Ancient Rome Infrastructure
By Logan Pickral
If Ancient Romans had not developed their infrastructure the way they did, would we have the infrastructure we have today? This question can not be answered for sure one way or the other however, there is much evidence that shows the influence of Ancient Roman infrastructure in our world today. Rome was one of the most successful empires that ever existed. People have always questioned how Romans were able to take over so much land in so little time but it could have been because of their building abilities. Many infrastructure developments they made have been improved in different ways but their influence can be seen in our daily lives when looking at our current infrastructure such as arches, bridges, aqueducts, roads and towers.
When the Roman’s developed the arch system they solved the big problem of how to make something strong enough to hold a lot of weight. The arch is the basis of most all Roman infrastructure. The Roman arch also caused the Romans to make further architectural developments. They combined arches to make roofs called vaults. The Romans also used the arch to form a circular ceiling or roof called a dome. ( www.eduplace.com
)
The Romans realized that is was important to use certain building materials to make the arch better. Travertine proved to resist stress with limited strain and was widely employed to build arches. Roman architects also found a way to link the arch to the wall which was both effective from a structural viewpoint and also pretty to look at. (romeartlover.it)
1

Ancient Rome Infrastructure
By Logan Pickral
We now use arches for things like entrance for a building or a piece of art. The Arc de
Triumph in Paris, France is an example of arches used as art because it represents the triumph, or win, and honors those who fought for France, in particular, those who fought during the Napoleonic Wars. (www.arcdetriompheparis.com) Arches are also still used in such things as a circular roof in churches, stadiums and tombs.
The way bridges were built changed drastically with the use of arches. Instead of filling in the area below the deck of the bridge with stone or wood, the Romans built their bridges with arches. These arching shapes enabled downward force from the top of the bridge arch to meet the equal force that was pushed from the ground in the bridge foundations. This design resulted in compacted material and created a bridge structure that was very strong. With this new knowledge, Roman road builders spread across the Europe, Asia and Africa, building over 900 bridges during the life of Roman
Republic and Empire. The ability to build bridges in a new way allowed the Romans to become a great power by allowing them to take control of a lot of land. ( http://www.historyofbridges.com
).
2

Ancient Rome Infrastructure
By Logan Pickral
The bridge was a very important development in Roman times and it still is today. We have improved them by making drawbridges that pull up so boats can pass through. The bridge is also used to get to places that are far away and to cross lakes, oceans or even to cross a deep valley.
Without the bridge, some places would be almost impossible to get to.
The first water supply to Rome was from the Tiber River and natural springs. However the population of Rome greatly increased and there became a problem of not having enough water. The Roman engineers solved this problem by creating aqueducts. The date of the first aqueduct in Rome was in the year 312 B.C. Many aqueducts were built bringing water from springs and streams that were far away into Rome so the people would have water.
The water in the aqueducts ran through concrete channels and multi-leveled viaducts were made to cross low areas. The aqueducts were a win lose situation for the Romans. They allowed the population to grow by supplying water but when the aqueducts were destroyed during wars many people died because they didn’t have any water. ( www.tribunesandtriumphs.org
).
We still use forms of aqueducts today. The piping that we use to get water to houses today is similar to the Roman aqueducts. They also stored water in areas like we do today with our water tanks and water plants. But back then only the rich were allowed to get water from the storage.
Now everyone has some way to get water no matter if rich or poor.
3

