List of Roman domes

This article provides an overview of the domes of the Roman Empire. For a list of domes in the city of Rome, see the list of domes in Rome .

The Pantheon in Rome . The largest dome in the world for over 1700 years

Opaion of the Pantheon

St. George's Rotunda in Thessaloniki

The late antique pendent dome of Hagia Sophia was finished in 537 and set standards for centuries. It remains the largest dome to this day, standing on just four supports.

The list of Roman domes includes domed structures from Roman antiquity. The Romans were the first master builders in the history of architecture who recognized the potential of the dome for space vaulting and used it for the creative design of the building . They introduced dome roofing in a variety of building types, including temples , thermal baths , palaces , mausoleums and, since late antiquity, also in churches . Half-domes formed popular structural elements in the Kaiserthermen and found their way into the Christian sacred building as an apse .

The construction of monumental domed buildings began in Rome and the provinces around the Mediterranean in the 1st century BC. A. Their enormous dimensions remained unsurpassed until the introduction of the steel frame construction in the late 19th century (see list of the largest domes in the world ). The new vault architecture, which was decisively favored by the invention of concrete , gradually replaced the traditional pillar construction during the imperial era . In late antiquity, the dome of Hagia Sophia set new standards. It was the first large free-standing dome on four support points by connecting the dome with pendentives over a square central space. It was from this architectural idea of ​​the central church of the Eastern Roman Empire built under Emperor Justinian I in Constantinople that the sacred Christian architecture got its groundbreaking model. The free-standing dome of Hagia Sophia not only remained the largest in the world for the next 900 years, its complex geometry, which can only be deduced from the floor plan, but not from the consideration of the individual structural elements, however, did not allow repetition and was also without imitation. The purely numerically oriented surveying system of antiquity (geodaisia), to which a comprehensive system of rational numbers developed by Greek mathematics (logistike) was available, formed the basic requirement for the construction of this dome and was no longer available to later generations of architects.

Couple

All diameters are clear dimensions, with polygonal domes the inscribed diameter measured between the sides applies; Dimensions are in meters (m). The main source is Jürgen Rasch's study of the Roman domed structure.

