The Diolkos: an ancient Greek paved trackway enabling boats to be moved overland

Post by tdgs » Mon, Aug 01, 2016, 11:44 AM UTC

wil421 wrote: post #12

stygiansonic wrote: post #5

Engineering in the ancient world has quite a few examples of "megaprojects" like this one. Besides the well-known Egyptian Pyramids and Roman aqueducts, one interesting one I've recently learned about was about the columns in the Roman Pantheon were built: They were carved from single blocks of granite and then imported all the way from Egypt[0]: " The grey granite columns that were actually used in the Pantheon's pr…

Saw the Pantheon in May and it is very impressive the columns are massive. The inside is equally impressive. It's one of the only, if not the only Roman temple where the interior survived. So much of the Ancient world impresses me the more I learn. Seeing it amazes me more. It's sad a lot of Ancient buildings or knowledge was destroyed as the next ruling party or ideology came to power.

Post by JoeAltmaier » Mon, Aug 01, 2016, 12:19 PM UTC

ravingraven wrote: post #18

stygiansonic wrote: post #5

Engineering in the ancient world has quite a few examples of "megaprojects" like this one. Besides the well-known Egyptian Pyramids and Roman aqueducts, one interesting one I've recently learned about was about the columns in the Roman Pantheon were built: They were carved from single blocks of granite and then imported all the way from Egypt[0]: " The grey granite columns that were actually used in the Pantheon's pr…

...and someone probably got the order wrong as the columns are too short. In the following picture we can see how tall the portico roof was expected to be and where it ended up: https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3496/3213951635_d21d3e5556_z.j...

Post by wil421 » Mon, Aug 01, 2016, 2:18 PM UTC

tdgs wrote: post #21

wil421 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Saw the Pantheon in May and it is very impressive the columns are massive. The inside is equally impressive. It's one of the only, if not the only Roman temple where the interior survived. So much of the Ancient world impresses me the more I learn. Seeing it amazes me more. It's sad a lot of Ancient buildings or knowledge was destroyed as the next ruling party or ideology came to power.

Just, saying, the Parthenon is not a Roman temple :)

Post by wlesieutre » Mon, Aug 01, 2016, 3:56 PM UTC

wil421 wrote: post #26

wlesieutre wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The interior didn't survive unscathed. The design of the upper walls was "fixed" during the renaissance, with one small section now restored to something more like its original design (based on paintings of the original, see top right of photo): https://userscontent2.emaze.com/images/9fd064fa-8fb9-409b-ac... Additionally, Pope Urban VIII had the bronze ceiling of the portico melted down to make cannons in the 1600's.…

Of course nothing survived unscathed but if I recall correctly the Pantheon's marble interior/floor is still mostly original. The Catholic Popes melted down anything they could find to create Christian things.

Post by theoh » Tue, Aug 02, 2016, 5:48 AM UTC

MagnumOpus wrote: post #20

f_allwein wrote: post #8

"remaining in regular and frequent service for at least 650 years" Amazing how long-lived many antique structures were. Apart from churches, I can't think of many 650 year old structures that are still used today.

Look in places where the city centre is more than 650 years old, hasn't been carpet bombed in WW2 and wasn't popular enough to be replaced by modern concrete or glass&steel highrises. You will find hundreds if not thousands of towns in Europe with whole streets full of 13th/14th century timber frame/fachwerk houses in the city centre. There are also dozens if not hundreds of 12th/13th/14th century stone bridges still…