Editing Ancient Roman architecture (section)

=== Roman architectural revolution ===
[[File:Pantheon_Rom_1_cropped.jpg|thumb|The Roman [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]]]]
The [[Roman architectural revolution]], also known as the "concrete revolution",{{sfn|DeLaine|1990|p=407}}{{sfn|Rook|1992|pp=18f.}}{{sfn|Gardner|2005|p=170}} was the widespread use in Roman architecture of the previously little-used architectural forms of the [[arch]], [[Vault (architecture)|vault]], and [[dome]]. For the first time in history, their potential was fully exploited in the construction of a wide range of civil engineering structures, public buildings, and military facilities. These included [[Roman amphitheatre|amphitheatres]], [[Roman aqueduct|aqueducts]], [[Thermae|baths]], [[Roman bridge|bridges]], [[Circus (building)#List of Roman circuses|circuses]], [[List of Roman dams and reservoirs|dams]], [[List of Roman domes|domes]], [[Roman harbour|harbours]], [[Roman temple|temples]], and [[Roman theatre (structure)|theatres]].  According to [[Gottfried Semper]], Roman architecture was "the idea of world domination expressed in stone".<ref>Semper, 756</ref>

A crucial factor in this development, which saw [[List of ancient architectural records|a trend toward monumental architecture]], was the invention of [[Roman concrete]] (''opus caementicium''), which led to the liberation of shapes from the dictates of the traditional materials of stone and brick.{{sfn|Ward-Perkins|1956}}

These enabled the building of the many [[aqueduct (bridge)|aqueducts]] throughout the [[Roman Empire]], such as the [[Aqueduct of Segovia]], the [[Pont du Gard]], and the eleven [[aqueducts of Rome]]. The same concepts produced numerous bridges, some of which are still in daily use, for example, the [[Puente Romano]] at [[Mérida, Spain|Mérida]] in Spain, and the [[Pont Julien]] and the bridge at [[Vaison-la-Romaine]], both in Provence, France. {{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

The [[dome]] permitted the construction of [[vaulted ceiling]]s without crossbeams and made possible large covered public spaces such as [[public baths]] and [[basilicas]], such as Hadrian's [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]], the [[Baths of Diocletian]] and the [[Baths of Caracalla]], all in Rome.<ref>Yarwood, 40</ref>

The Romans first adopted the arch from the Etruscans and implemented it in their own building.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Frothingham|first=A. L.|date=1915|title=The Roman Territorial Arch|journal=American Journal of Archaeology|volume=19|issue=2|pages=155–174|doi=10.2307/497176|jstor=497176|s2cid=191392502 |issn=0002-9114}}</ref> The use of arches that spring directly from the tops of columns was a Roman development, seen from the 1st century AD, that was very widely adopted in medieval Western, [[Byzantine architecture|Byzantine]] and [[Islamic architecture]].{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}