CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
OPUS
CAEMENTICIUM
Mix of
mortar and caementa, i.e. rough
stones or fragments of broken stone. The mortar in turn consists of lime mixed
with sand or pozzolan
Lime was
obtained by burning in ventilated furnaces (which were known as calcare) limestone or marble, made of
calcium carbonate. Limestone or marble, due to the heat, would turn into
calcium oxide or "quicklime", which, with the addition of water, would
become "slaked lime" and diluted for use took the name of grassello
OPUS
SILICEUM (or polygonal)
Irregular
cut stone blocks stuck into each other without mortar
OPUS
QUADRATUM
Regular
blocks of parallelepiped shape arranged in horizontal rows (isodomic rows)
In use
since the Archaic period, end of the seventh/beginning of the sixth century BC.
Since the fourth century BC it would be consisting in rows alternately arranged
by long and narrow side
Examples: Roman
walls of the sixth century in cappellaccio stone, part of the
foundations of the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter
OPUS
INCERTUM
First two decades
of the second century BC. Small tufa blocks (tufelli) of pyramidal shape immersed in the core of the wall with
the visible side of irregular shape
Examples: Temple of Magna Mater, Porticus Aemilia
OPUS
QUASI RETICULATUM
An evolution
of opus incertum tending to opus reticulatum
Examples: Source of Juturna, House of Griffins, the second
phase of the Temple of Cybele
OPUS
RETICULATUM
Perfectly
regular arrangement of small tufa rocks (tufelli)
with square base forming a net-like pattern. It was common from 100 BC up to the
Julio-Claudian period when the use of brick starts to prevail
Examples: Horrea Galbana, Theatre of Pompey
OPUS
MIXTUM
It was
common from the Flavian until Hadrian period (69/117). It ended during the
Antonine period
Crosslinked
structure at first, in the Republican period, reinforced with horizontal bands
of brick or tiles. During the empire it was more like nets of square little
blocks framed in squares made of bricks
OPUS
TESTACEUM (or Opus Latericium)
Bricks or
shingles. Since the end of the republican period onwards. In the first century
BC it was common to mark the consular date on bricks. From 123 AD with Hadrian
it became mandatory until 164, for example in the Castra Praetoria
OPUS
SPICATUM
Floor in
bricks arranged in a herringbone pattern
OPUS
VITTATUM (or Opus Listatum)
Horizontal
bands of bricks alternated with parallelepiped- shaped tufa stones arranged in
horizontal bands. It was common since the beginning of the fourth century AD
OPUS
SECTILE
Inlaid
marble for floors and walls
OPUS
TASSELLATUM
Mosaic
formed by cubical tiles, of different sizes, but common in shape, in black and
white
OPUS
VERMICULATUM
Eastern
origin, consisting of tiles sometimes very tiny, in vivid multicolour, who had
the most diverse forms to suit the design
STONES
FOR BUILDING
CAPPELLACCIO
Granular tufa,
brittle and gray from the soil of Rome. Archaic period (600/400 BC)
Examples:
ancient parts of the Servian Walls,
Temple of Capitoline Jupiter, archaic cisterns on Palatine
Hill
LATERIZIO
Laterite
Bricks
Typical Roman
bricks of the imperial period. They were made with clay, decanted and purified
in water and degreased with the addition of sand, according to a procedure
similar to that used in the ceramic, in particular for that of common use, such
as the amphoras for transport of liquids
The clay
thus prepared was then processed using wooden molds, which gave the desired shape.
The bricks were then dried for a few days, protected from direct sunlight and, eventually,
baked in kilns, where temperatures could reach 1000 °
The
manufacture of bricks was a real industrial activity. Its production facilities
(figlinae), located generally in the
vicinity of clay deposits and along the rivers that allowed easy transport of
materials, were generally owned by important people, often related to the
imperial family
It is
possible to know about the workshops from the use of marking on some of the
bricks, while they were still wet, a brand which could have the date and other
informations
The shape
of the brand, the "brick mark", changed in different periods:
initially rectangular, with text on one line, it became semicircular under
Claudius (41/54), then moon-shaped with Domitian (81/96) and round in the early
third century
With Hadrian
(117/138) it was introduced the mandatory use of mark the date of manufacture
(consular date). To the time of Theodoric (King of Italy 493/526) date the last
known brick marks, circular or rectangular
PEPERINO
(Lapis Albanus)
Gray tufa ash-colored
from the quarries in Marino,
used from the fourth/third century BC
Examples: Aqueduct Acqua Marcia, Sepulchre of the Scipios, Temples of the Forum Holitorium,
Wall of the Forum of Augustus, Temple of Antoninus and Faustina,
Temple of Magna Mater
SPERONE
STONE (Lapis Gabinus)
Tufa
similar to peperino but less fine-grained with more residue
Example:
the arch of the Cloaca Maxima to let sewage flow into the Tiber River
TRAVERTINE
(Lapis Tiburnus)
Sedimentary
limestone from Tivoli. It was used since the
second century BC
Examples: Theatre of Marcellus and Colosseum
TUFA
OF THE ANIENE RIVER
Reddish
from quarries of Tor Cervara. Used since about 160 BC
Examples: Aqua Marcia, Milvius Bridge
TUFA
OF GROTTA OSCURA
Porous,
yellowish from the territory of Veii.
