the waste water to the
municipal drain in the valley.
•Both distribution and drainage pipes were housed in
tunnels providing easy access for inspection and
maintenance.
• A third network of tunnels was used to store the
enormous amounts of wood required to fuel the
furnaces (praefurnia): there were at least fifty of
these, some to heat the water and others to heat the
rooms by a hot air system beneath the floor
(hypocausta).
•The heated rooms were on the southwestern side of
the building. The hottest room of all, the calidarium,
projected beyond the line of the building to take full
advantage of the sun's rays. Hollow terracotta tubes
ran inside the walls to provide insulation and
channel hot air.
Unit 5
Unit 5
The Roman Forum (Forum
Romanum) was the political
and economical centre of
ROME during the Republic.
It emerged as such in the

7th century BCE and
maintained this position well
into the Imperial period,
when it was reduced to a
monumental area. It was
mostly abandoned at the
end of the 4th century.
The Forum Romanum is

located in a valley between
the Capitoline Hill on the
west, the Palatine Hill on
the south, the Velia on the
east and Quirinal Hill and
the Esquiline Hill to the
north..
Unit 5
Forum romanum
The importance of the Forum area is
indicated by the presence of many of the
central political, religious and judicial
buildings in Rome..
The Regia was the residence of the kings,
and later of the rex sacrorum and pontifex
maximus;
The Curia, was the meeting place of the
Senate; and the Comitium and the Rostra,
where public meetings were held.
Major temples and sanctuaries in the Forum
VIEW FROM THE TABULARIUM
include the Temple of Castor and Pollux, (WEST)
the Temple of Saturn and the Temple of
Vesta. Commercial and judicial activities
took place in the basilicas, the two
remaining are the Basilica Aemilia and the
Basilica Julia. Due to the political
importance of the area there were also
numerous honorary monuments.
VIEW FROM THE SOUTH
Unit 5
Forum romanum DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY
•In republican times the construction on the Forum
continued, with a series of basilicas, notably the Basilica
Sempronia and the Basilica Aemilia. Also from this period
are the Temple of Saturn, the Temple of Castor and
Pollux and the Temple of Concord.
•The current image of the Forum Romanum is a result of
the changes made by Julius Caesar as dictator, which
included the construction of the Basilica Julia where the
Basilica Sempronia stood, the building of a new Curia and
the renovation of the Rostra, the speakers platform.
•Most was finished by his successor Augustus, including
the Temple of Divus Julius,
•In imperial times the importance of the Forum as a political
centre diminished, but it remained a centre of commerce
and religious life. Construction and restoration continued,
but now mostly in the form of honorary monuments, such
as the Arch of Augustus, the Arch of Titus and the Arch
of Septimius Severus. Other arches, such as the Arch of
Tiberius, have disappeared completely.
•New religious buildings included the Temple of Antoninus
and Faustina and the Temple of Vespasian and Titus.
The Basilica of Maxentius from the 4th century is one of
the last major additions to the Forum.
•The Column of Phocas was the last monument to be
erected in the Forum in 608 CE, but at this time the area
was already half in ruin.
Unit 5
PLAN /
LAYOUT
Forum romanum
Unit 5
Unit 5
Forum romanum
1. Via Sacra
2. Lapis Niger (Near
ROSTRA)
3. Curia
4. Basilica Aemilia
5. Temple of Antoninus
and Faustina
6. Arch of Titus
7. Regia
8. House of the Vestals
9. Temple of Vesta
10. Temple of Julius Caesar
11. Temple of Castor and Pollu
12. Basilica Julia
13. Temple of Saturn
14. Tabularium
15. The Temple of Vespasian
16. Temple of Concordia
17. Lacus Curtius
18. Rostra
19. Miliarium Aureum
20. Arch of Septimius Severus
21. Carcer
Unit 5
Forum romanum
Unit 5
Forum romanum
The Curia was the normal meeting place of the
Senate and the Curia Julia (Curia Iulia) was
the third meeting hall for the senate in the
Forum Romanum. The Curia Julia is located on
the main square of the Forum Romanum, on
the ancient Comitium, between the Arch of
Septimius Severus and the Basilica Aemilia.
The first Curia was called the Curia Hostilia,
which was placed under the present Church of
The Via Sacra, the Sacred Road, Ss. Luca e Martina. It was later reconstructed
connected some of the most important and enlarged in 80 BCE by Sulla, as the Curia
religious sites in the Forum Cornelia, only to be burned down during civil
Romanum, stretching from the summit unrest in 52 BC.
of the Capitoline Hill to the area of the
Colosseum
Unit 5
The Regia was originally the
residence of the kings of Rome,
and later the office of the pontifex
maximus
The Rostra is the name of the great

