Romans widely used arches in their architecture to provide strength and support. They built aqueducts with arches to transport water from distant sources into cities, as urban populations grew. Aqueducts consisted of stone channels and underground concrete tunnels supported by arches. Romans also incorporated arches into buildings, victory arches, and amphitheaters like the Colosseum. The keystone at the top of an arch locks the wedge-shaped voussoirs into a stable semi-circular structure that transfers weight down buttresses into the ground.

1. Roman
Architecture
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2. Arches
• An arch is an
architectural design
used by Romans to
add strength and
support to the
things they built.
• Examples of some of
the things they built
are victory arches,
buildings and
aqueducts.

3. Aqueducts

4. What are Aqueducts?
• Aqueducts were stone channels made
to carry water.
• As cities, like Rome, expanded more
people moved in. Since there wasn’t
enough water in the city to support
the growing population, aqueducts
were built to carry water to the
cities from clean water sources in the
country.

5. Why arches?
• Water is very
heavy, so the
Romans needed a
structure strong
enough to hold all
the water as it
moved from the
mountains into the
city.

6. Where did the water go?
• The water was
transported in
concrete tunnels.
• The tunnels were
underground if
possible.
• Sometimes the
tunnel had to go
above ground.

7. How did the aqueduct work?
• The water flowed
through a tube on
the top of the
aqueduct called a
water channel.
• The arches
supported the
water channel.

8. What did the water channel
look like?
• The water flowed
through a
rectangular channel
lined with concrete.
• You may recall that
concrete was
another Roman
innovation that
provided strength
to their structures.

9. Where else did the Romans
use arches?
•Arches of Triumph
•Buildings
•Roofs

10. Arches of Triumph-
to celebrate military success

11. The Colosseum

12. The Colosseum
• The Colosseum is a
large amphitheater
that was built around
70 A.D for sports and
entertainment.
• This is where
gladiators fought
other men, animals,
and even criminals to
the death.

14. The Pantheon
The Pantheon is a temple to the Roman gods.

15. How does an arch work?
Keystones are the key!
• The keystone is
identified with the
red stone at the
top of the arch.
• The keystone locks
the stones in place
allowing various
forces to provide
stability.

16. How does an arch work?
Voussoirs
• The voussoirs are
wedge shape stones
on either side of the
keystone that help
make the semi-
circular shape of the
arch.
• The force of the
voussoirs create a
weight in the columns
that go to the ground.

17. How does an arch work?
Buttressing
• The square or
rectangular blocks
between each arch
are buttresses.
• The buttresses
make a column that
pushes the weight
to the ground.