Roman Technology and Engineering

Question 1

What did natural philosophers employ in their studies?

Answer 1

Reason rather than experiment

Question 2

What is the greatest roman technological achievement?

Answer 2

Civil engineering (e.g. Pantheon and the Forum)

Question 3

What does an artifex and faber mean?

Answer 3

A worker in wood, stone, or metal - closest to modern engineer

Question 4

What does architectus mean?

Answer 4

Architect and/or engineer in greek

Question 5

What does machina mean?

Answer 5

Machine in greek

Question 6

What examples are there of roman willingness to adopt foreign technology?

Answer 6

Technological vocabulary of different languages and the roman water supply and drainage system are adopted from the Etrsuscans

Question 7

What kind of knowledge was required for construction of the colosseum and aqueducts?

Answer 7

Knowledge passed down, although little surviving evidence

Question 8

What does Vitruvius write about in De Architectura?

Answer 8

Books 1-7: layout of buildings and construction of floors and walls
Book 8: Water-supply systems
Books 9-10: Engineering topics such as clocks and machines

Question 9

What were the conditions for stable roads?

Answer 9

Stable footing, no steep gradients, straight, durable, prolonged use

Question 10

When was seafaring permitted?

Answer 10

Summer months

Question 11

How did mariners navigate?

Answer 11

Prominent landmarks and the sun during daytime, stars at night

Question 12

What was a corvus?

Answer 12

Hinged bridge that would be dropped on enemy ships

Question 13

What examples of innovation due to concrete is there?

Answer 13

Octagonal room at Nero’s Domus Aurea, as well as Hadrian’s Pantheon

Question 14

When did water supply evolve?

Answer 14

Under Claudius’ censorship

Question 15

What was the castellum divisorium?

Answer 15

Primary distribution basin

Question 16

What evidence of animal power is there?

Answer 16

Grain mills at Pompeii and Ostia

Question 17

What was amurca?

Answer 17

Olive pits or discarded flesh from olive oil used to generate energy

Question 18

How was temperature raised at the baths?

Answer 18

Burning plant matter

Question 19

Why is the archaeological record limited?

Answer 19

Devices made from organic material are lost and tools made from bronze or glass were recycled

Question 20

What word does technology come from?

Answer 20

Tekhnē in greek

Question 21

What is the latin word for craft or art?

Answer 21

Ars

Question 22

What is an artificer?

Answer 22

Craftsman or artisan

Question 23

What is a faber?

Answer 23

A craftsman who works in wood, stone, or metal

Question 24

Where does the word engineer come from?

Answer 24

Ingenium in latin

Question 25

What did the Heron of Alexandria write about?

Answer 25

Math, physics, mechanics, practical devices, and gadgets called automata

Question 26

What did Pliny the Elder write about?

Answer 26

37 books of natural history in relation to humans, frequently anecdotal

Question 27

What did Frontinus write about and who was he?

Answer 27

He was a curator aquarum (head officer in charge of the urban waterworks) and he wrote a treatise on the aqueducts of Rome

Question 28

What older cultures did Romans adopt technology from?

Answer 28

Greece, Egypt, and Mesopotamia

Question 29

What was the main purpose of Rome's roads?

Answer 29

To transport military

Question 30

What was the via appia?

Answer 30

Original major roadway built under Claudius and connected Rome to Capua

Question 31

How did naval ships attack?

Answer 31

Metal noses used to ram enemy vessels

Question 32

Could cargo vessels travel across open water?

Answer 32

Yes (e.g. ship convoys transporting grain from Alexandria to Rome)

Question 33

What was opus caementicium?

Answer 33

Aggregate composed of mortar and small stones

Question 34

What brick-style was initially used and what did it evolve to?

Answer 34

Opus incertum (irregularly shaped blocks) and into square blocks of regular size called opus retriculatum

Question 35

What was the benefit of the concrete hardening underwater?

Answer 35

Could build harbours, aqueducts, and bridges

Question 36

Where was water originally sources from?

Answer 36

From the Tiber, natural springs, and wells

Question 37

What was the surface of aqueducts lined with?

Answer 37

Waterproof plaster called opus signinum

Question 38

What is a dioptra?

Answer 38

An instrument used for measuring horizontal and vertical distances

Question 39

What is a groma?

Answer 39

An instrument used to measure right angles in the horizontal plane

Question 40

How was heat in households produced?

Answer 40

Burning of wood, charcoal, or chaff

Question 41

What was the heart of the pantheon?

Answer 41

The dome called the Rotunda

Question 42

What is the occulus?

Answer 42

30ft wide hole in the dome that eliminates stress of the dome at its weakest point

Question 43

What is the one issue at the pantheon?

Answer 43

The portico is 10ft too short and doesn't connect with the rotunda where it should

Question 44

Is it known who built the pantheon?

Answer 44

No, but there are speculations of Hadrian or Appoladorus

Question 45

What was Trajan's forum made of?

Answer 45

Marble