Diameter  ø	Name, component	place	Built	Dome shape, floor plan	Material, roof construction	Shell thickness (SD) SD to  ø	Ring wall thickness (RD) RD to  ø	Diameter Opaion (DO) DO to  ø	Comments / other characteristics
≈ 43.45	Pantheon	Rome	~ 2nd century	rotunda	Concrete , lead plate cover	≈ 1.35 1:32 ~	≈ 5.93 1: 7.3 ~	~ 8.95 1: 4.9 ~	largest dome in the world until 1881 ; largest non-reinforced concrete dome up to the present day; Model character for western domed architecture up to the 20th century.
~ 38.20	'Temple of Apollo'	Avern Lake	~ 1st century
≈ 35.08	Baths of Caracalla , Caldarium	Rome	~ 3rd century		nested amphorae				eight pillars; largest dome in the world made of hollow clay bodies
≈ 33.00.	Hagia Sophia , domed central room	Constantinople	~ 6th century		Brick				four pillars; to this day the largest free-standing dome on four support points
~ 29.50	' Diana Temple '	Baiae	~ 2nd century			~ 1.20 1:25 ~	≈ 5.70 1: 5.2 ~
~ 26.30	' Temple of Venus '	Baiae	~ 2nd century			~ -	≈ 2.90 1: 9.1 ~		Outer wall pillars
~ 25.04	Maxentius mausoleum	Rome	~ 4th century
~ 25.00	Agrippathermen , 'Arco della Ciambella'	Rome	~ 1st century BC Chr.	rotunda					first thermal baths in Rome with domed central building; largest dome in the world
~ 24.15	George Rotunda	Thessaloniki	~ 4th century		brick	≈ 1 1:24 ~	~ 6.00 1: 4 ~		largest brick dome in the world
~ 23.85	Zeus Asclepius Temple	Pergamon	~ 2nd century		brick	~ -	~ 3.35 1: 7.1 ~		first large dome made of bricks; largest brick dome in the world
≈ 23.70 to ≈ 19.80	St. Gereon	Cologne	~ 4th century	Oval with eight niches and an apse					Medieval successor building with Roman structures, the largest occidental domed structure between Hagia Sophia and Florentine Cathedral
~ 23.65	' Temple of Minerva Medica '	Rome	~ 4th century	decagon	Concrete with brick ribs	~ 0.56 1:42 ~	≈ 2.60 1: 9.1 ~		Outer wall pillars
≈ 22.00	Baths of Antonine	Carthage	~ 2nd century	Polygon					seven domes with diameters from 17 to 22 m
≈ 22.00	Rotunda at the Hippodrome	Constantinople	~ 5th century	Rotunda with ten niches
≈ 22.00	Baths of Diocletian , San Bernardo alle Terme	Rome	≈ 300		Concrete with brick ribs
~ 21.65 or ~ 21.25	Baths of Diocletian , 'Planetarium'	Rome	≈ 300	Umbrella dome, octagon	Concrete with brick cladding inside			~ 4.20 1: 5.1 ~
~ 21.55	' Mercury Temple '	Baiae	~ 1st century BC Chr.		concrete			~ 3.65 1: 5.9 ~	first large dome; largest dome in the world
~ 20.18	Helena's mausoleum	Rome	~ 4th century		Clay amphorae in the dome base	~ 0.90 1:22 ~	~ 2.40 1: 8.4 ~
≈ 19.80	Baths of Caracalla , flanking structures	Rome	~ 3rd century	Octagon					Preliminary stage of the pendentive dome
≈ 19.40	Bacuccotherms	Near Viterbo	~ 4th century	Umbrella dome, octagon
~ 19.30	Baths of Diocletian , tepidarium	Rome	≈ 300					~ 3.68 1: 5.2 ~
~ 18.38	'Pantheon'	Ostia	~ 3rd century			~ -	~ 1.98 1: 9.3 ~
≈ 18.00	Euphemia Church	Constantinople	~ 5th century	hexagon
~ 16.75	Villa Adriana , ' Serapeum '	Tivoli	~ 2nd century	Umbrella dome with stitch caps	concrete				Cavity system
~ 16.45	Imperial thermal baths , tepidarium	trier	~ 4th century		concrete
~ 15.70	San Vitale	Ravenna	~ 6th century		Clay pipes, wooden roof structure
≈ 15.60	Nymphaeum in Albano Laziale	?	~ 1st century		concrete			~ 2.08 1: 7.6 ~	for the first time cavities at the dome base for the purpose of weight reduction
≈ 15.00 to ≈ 13.00	Südthermen	Bostra	~ 3rd to 4th Century	Octagon	concrete
≈ 15.00	West thermal baths	Gerasa	~ 2nd century	square	Keilstein				one of the first wedge-shaped domes with a square plan; largest stone dome in the world
~ 14.70	'Romulusheroon' at the Roman Forum	Rome	~ 4th century		Lead plate cover	~ 0.90 1:16 ~	≈ 1.80 1: 8.2 ~	~ 3.70 1: 4.0 ~
≈ 14.50	'Portunus Temple'	postage	≈ 3rd century		Concrete with brick cladding inside	~ -	≈ 2.20 1: 6.6 ~
~ 13.71	Mausoleum at Tor de'Schiavi	Via Prenestina	~ 4th century			~ 0.60 1:23 ~	~ 2.60 1: 5.3 ~		four oculi on the dome base
~ 13.48	Domus Aurea	Rome	~ 1st century	Monastery vault , octagon	concrete			~ 5.99 1: 2.3 ~	first dome over octagonal plan; earliest in palace architecture
~ 13.35	Diocletian's mausoleum	Split	≈ 300		Tile, tiled roof with light masonry	~ 0.68 1:20 ~	~ 3.40 1: 3.9 ~		double-shell dome
~ 12.90	San Aquilino to San Lorenzo	Milan	~ 4th century		brick