Ancient Rome Infrastructure
By Logan Pickral
Romans had a very strict way of making roads. The process started with being convinced that they had mapped out a straight line. To do this, wooden posts were dug into the ground to mark out the straight line. The road was built along this line. Ditches were dug on either side of the road to allow for drainage. Their way of making roads was so efficient that there was not one non-straight road. A good road system also made it easier for the emperors to control their empire as messages and orders could be sent quickly. However, the Romans usually built roads around obstacles such as mountains rather than building a road through it
( www.historylearningsite.co.uk
). We now have grates over holes in the rode so that the water will go into the hole. This affects us by giving us a form of dry roads and preventing our cars from slipping off the road and crashing. We use roads as a way of sending and receiving messages just like the Romans did. The Romans had people to give letters to, we have the mailman and he has a car to send out letters/packages to other people all around the world.
The Roman idea of going around a mountain was a good because it made it easier to build the road but it also made the trip longer. We have improved the road building by using tunnels that go through the mountain or hill. They had very straight roads and this was helpful to transport fast from place to place. Some of our roads are curvier, especially in areas that have more mountainous terrain, but we also have other ways of transportation such as by boat or airplane. Some people could argue that the Roman roads were better than the ones we have today because some of them are still being used.
4

Ancient Rome Infrastructure
By Logan Pickral
Romans were also the inventors of the guard tower and other types of towers. The guard tower is used to watch over the framer’s fields and are also used to guard places that are special like a castle or a city that has lots of farms and aqueducts. The guard tower was another form of protection that we still use today. Towers are placed at each corner of a military camp/base or are just used at entrances of neighborhoods or business complexes to allow for greater protection and better sighting. Light houses are another form of watch towers just for sea and are still be used today in many places.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is an example of Roman architecture that can still be seen today.
“The famous lean of the bell tower often overshadows its magnificent architecture, which is an exceptional example of the Romanesque style. The round tower is made of fine multicolored marble and has eight stories in all, each surrounded by an arcaded gallery. The repeating registers of arches give the tower an exceptionally harmonious and rhythmic appearance.”
(sacred-destinations)
Overall, without the Roman developments, the infrastructure we have today would either not exist or not be as complex and efficient as it is now. The Romans have influenced things that are used and can be seen all around the world. One of the greatest inventions they made was concrete as a building material. Almost everything built today uses concrete. The arches the
Romans developed are important today because the system is used to support buildings or just have cool looking doors. With the roads, we have improved their method by being able to go through a hill or mountain but we have also changed it by making roads not so straight. Without bridges we would not be able to get across rivers or lakes and we would have to find a longer and
5

Ancient Rome Infrastructure
By Logan Pickral harder way to get to the place of our choice. The Roman aqueducts system can be seen in our water supply and sewer infrastructure and without them we would have a water supply problem.
We now have water plants or water towers and we also have better pipes that are more waterproof and more efficient. The tower system the Romans developed is still being used today in many ways, but especially as a security feature. All of these structures prove just how important the Roman infrastructure developments were to our current way of living.
6

Ancient Rome Infrastructure
By Logan Pickral
Truman, Chris. "Roman Roads." Roman Roads . Chris Truman, 4 Mar. 2006. Web. 24
May 2013.
AllHistories. "Engineering an Empire - Rome." YouTube . YouTube, 10 Sept.
2009. Web. 24 May 2013.
Funk, Nancy. "The Arch." Nancy Funk, 21 July 2000. Web. 24 May 2013.
NA, NA. "Ancient Roman Bridges." Ancient Bridges . NA, Na. Web. 24 May
2013.
NA, NA. "Ancient Roman Aqueducts."
Web. 24 May 2013.
Ancient Roman Aqueducts . NA, 2008.
NA, NA. "The Roman Architecture."
May 2013.
YouTube . YouTube, 20 Apr. 2009. Web. 24
NA, NA. "Infrastructure - Ancient Rome."
2013.
Ancient Rome . NA, Na. Web. 24 May
NA. "Arc De Triomphe Paris - Paris Attractions - Arc De Triomphe." Arc De
Triomphe Paris - Paris Attractions - Arc De Triomphe . NA, 2009. Web. 30 May
2013.
NA. Structural Analysis Of Arches Roman Arch . N.d. Photograph. NA, Rome.
Aid-n . NA. Web. 30 May 2013.
NA, NA. "Leaning Tower of Pisa." Sacred-Destinations . NA, n.d. Web. 30
May 2013.
NA, NA. "Construction Techniques in Ancient Rome." Construction
Techniques in Ancient Rome . NA, NA. Web. 30 May 2013.
7