speaker's platform in the Forum, from which
speakers addressed crowds, and from this
platform many of the great and famous
speeches in Roman history were delivered
The speakers platform was originally placed
on the Comitium, but moved to the main
square of the forum by Julius Caesar in
44 BC
Unit 5
The Tabularium occupied the space between
the temple of Jupiter on one side of the Capitoline
Hill and the steps which led up past the Carcer to
the Arx on the other
erected by Quintus Lutatius Catulus in 78 B.C.
The building was used as a place to store the
state archives, such as deeds, laws, treaties,
and decrees of the Senate. This would be where
one would have seen the senatus consultum or
the text of the Manilian Law.
The temple erected in honor of Castor

and Pollux, the twin sons of Jupiter
The Temple of Castor and
Pollux (Templum Castorum or Aedes
Castoris) introduced the Greek cult of the
dioscuri into Rome , in its very heart, the
Forum Romanum, where it is located
between Basilica Julia across the Vicus
Tuscus, the Temple of Divus Julius, the
Arch of Augustus and the Temple of
Vesta.
Unit 5
The Temple of Concord
(Templum Concordiae) celebrates the
concept of concord in general, and the
concord achieved in 367 BCE between
the Patricians and the Plebeians in
particular
The Temple of Saturn (Templum Saturni The Temple of Vesta, at

or Aedes Saturnus) is the oldest temple in the the eastern end of the Forum,
Forum Romanum, consecrated for the first time like the Regia, was said to
in c. 498 BCE. have been built by the king
In front of the podium, under the now collapsed Numa, who legend proclaims
stairway, were two rooms, one of which served established the sisterhood
as the Aerarium, the State Treasury known as the Vestal Virgins.
Unit 5
The Basilica Aemilia, or the Basilica
Fulvia-Aemilia, is largest—and the only
surviving—of the basilicas of the Roman
Republic. It is located on the NE side of the
main square of the Forum Romanum, The Basilica Julia In
between the Curia Julia and the Temple of 54 B.C Juilius Caesar
Antoninus and Faustina. began building the
The Basilica Aemilia was first built in Basilica Iulia on the site
179 BCE of the old Basilica
in the years between 55 BCE and 34 BCE, Sempronia. It was
which incorporated into the building the dedicated by Julius
series of shops, the tabernae novae, that Caesar in 46 B.C
stood in front of the basilica.
Unit 5
The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina (Templum
Divi Antonini et Divae Faustinae) was built by the emperor
Antoninus Pius shortly after the death of his beloved wife
Faustina (the Elder) in 141 CE.
The Templeof
Vespasian and Titus
(Templum Vespasiani et
Titi) was built after the
death of Vespasian in
79 CE, and dedicated to
The Temple of Caesar (Aedes both Vespasian and Titus
after the death of the latter
Divus Iulius or Templum Divi Iuli)
just two years after
was built by Augustus after the
senate deified Julius Caesar after
his death.
Unit 5
The Basilica of
Maxentius (Basilica
Maxentii) or the Basilica of
Constantine (Basilica
Constantini) was the last of the
great civilian basilicas on the
Roman Forum. The ruins of the
basilica is located between the
Temple of Amor and Roma and
the Temple of Romulus, on the
Via Sacra.
The Arch of Augustus