~ 12.33	'Tempio della Tosse'	Tivoli	~ 4th century		Concrete with brick ribs	~ 1.30 1: 9 ~	~ 2.08 1: 5.9 ~	~ 2.10 1: 5.9 ~
≈ 12.00	Villa Adriana , Summer Triclinium ( Exedra )	Tivoli	~ 2nd century		Concrete with brick cladding inside
≈ 12.00	Aquae Flavianae thermal baths	El Hammam	~ 3rd century		Clay tubes				largest dome in the world made of hollow clay bodies
≈ 12.00	Hodegetriakirche	Constantinople	~ 5th century	hexagon
≈ 12.00	Skeuophylakion	Constantinople	≈ 5th century	Dodecagon
~ 11.90	Baptistery	Nocera Superiore , Campania	~ 6th century						eight rectangular domed windows
≈ 11.90	Villa Adriana , 'Heliocaminus'	Tivoli	~ 2nd century						double-shell dome with space for continuation of the wall heating
~ 11.50	'Red Hall'	Pergamon	≈ 2nd century		brick				two rotundas ; largest brick dome in the world
~ 11.50	Santa Costanza	Rome	~ 4th century		Concrete with brick ribs, tiled roof lying directly on the dome shell	≈ 0.70 1:16 ~	~ 1.45 1: 7.9 ~		Reel
≈ 11.50	Mor Gabriel Monastery	Tur Abdin	~ 6th century		brick			~ Yes
~ 11.47	Praetorium	Cologne	~ 4th century	Octagon		~ -	~ 2.00 1: 5.7 ~
~ 11.10	Gordian's villa	Rome , Via Prenestina	~ 3rd century	Octagon		~ -	≈ 1.35 1: 8.2 ~		Preliminary stage of the pendentif dome ; eight oculi at the base of the dome
~ 11.00	Therme d'Allance	?	~ ?
≈ 10.80	Gaul mausoleum	Rome , Via Appia	~ 3rd century	Rotunda with six niches		~ -	≈ 1.60 1: 6.8 ~
~ 10.70	Centcelles Mausoleum	Centcelles ( Constantí ) near Tarragona	~ 4th century		Brick and stone	≈ 0.40 1:27 ~	≈ 1.90 1: 5.6 ~
≈ 10.40 to 1≈ 9.40	Villa Adriana , small thermal baths	Tivoli	~ 2nd century	Elliptical 'corrugated edge dome'
≈ 10.00	Gordiansvilla, hall	Via Prenestina	≈ 2nd century	Dome with stitch caps
≈ 10.00	'Villa delle Vignacce'	Via Latina	~ 2nd century		earliest known use of clay amphorae in the dome base
≈ 19.85	Cathedral , baptistery	Ravenna	~ 5th century
1≈ 9.50	Villa Adriana , Piazza d'Oro ( vestibule )	Tivoli	~ 2nd century	Umbrella dome				≈ 1.90 1: 5.0 ~
1≈ 9.50	Praetextat catacomb , 'Calventiergrab'	Rome	~ 3rd century	Rotunda with six niches
1≈ 9.00	Capitotherms, Laconicum	Miletus	~ 1st century		concrete
1≈ 9.00	Small round temple	Baalbek	~ 3rd century
1≈ 8.50	Domus Augustana	Rome	~ 1st century	Monastery vault , octagon					one of the earliest monastery vaults over an octagonal substructure
≈ 18.10	'Torraccio del Palombaro'	Rome , Via Appia	≈ 4th century			≈ 0.90 1: 9 ~	~ 2.30 1: 3.5 ~	≈ 1.50 1: 5.4 ~
1≈ 7.70	Maxentiusthermen	Rome	~ 4th century	Umbrella dome, octagon
≈ 17.60	Domus Flavia	Rome	~ 1st century
1≈ 7.60 to 1≈ 6.20	Villa Adriana , 'Heliocaminus'	?	~ 2nd century	Monastery vault , irregular octagon
1≈ 6.80	Nymphaeum	Riza , Epirus	~ 250-350	Dodecagon
1≈ 6.75	' Venus Temple ', annex building	Baiae	~ 2nd century	flat umbrella dome, octagon
≈ 16.65	Thermal hall Pisa	?	≈ 2nd century	Monastery vault with eight windows, octagon				~ 2.00 1: 3.3 ~
≈ 16.52	Stabianer Thermen , Laconicum	Pompeii	~ 1st century BC Chr.	Conical vault (early form of the dome)	concrete			~ Yes	oldest known concrete domes
1≈ 6.00	Hunting baths	Leptis Magna	≈ 200	Monastery vault with eight windows
≈ 15.86	Marc Aurel Arch	Tripoli	~ ?	Monastery vault	Wedge stones
1≈ 5.70	Water fort	Pompeii	~30 BC ~Chr. - 14 AD	Flat dome
≈ 15.40	Octagon room near the ' Mercury Temple '	Baiae	~ 2nd century	Umbrella dome, octagon
1≈ 5.40	San Vitale , stair towers	Ravenna	~ 6th century		brick
≈ 15.20	'Sedia del Diavolo', grave building	Rome , Via Nomentana	~ 2nd century	square
1≈ 4.70	Tabularium	Rome	~ 1st century BC Chr.	Monastery vault , square					first monastery vault
≈ 14.41	' Temple of Venus ', Annex	Baiae	~ 2nd century	Umbrella dome over a round floor plan				~ 0.59 1: 7.5 ~
1≈ 4.40	' Mausoleum of Galla Placidia '	Ravenna	~ 5th century		Tiled roof
1≈ 4.00	Grave construction at Casal de 'Pazzi	Rome , Via Nomentana	~ 2nd century	In-circle dome, square	concrete				Preliminary stage of the pendentif dome ; Cavity system
≈ 11.65	' Mystery Villa ', Laconicum	Pompeii	~ 1st century BC Chr.	Conical vault (early form of the dome)	Brick and clay (upper dome)				Wall shell made of concrete
~ ?	Constantine mausoleum at the Apostle Church	Constantinople	~ 4th century	probably a rotunda with twelve niches

