Roll a Ranger: EverQuest Next Landmark Idea™: Ancient Roman Architecture

The ancient Romans borrowed much of their style from the ancient Greeks, however, they did make leaps in the use of materials and architectural elements. In ancient Roman cities you would see the use of domes and arches, truss roofing, piped water, apartment buildings, and the extensive use of concrete. Romans also extensively used grids when laying out cities. A typical ancient Roman city may have the following structures: Forum, Temples, Basilica, Ampitheater, Circus, Theater, Bath, Housing, and Triumphal Arches and Columns.

Building materials: concrete and brick. Walls faced with stucco, expensive stone, or marble. Floors would be of wood. Roofs could be of wood and in some cases concrete. Roof tiles would be made of terra cotta.

Forum

The forum was the center of civic, religious, and economic life. Here you would go to shop, bath, worship, and conduct government business. It was located in the center of town and was three times as long as wide.

Temples
Found along the forum square or along major roads. Would have gabled roofs so there is not a heavy reliance on columns. The opening of the temple would face east if possible. Columns would be n = 2d -1 (n = # of columns along width, d = # of columns along length) http://www.touropia.com/ancient-roman-temples/ for better visuals.

Basilica
The basilica was originally a place to conduct business and to handle legal matters. Later early Christians adopted the style for churches.

Amphitheater
In Greek culture this would have been the place for plays. In Roman culture this is were races and gladiator events were held. The best known example of an amphitheater is the Coliseum (aka Flavian Ampitheater) in Rome.

Giacomo Brogi [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Theater
The theater is were Romans would go to watch plays, pantomimes, choral events, and orators. Unlike the Greeks that built there's using the side of a hill the Romans had no need of this. There progression in architecture led them to use stadium seating. The set-up the stage is almost identical to that of the Greek stage.


From: http://www.the-romans.co.uk/g6/29.theatre.jpg

Circus

Circus was the arena for chariot racing and other athletic events such as boxing, wrestling, and long distance running. The most well known is the Circus Maximus.


From: http://www.romanmysteries.com/sites/romanmysteries.com/files/cms_images/circusmaximus.jpg

Housing
There are three types of housing in ancient Rome. For the more wealthy they would have single family dwellings such as a doma and villa. For everyone else there is the insula, the very first apartment building. Insulas are typically 3 stories with 6-8 of the apartment buildings surrounding a central courtyard.