How important were technological innovations in shaping the buildings of ancient Roman and medieval cities?

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Gary Archer, M2632321

AT 272, TMA02

How important were technological innovations in shaping the buildings of ancient Roman and medieval cities?

Chant holds that ‘historians have often charged the Romans with a lack of technological creativity’ (Textbook, Chapter 3, p85) so with that as a base it would be very easy to conclude that the simple answer, at least with regard to Rome, was not at all. In order to assess the importance of technology I believe that it is necessary to look beyond at other possible influences in order to assess how they may have influenced and shaped matters.

It is noticeable that the majority of major population centres were close to navigable waterways, so in one respect the simple mater of transport technology, and specifically water-based transport, was of particular importance since it was often cheaper and more efficient to move stores by water than by road. That the warehouses’ location generally ‘reflected the importance of water transport’ and were built in such a manner as to deny access with wheeled carts shows how much Roman society relied on manual labour, particularly slaves.

Roman cities tended to be laid out in a grid pattern, much as the Greeks had laid out their own colonies centuries earlier. Any changes to buildings which may have impinged onto the communal space were not permitted unless specifically approved by the authorities-almost a precursor of modern planning restrictions, per say. However, this is in contrast with how the cities of the Islamic-influenced areas came to regard the family as the primary driver and allowed an almost “anything-goes” approach to buildings being extended into the streets.

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There can be little doubt that the use of concrete by the Romans allowed for significant strides to be taken with buildings, since they were able to build higher than they could with the existing technology and employ arches in a manner that had hitherto been unseen. Simple physics meant that a concrete arch acted in a similar manner to a stone lintel and created little lateral deflection, thereby negating the need to support the pillars of an arch as had previously been required. Its use also meant that buildings could be constructed more quickly in order to keep ...

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