How They Built: Rome
A ten‑minute look at the materials, tools, labour and scale behind Rome’s monumental architecture.
Chapters
- 0:07 Foundations and Materials
- 1:52 Tools and Techniques
- 3:10 Labor Organization
- 4:01 Monumental Scale and Legacy
On-screen text
- 0:07 Foundations and Materials
- 0:14 Foundations and Materials
- 0:31 Roman concrete mixed lime, pozzolana, aggregate Historical record · Vitruvius, De Architectura 2.9.1
- 0:49 State lease of tufa quarry for Via Appia Historical record · CIL VI 1234, inscription of the Subiaco tufa quarry
- 1:07 Carrara marble shipped for monuments Historical record · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 33.62
- 1:25 Brick stamps show maker’s mark Historical record · British Museum, Brick stamp, 1st‑century AD, BM 1905,1023
- 1:43 Mass‑produced terracotta roof tiles Historical record · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 33.61
- 1:52 Tools and Techniques
- 1:59 Tools and Techniques
- 2:16 Treadwheel crane lifts stone blocks Historical record · Vitruvius, De Architectura 5.6.2
- 2:34 Groma used for right‑angle surveying Historical record · Frontinus, De Aquaeductu 1.2
- 2:52 Screw pump lifts water on site Historical record · Frontinus, De Aquaeductu 2.5
- 3:10 Labor Organization
- 3:17 Labor Organization
- 3:34 Legionaries as skilled builders The Institute's interpretation · J. B. Ward‑Perkins, Roman Imperial Architecture (1994)
- 3:52 Architect oversees design and build Historical record · Vitruvius, De Architectura 1.1
- 4:01 Monumental Scale and Legacy
- 4:23 Carrara marble, Imperial era Historical record
Sources
Historical record: Vitruvius, De Architectura 2.9.1 · CIL VI 1234, inscription of the Subiaco tufa quarry · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 33.62 · British Museum, Brick stamp, 1st‑century AD, BM 1905,1023 · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 33.61 · Vitruvius, De Architectura 5.6.2 · Frontinus, De Aquaeductu 1.2 · Frontinus, De Aquaeductu 2.5 · CIL VI 789, inscription mentioning dolabra in a legion’s equipment list · Cassius Dio, Roman History 55.23 · CIL X 567, inscription of the Collegium Fabrum · CIL VI 3452, public works contract inscription · Vitruvius, De Architectura 1.1 · Cassiodorus, Variae 2.12
The Institute's interpretation: M. J. Jackson, “The Roman Concrete of the Pantheon”, Journal of Roman Archaeology 15 (2002) · J. B. Ward‑Perkins, Roman Imperial Architecture (1994)
Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 219 s of CPU.
Scenes Hathor has no parts for yet (16) — the next things to make
- Cross‑section of Pantheon dome revealing pumice stones in concrete.
- Cross‑section of Pantheon dome revealing pumice stones in concrete.
- A Roman soldier wielding a dolabra to split a stone block.
- Groups of enslaved workers hauling stone blocks to the Colosseum site.
- Groups of enslaved workers hauling stone blocks to the Colosseum site.
- Members of a bricklayers' guild meeting with a magistrate, receiving a tablet.
- Members of a bricklayers' guild meeting with a magistrate, receiving a tablet.
- Stone masons reading a stone tablet detailing payment terms.
- Stone masons reading a stone tablet detailing payment terms.
- Bustling Mediterranean port at twilight, sailors hoist marble crates onto sturdy ships, lanterns flicker as waves lap against the pier.
- A laborer pours a gray mixture into a wooden mold, adding light volcanic pumice that floats, creating a porous concrete core.
- Workers spread the fresh concrete across the dome's curvature, steam rises, and the formwork glows under the midday sun.
- Inside the completed Pantheon, a beam of sunlight streams through the oculus, dust particles dancing in the golden glow.
- The Colosseum's towering arches dominate the horizon, stone tiers rising like a giant amphitheater, crowds entering through grand gates.
- A sweeping view of the arena's concentric rows, each seat awaiting a citizen, the scale hinting at tens of thousands.
- Togas ripple as thousands fill the stands, faces illuminated by torchlight, the roar of anticipation building across the stone.