(Arcus Augusti) was dedicated to The Column of Phocas is located on the main square
Augustus in 29 BCE to celebrate of the Forum Romanum, in front of the Rostra.
his victory over Marcus Antonius It is a honorary column dedicated to the byzantine emperor
and Cleopatra at Actium in 31 BCE. Phocas, erected in 608 BCE The Corinthian column is 13.6m
The arch is spanning the road high and placed on a stepped plinth. Originally it had a gilded
between the Temple of Castor and bronze statue of emperor Phocas The column remained
Pollux and the Temple of Caesar, visible even when the Forum was covered by 5-8m of dirt
near the Temple of Vesta.
Unit 5
•The Arch of Titus (Arcus Titi) is a triumphal arch that
commemorates the victory of the emperors Vespasian and Titus in
Judea in 70 CE, which lead to the conquest of Jerusalem and the
destruction of the Jewish temple there, and the triumphal procession
the two held in Rome in 71 CE. It is situated at the E. entrance to the
Forum Romanum, on the Via Sacra, south of the Temple of Amor
and Roma, close to the Colosseum.
•The arch was definitely erected sometimes after after the death of
Titus in 81 CE
•The Arch of Titus is a single arch, measuring
•15.4m in height, 13.5m in width and 4.75m in depth,
•originally constructed entirely in Pantelic marble,
•with four semi-columns on each side.
•The external decorations include figures of Victoria with trophies on
the spandrels and images of Roma and the Genius of Rome on the
two keystones.
Unit 5
Forum romanum
The Arch of Septimius Severus (Arcus
Septimii Severi) is a triumphal arch, erected in
203 CE to celebrate the victories of emperor
Septimius Severus and his sons Caracalla and
Geta in the wars against the Parthians and the
Osroeni in 195 CE and 197 CE
•The Arch of Septimius Severus is a three way
triumphal arch, measuring 20.88m in height,
23.27m in width and 11.2m in depth.
•It is build in brick and travertine, clad with
marble slabs.
•The attic is 5.6m high with four chambers inside.
•The central arch is the larger, measuring 12m in
height and 7m in width. It was passed by a
elevated road, at a slightly higher level than the
present.
•The lateral arches are smaller, 7.8m high and
3m wide, and raised a few steps. The central
and the lateral arches are connected by
passages with coffered ceilings.
•There are four detached fluted columns of the
Composite order on both sides of the arch,
standing on tall plinths. These columns are
8.78m high and 0.9m in diameter.
Unit 5
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Forum romanum
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Forum romanum
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Forum romanum
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History of Architecture 1

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CONTENT:

UNIT-I PREHISTORIC AGE

UNIT-II ANCIENT RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS: EGYPT

UNIT-III ANCIENT RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS:

UNIT-IVCLASSICAL PERIOD: GREECE

UNIT V CLASSICAL PERIOD: ROME

DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

2. The country’s chief wealth came from the fertile floodplain of

4. The Nile was Egypt’s sole transportation artery.

5. They also worshipped natural elements (Nile river, earth)and

DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

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The gods Osiris, Anubis,

1. Egyptian architectural designs were monumental but not architecturally

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Djoser's Step Pyramid atDR.M.G.R

• Pharaonic burial complexes were also centers of worship for the

• The fact that monumental architecture was associated exclusively with

This was reflected in their architecture and most prominently by the

The body would be placed in a deep, sealed chamber such as a

• After 70 days, a funeral procession was

• Mummies were placed in a sarcophagus

• This fabulous wealth in gold, silver and jewels

The tombs were of three main types:

1. Ancient Egyptian tomb

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• Stages of development difficult to

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• Karnak is a complex in Egypt where ancient ruined temples are

• The Temple of Amun in Egypt,

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The axis of the • Western pylon of the temple we see

2. The first pylon is the last to be

3. The north tower is about 71 feet

4. It was built by Nectanebo I (380-

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3. Inside, the first court is lined with

4. Beyond the court is a vestibule also

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2. THE ENCLOSURE WALLS

The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops in Greek) 2530 BC

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1. The King's chamber lies on

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1. From two to four tonnes in weight each, adding up to a total estimated

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GEOGRAPHY DR.M.G.R UNIVERSITY FAO B.ARCH HISTORY

MESO-BETWEEN POTAMIS- RIVERS

MESOPOTAMIA CONSIST OF 2 PARTS:

REFLECTED IN ARCHITECTURE TO PROTECT FROM HEAT IN THE FORM OF

HARNESSED RIVERS IN THEIR COURSES WITH USE OF CANALS

BUILDINGS OF ALL TYPES: