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Elements and Materials

Barrel Vault

Structural Element

A continuous vault of uniform semicircular or pointed cross-section, the simplest vault form, produced by extruding a single arch profile along a straight axis. Roman engineers used it extensively for aqueducts, bath houses and the substructures of amphitheaters, and it was revived as the primary vault of Romanesque church naves before the rib vault refined and lightened Gothic construction. The type reached one of its grandest historical expressions in the nave of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, where a single barrel vault spans 27 metres. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Element Kind
Structural Element 2
First Used Era
Ancient Near East, with the earliest known example a tunnel vault under the Sumerian ziggurat at Nippur in Babylonia, dated to about 4000 BC and built of fired brick set in clay mortar; the form was widely developed by Rome. 1
Era
Era (category)
Chalcolithic (Copper Age) 1
Connections

Associated With

Arch, Elements and Materials
Groin Vault, Elements and Materials
Romanesque Architecture, Styles and Movements
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source Barrel Vault (Wikipedia)
Vault, Elements and Materials
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source Barrel Vault (Wikipedia)

Seen In

Colosseum, Buildings and Structures

The ambulatory corridors of the Colosseum substructure are barrel vaulted.

Source Wikipedia
Additional Source Colosseum - Wikipedia
In the Other Atlases

Era Of Origin

The Chalcolithic Period

Also in History Atlas: the era this subject comes from.

Sources
1. Barrel Vault (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Wikipedia: Barrel vault, Theory and early history section
    The earliest known example of a vault is a tunnel vault found under the Sumerian ziggurat at Nippur in Babylonia, ascribed to about 4000 BC, which was built from fired bricks amalgamated with clay mortar.
  • Wikipedia: Barrel vault, Theory and early history section, St Peter's Basilica
    perhaps most glorious of all, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, where a huge barrel vault spans the 27 m (89 ft)-wide nave.
  • Wikipedia: Barrel vault
    A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance.
  • English Wikipedia, Barrel vault, lead section, first sentence
    A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance.
  • In Category: Elements and Materials
  • Associated With: Vault
  • Associated With: Romanesque Architecture
View the Source
2. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationWikipedia: Barrel vault, history section
Quote, Wikipedia: Barrel vault, history section
The earliest known example of a vault is a tunnel vault found under the Sumerian ziggurat at Nippur in Babylonia, ascribed to about 4000 BC, which was built from fired bricks amalgamated with clay mortar.
View the Source
Colosseum - Wikipedia
Seen In: ColosseumView the Source
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