List of ancient roof structures

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The roof construction of Old St. Peter in Rome (4th century AD) with a rafter roof or truss roof over the central nave .

The list of ancient roof structures includes roof structures from Greek and Roman architecture sorted according to their clear width .

The wooden roof structures of ancient buildings have not been preserved. However, different references give an idea of ​​the ancient roof structures and allow their structure to be reconstructed:

  • In numerous buildings, bar holes and beam supports can be observed in the stone remains that have been preserved, which allow conclusions to be drawn about the basic structural design and, as a negative form, about the likely beam cross-sections.
  • The Roman architectural theorist Vitruvius describes the construction of a roof for larger spans.
  • Later buildings allow certain conclusions, especially in times of less technical innovations. In St. Catherine's Monastery in Egypt, a late antique roof work has with roof trusses received.
  • Wooden structures obtained by sealing off the air give an insight into which wood connections were basically known. Complicated wood connections are documented on ancient shipwrecks, for example the so-called Nemi ships ; but it is not said that these were also used in construction. In the field of construction, wooden grate foundations have been preserved, but according to their function, they do not have any complicated connections.

Most of the large buildings in classical Greece had simple traditional purlin roofs , which had to be supported by additional columns in the interior for larger spans. In the Greek colonies in southern Italy and on Sicily , however, presumably as early as 550 BC. Chr. Truss structures for use, since there the spans are greater than can be with a conventional span purlin roof.

The large spans of Roman roofs since the 1st century BC BC clearly indicate that truss structures were already widespread at that time. There is actually evidence of such a roof over the vestibule of the Pantheon in Rome from the early 2nd century AD, which was still preserved at the beginning of modern times and was documented in drawings. Wide-span odeum and amphitheater roofs from Roman times with wooden structures usually did not have a solid and therefore heavy roof membrane, but tent fabrics against the sun. The significantly lower roof pitch in Mediterranean countries compared to Central and Northern Europe, even with tile roofs, was possible because hardly any snow roof load had to be taken into account. The resulting lower weight of the roof structure allowed a slightly larger clear width than in more northern regions of Europe. The potential for roofing large interiors was fully developed in the Roman Empire , when the roof clearances of temples , basilicas , churches and other public buildings with a rectangular floor plan could reach 30 m. Such dimensions were only surpassed by a few ancient domed buildings and exceeded the dimensions of the largest purlin roofs by at least three times.

When it comes to the question of which roof structures covered the older Greek temples , the span also plays a decisive role. In research, opinions differ as to whether the cella of the Sicilian temples was on average larger than that of the motherland because the Greek colonists already knew the construction of the roof trusses (advantage: technology), or because they had access to better timber (advantage : Material).

The following list is intended to illustrate the relationship between the roof type and the clear interior dimensions using important large buildings from antiquity.

Greek roof structures

(all information in m ).

image Building place region construction time Roof type Width between cella walls Clear width between rows of columns Greatest clear width
Agrigento Model Zeus Temple.jpg Temple of Olympian Zeus (or Olympieion) Agrigento Sicily Rafter roof 12.85 1- 12.85
Agrigente 2008 IMG 1937.JPG Temple of Hercules Agrigento Sicily 5th century BC BC, early Rafter roof 11.84 1- 11.84
Selinunte.jpg Temple E. Selinunte Sicily 480/70 BC Chr. Rafter roof 11.70 1- 11.70
GR-acropolis-parthenon.jpg Parthenon Athens Greece Purlin roof 19.20 11.05 11.05
Serradifalco-Akragas-Tempio-di-Cerere.png San Biagio Agrigento Sicily Rafter roof 10.35 1- 10.35
Athena temple (Syracuse model) 3.jpg Athena temple Syracuse Sicily Rafter roof 19.82 1- 19.82
Erchtheum from western-north.jpg Erechtheion Athens Greece Purlin roof 19.80 1- 19.80
Gela Treasure House Olympia Greece Rafter roof 19.68 1- 19.68
Temple of Athena Alea Tegea Greece Purlin roof 18.94 1- 18.94
Olympia-ZeusTempelRestoration.jpg Temple of Zeus Olympia Greece Purlin roof 13.26 18.52 18.52
Selinunte-TempleC-Plan-bjs.png Temple C Selinunte Sicily 550 BC Chr. Rafter roof 18.50 1- 18.50
Megaron Gaggera Sicily Rafter roof 18.47 1- 18.47
Athenians Delos Greece Purlin roof 18.34 1- 18.34
Koldewey-Sicilien-vol2-table13.png Temple D Selinunte Sicily 540 BC Chr. Rafter roof 18.20 1- 18.20
Agrigent BW 2012-10-07 12-24-45.JPG Temple of Hera Agrigento Sicily Rafter roof 17.68 1- 17.68
Agrigento BW 2012-10-07 13-09-13.jpg Concordia temple Agrigento Sicily Purlin roof 17.55 1- 17.55
Koldewey-Sicilien-vol2-table15.png Temple A Selinunte Sicily Rafter roof 17.50 1- 17.50
721-Grece.jpg Temple of Apollo (4th century BC) Delphi Greece Purlin roof 10.72 17.32 17.32
Selinunte-TempleG-Plan-bjs.png Temple G Selinunte Sicily Rafter roof 17.93 17.15 17.15
Selinunte-Temple F 01.JPG Temple F Selinunte Sicily 530 BC Chr. Rafter roof 17.12 1- 17.12
Temple of Poseidon Isthmia Greece Purlin roof 11.7 ≈7.0 ≈7.0
Sounio3.JPG Sounion Attica Greece Purlin roof 16.53 1- 16.53
ItaliaPaestumHeraionFoceSeleResti.jpg Hera temple Foce del Sele Italy, lower Purlin roof 16.14 1- 16.14
Artemis Temple Kalydon Greece Purlin roof 16.14 1? 16.14
Kardaki Temple Kerkyra Greece Purlin roof ≈6.0 1- ≈6.0
Paestum BW 2013-05-17 15-01-57.jpg Temple of Poseidon Paestum Italy, lower 480/70 BC Chr. Purlin roof 10.85 15.9 15.9
Paestum BW 2013-05-17 12-26-42.jpg Ceres temple Paestum Italy, lower Purlin roof 15.70 1- 15.70
Apollo temple Delos Greece Purlin roof 15.70 1- 15.70
Paestum BW 2013-05-17 15-08-53.jpg basilica Paestum Italy, lower 550-10 BC Chr. Purlin roof 11.44 15.6 15.6
Tav. Pal. Metapontum Italy, lower 15.60 1- 15.60
Buleuterion (S) Olympia Greece Purlin roof 11.07 15.53 15.53
Buleuterion (N) Olympia Greece Purlin roof 10.80 15.40 15.40
Bassai Temple Of Apollo Detail.jpg Temple of Apollo Bassae Greece Purlin roof 16.81 15.23 15.23
Rhamnous-2.jpg Nemesis temple Rhamnous Greece Purlin roof 15.17 1- 15.17
Metroon Olympia Greece Purlin roof 15.08 1- 15.08
Olympia - Hera Temple.jpg Temple of Hera Olympia Greece Purlin roof 18.37 14.84 14.84
Temple of Hephaestus.jpg Temple of Hephaestus
(or Theseion)
Athens Greece Purlin roof 16.24 14.74 14.74
Artemis Temple Kerkyra Greece Purlin roof 17.37 14.1 14.1
Asclepius Temple Epidaurus Greece Purlin roof 13.95 1- 13.95
Model temple of Aphaia Glyptothek Munich.jpg Aphaia temple Aegina Greece Purlin roof 16.28 13.85 13.85
Temple of Apollo Syracuse (model) 2.jpg Temple of Apollo Syracuse Sicily Rafter roof 19.70 13.6 13.6
Apollo temple Corinth Greece Purlin roof 18.47 13.45 13.45