Used since the conquest of Veii in 396 BC and even before, until the second century
BC
Examples: Stele of Lapis Niger, Walls of the fourth century BC,
Temples C and A of Largo Argentina,
Basilica Aemilia, Temple of Veiove, Aemilius Bridge, Milvius Bridge
TUFA
OF FIDENE
Yellowish
with black residue from the quarries at Castel Gubileo. Perhaps used since the
conquest of Fidenae in 426 BC until the
second century BC
Examples:
substructure walls of Palatine Hill and Capitol HIll, republican walls of the fourth
century BC, Temples of S. Omobono, Temples C and A of Largo Argentina
TUFA
OF MONTEVERDE
Light brown
with multicolored residue. Quarries at the foot of the Janiculum Hill and in the
Magliana area. It was used from the second century BC on
MARBLES
AND HARD ROCKS
AFRICAN
(marmor luculleum)
Various
colors and veins, especially red and black. From Teos in Asia Minor (Turkey),
introduced by Lucullus
BASANITE
(lapis basanites) or bekhen stone
It exists
in two versions: a siltstone (fine-grained) and a greywacke (slightly more
coarse-grained): both are of metamorphic origin, color uniform dark (dark gray
to gray-green)
The
quarries are on rock walls on both sides of Wadi Hammamat in the Eastern Desert
of Egypt
BIGIO
MORATO (lapis niger) or ancient Numidian black marble
Intense
black tones and fine grain. The quarries were located in the town of Ain el
Ksir in Tunisia, not far from those of ancient yellow marble
Examples: "Two centaurs" at the
Capitoline Museums or "Victory of the
Simmaci" at the Centrale Montemartini
CIPOLLINO
(marmor carystium)
With
parallel bands streaked ranging from white-green to dark green. From Carystos
in the southeast of Euboea in Greece
It is
called cipollino (small onion in
Italian) for the onion smell that emanates when this type of marble is cut
Examples:
columns of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
ANCIENT
YELLOW (marmor numidicum)
Intense
yellow with dark yellow and dark red veins from Chemtou in Tunisia (ancient
Numidia)
Ancient
yellow is Giallo Antico in Italian
GRANITE
OF OBELISKS
Red or
pink. From Syene (now Aswan) in Egypt
GRAY
GRANITE OF THE FORUM
From Mount
Gebel Fatira (Mons Claudianus), in the
Eastern Desert of Egypt
A variation
with finer grain comes from places of extraction sites within easy reach (Wadi
Umm Huyut). It takes its name from the many column shafts in the Forum of Trajan
IMEZIO
(or Hymettus Marble, Onion Marble)
The Roman name
(Marmo Cipolla = Onion Marble) was
given, as with the Proconnesian marble or the Cipollino marble, for the bituminous
smell emanating at the time of fracture. For this reason and also for the look
these marbles are difficult to distinguish
The
quarries are located on Mount Hymettus, about 11 km (6.8 miles) from Athens
It has been
used in the construction of buildings of Athens. It was definitely used by the
fourth century BC
In Rome it
was introduced in the early years of the first century BC by the consul Lucius
Crassus and used especially in architecture. From the period of Augustus (27
BC/14 AD) the popularity of some white marbles was decreasing after the
beginning of the large-scale exploitation of the Lunensis marble (Carrara
marble)
Examples:
Arch of Trajan in Ancona, ten columns in the portico outside on the left of the
Basilica of St. Paul, column in
front of St. Mary Major, the column of St. Peter in Chains
LUNENSIS
From
Carrara. The quarries were opened by Julius Caesar and became imperial property
at the time of Tiberius (98/117)
PARIAN
White,
coarse-grained. It was the most widely used marble in ancient statuary. From
the island of Paros in the Cyclades Islands
PAVONAZZETTO
(marmor phrygium or synnadicum)
Chalky
white marble with elements of purple purplish veined, dark purple, like the
peacock's tail
It is also
known as Phrygian marble, for coming
from Docimia in the Phrygia region, near Synnada corresponding to the current
İscehisar in Turkey
PENTELIC
White, fine
grain. From Mount Pentelicus 15 km (9.3 miles) northeast of Athens
RED
PORPHYRY (lapis porphirites)
Hard,
red-purple dotted with small white specks. It was possible for the Romans to
quarry it after the conquest of Egypt by Augustus in 31 BC
It came from
quarries owned by the emperor on Mons
Porphyrites or Mons Igneus, a
mountain range known today as Gebel Dokhan west of Hurghada, in the Eastern
Desert of Egypt
It is a kind
of marble very hard and difficult to carve, already used by the Egyptian kings
and highly regarded for his fiery red color, typically associated with the
imperial dignity
GREEN
PORPHYRY or SERPENTINE (lapis lacedaemonius)
Deep green
with light green crystals from the Peloponnese near Sparta
PORTASANTA
(marmor chium)
Dark gray base
with reddish spots and streaks from light red to bloody red. From the island of
Chios in the eastern Aegean Sea
The name
originates from the marble pillars of the Holy
Door (Porta Santa in Italian) of St. Peter's Basilica
PROCONNESIAN
White
color, with shades of cerulean, uniform or with bluish-gray veins in large
crystals. The quarries were located in the Proconnesus island, today island of
Marmara in the Sea of Marmara in Turkey
ANCIENT
RED
Deep red. Ancient
Red is Rosso Antico in Italian. From
the quarries of Tenaro, Cape Matapan in the Peloponnese
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