Half domes

Diameter  ø	Name, component	place	Built	Dome shape, floor plan	Material, roof construction	Shell thickness (SD) SD to  ø	Ring wall thickness (RD) RD to  ø	Comments / other characteristics
≈ 30.00	Thermae of Trajan	Rome	~ ?					Largest dome (s) in the world
≈ 22.00	Baths of Diocletian , two apse halls	Rome	≈ 300
≈ 18.50	Trajan's Forum	Rome	~ ?
≈ 15.80	Santi Cosma e Damiano , apse	Rome	~ 6th century
≈ 11.00	Nymphaeum	Gerasa	~ 2nd century		concrete
1≈ 9.60	Basilica, apse	Bostra	≈ 3rd century		Concrete with rectangular formwork inside
1≈ 8.00	Cathedral, annex rooms	Bostra	~ 6th century		concrete
1≈ 5.70	Pantheon , front niches	Rome	~ 2nd century

See also

• Roman architecture
• Roman construction technology
• List of the largest domes in the world

literature

• Jürgen Rasch: The dome in Roman architecture. Development, Shaping, Construction, In: Architectura , Vol. 15 (1985), pp. 117-139.
• John Bishop: The Pantheon: Design, Meaning, and Progeny (review). In: Art Journal , Vol. 37, No. 1 (1977), p. 92.
• Erwin Heinle, Jörg Schlaich : domes of all times, of all cultures. Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-421-03062-6 , p. 27.
• Werner Heinz: Roman thermal baths. Bathing and bathing luxury in the Roman Empire. Munich 1983, ISBN 3-7774-3540-6 , pp. 60-64.
• Robert Mark, Paul Hutchinson: On the Structure of the Roman Pantheon. In: Art Bulletin , Vol. 68, No. 1 (1986), pp. 24-34.
• Werner Müller: dtv-Atlas Baukunst I. General part: Building history from Mesopotamia to Byzantium. 14th edition. dtv, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-423-03020-8 , p. 253.
• Jakob Straub, Mark Gisbourne, Roma Rotunda . Hatje Cantz Verlag (Ostfildern). ISBN 978-3-7757-3975-7 . [English and German, a kind of leporello with photos of the interior of 37 Roman domes from antiquity to the present day, photos by Straub, text by Gisbourne]