Roman roof structures

The list is sorted according to the clear width (all information in m ).

image Building place region construction time Roof type Clear width
Bonfils, Félix (1831-1885) - Athens - Theater Odeion about 1868-1875.jpg Odeon of Herodes Atticus Athens Greece 1161 ad Truss structure (controversial assumption) approx. 49.50
Aula Regia in the Domus Flavia Rome Italy, Central 192 ad Rafter roof 31.67
Odeum Aosta Italy, upper Augustan Rafter roof 30.49
Diribitorium Rome Italy, Central 117 v. Chr. Rafter roof 29.60?
Coenatio Iovis Rome Italy, Central 192 ad Rafter roof 29.30
Trier Basilica of Constantine BW 4.JPG Basilica of Constantine trier Germany 300 AD Rafter roof 26.05
Theatrum Tectum (Odeum) Pompeii Italy, lower 180 BC Chr. Rafter roof 25.75
OdeonofagrippaAthensSitePlan.png Agrippa's Odeon Athens Greece 115 BC Chr. Rafter roof 25.75
Temple of Venus and Roma (14819291950) .jpg Temple of Venus and Roma Rome Italy, Central 135 AD Rafter roof 25.75
Basilica Ulpia J Guadet 1867.jpg Basilica Ulpia Rome Italy, Central 113 ad Rafter roof 25.16
Saint Paul on the inside.jpg Saint Paul Outside the Walls Rome Italy, Central 385 AD Rafter roof 24.27
Affresco dell'aspetto antico della basilica costantiniana di san pietro nel IV secolo.jpg Old St. Peter Rome Italy, Central 330 AD Rafter roof 23.68

See also

literature

  • A. Trevor Hodge: The Woodwork of Greek Roofs , Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1960, pp. 38-44.
  • Nancy L. Klein: Evidence for West Greek Influence on Mainland Greek Roof Construction and the Creation of the Truss in the Archaic Period , in: Hesperia , Vol. 67, 1998, pp. 335-374.
  • Roger B. Ulrich: Roman Woodworking , Yale University Press, New Haven, Conn. 2007, ISBN 0-300-10341-7 , pp. 123–177 (Chapter 8: Roofing & Ceilings), available at [1] , last accessed on June 29, 2019
  • Alexander von Kienlin (Ed.): Wooden structures of antiquity. International conference March 30th - April 1st 2007 in Munich . (= Byzas Vol. 11), Ege Yayınları, Istanbul 2010, ISBN 978-605-5607-47-0 .
  • Manolis Korres: The Odeion Roof of Herodes Atticus and Other Giant Spans . Melissa, Athens 2015, ISBN 978-960-2043-40-0 - book title, table of contents and foreword available at [2] , last accessed on June 30, 2019

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Vitruvius, de architectura 4.2.1
  2. a b Hodge, 1960, p. 41
  3. Ulrich, 2007, pp. 140–149
  4. Ulrich, 2007, p. 148f.
  5. Klein, 1998, pp. 338f.
  6. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am Vermutet von Hodge, 1960, p. 38– 44
  7. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap Hodge, 1960, p. 39 (Blackboard)
  8. Hodge 1960, p. 43
  9. Korres 2015, proves that the Odeion was covered. For this he postulates a hybrid arch truss construction based on the model of simultaneous bridge constructions. Even if this reconstruction proposal is not undisputed, it provides evidence that the room could be roofed over with the technical possibilities available at the time.
  10. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Ulrich, 2007, p. 149

Web links

  • Traianus - Technical investigations of Roman buildings