Web links

• Traianus - Technical investigations of Roman buildings
• The Roman Pantheon: The Triumph of Concrete

Remarks

1. ^ ^{A b} Robert Mark, Paul Hutchinson (1986), p. 24
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Erwin Heinle, Jörg Schlaich (1996), p. 27
3. ↑ Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 117
4. ↑ Helge Svenson 2010: THE BUILDING AS »AISTHETON SOMA« - A REINTERPRETATION OF HAGIA SOPHIA IN THE SPIEGEL OF ANCIENT MEASUREMENT AND APPLIED MATHEMATICS. In: Falko Daim · Jörg Drauschke (Ed.) Byzanz - the Roman Empire in the Middle Ages Part 2, 1 scenes, Roman-Germanic Central Museum Research Institute for Prehistory and Early History [1]
5. ↑ Jörg Lauster 2012: Why are there churches? Rome - Jerusalem - Constantinople. In: Thomas Erne 2012 (Ed.): Church building. 23–33, Vanderoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen. ISBN 978-3-525-56852-1 , here pp. 30–31.
6. ↑ Helge Svenshon 2010: THE BUILDING AS »AISTHETON SOMA« - A REINTERPRETATION OF HAGIA SOPHIA IN THE SPIEGEL OF ANCIENT MEASUREMENT AND APPLIED MATHEMATICS. In: Falko Daim · Jörg Drauschke (Ed.) Byzantium - the Roman Empire in the Middle Ages Part 2, 1 scenes, Roman-Germanic Central Museum Research Institute for Prehistory and Early History [2] . P. 63.
7. ↑ All information in the individual columns comes from Jürgen Rasch: The dome in Roman architecture. Development, design, construction. In: Architectura , Vol. 15 (1985), pp. 117-139, unless other sources are listed. The "Diameter" column also contains individual evidence, in the case of "Comments / other characteristics" the evidence is limited to statements of greater significance.
8. ↑ ^{a b c d} Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 119
9. ↑ Romanconcrete.com
10. ↑ Werner Müller (2005), p. 253
11. ^ John Bishop (1977), p. 92
12. ↑ Helge Svenshon 2010: THE BUILDING AS »AISTHETON SOMA« - A REINTERPRETATION OF HAGIA SOPHIA IN THE SPIEGEL OF ANCIENT MEASUREMENT AND APPLIED MATHEMATICS. In: Falko Daim · Jörg Drauschke (Ed.) Byzantium - the Roman Empire in the Middle Ages Part 2, 1 scenes, Roman-Germanic Central Museum Research Institute for Prehistory and Early History [3]
13. ^ Slobodan Ćurčić : Architecture in the Balkans. From Diocletian to Suleyman the Magnificent. Yale University Press, New Haven and London 2010, pp. 195ff.
14. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o} Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 129
15. ↑ ^{a b c d} corners
16. ↑ ^{a b} pillar
17. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 123
18. ↑ ^{a b} Werner Heinz (1983), pp. 60-64
19. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 125
20. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 126
21. ↑ Werner Schäfke : Cologne's Romanesque churches. Architecture, furnishings, history. 5th edition. Cologne 1985, ISBN 3-7701-1360-8 , pp. 100 and 118.
22. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 124
23. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 127
24. ↑ ^{a b} Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 138
25. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 130
26. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 136
27. ^ Robert Mark, Paul Hutchinson (1986), p. 33
28. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 118
29. ↑ ^{a b c d} Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 133
30. ↑ ^{a b c} Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 135
31. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 128
32. ↑ ^{a b} Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 139
33. ↑ Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 137
34. ↑ Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 120
35. ↑ Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 134
36. ↑ Jürgen Rasch (1985), p. 122