Vitruvius and Roman Theater Design

Reactive binder and aggregate interfacial zones in the mortar of Tomb of Caecilia Metella concrete, 1C BCE, Rome

“…13,14 Concrete structural elements of the Tabularium (78 BCE) and Theater of Pompey 15,16 the wall structures reveal some of the earliest brick-faced masonry in Rome. 11,17,18 The mortars have a robust cementing matrix with calcium-aluminum-silicate-hydrate (C-A-S-H) binder; strätlingite (Ca 2 Al 2 SiO 2 (OH) 10 •2.25H 2 O) 19 mineral cements are also present. 11 A recent experimental reproduction of a nearly identical mortar fabricated at the Markets of Trajan about 140 years later indicates that C-A-S-H was produced pozzolanically through the reaction of hydrated lime (Ca(OH) 2 ) with Pozzolane Rosse components but that strätlingite formed only after calcium hydroxide was fully consumed.…”

“…Vitruvius wrote de Architectura for Octavian, who would become Emperor Augustus in 27 BCE; he was also a contemporary of Caecilia Metella. The concrete substructure of the Theater of Marcellus, constructed by Julius Caesar in 44 BCE, and the structure of the theater, constructed by Octavian mainly between 23 and 17 BCE, use the intermediate alteration facies of Pozzolane Rosse; the wall structures reveal some of the earliest brick‐faced masonry in Rome 11,17,18 . The mortars have a robust cementing matrix with calcium‐aluminum‐silicate‐hydrate (C‐A‐S‐H) binder; strätlingite (Ca 2 Al 2 SiO 2 (OH) 10 •2.25H 2 O) 19 mineral cements are also present 11 .…”

Building Materials of the Theatre of Marcellus, Rome*

“…Descriptions of the building materials of the theatre (Figs 1 and 2), initiated in 44 bce and constructed mainly between 23 bce and 17 bce (Calza Bini 1953;Fidenzoni c. 1970;Ciancio Rossetto 1999, LTUR V, 31-5;Sear 2006; Ciancio Rossetto and Buonfiglio in press), provide an observational framework to assess the expertise of Roman builders of the latest republican and earliest imperial eras in Rome. Certain passages of De architectura (31-27 bce), written by Vitruvius just prior to the main period of construction of the theatre (Sear 1990), provide additional insights into building technologies at the beginning of the Augustan age. Certain passages of De architectura (31-27 bce), written by Vitruvius just prior to the main period of construction of the theatre (Sear 1990), provide additional insights into building technologies at the beginning of the Augustan age.…”

“…Petrographic and mineralogical analyses reveal the compositions of durable volcanic ash-hydrated lime pozzolanic mortars and provide a more rigorous foundation for distinguishing between Tufo Lionato and Tufo di Tuscolo tuff dimension stones (Jackson et al 2005;Jackson and Marra 2006). Certain passages of De architectura (31-27 bce), written by Vitruvius just prior to the main period of construction of the theatre (Sear 1990), provide additional insights into building technologies at the beginning of the Augustan age. (after Ciancio Rossetto and Buonfiglio in press).…”

Le schéma vitruvien du théâtre latin et sa signification dans le système normatif du De architectura

“…L'étude de F. B. Sear constitue de ce point de vue une tentative intéressante pour situer la démarche vitruvienne dans son contexte historique, en insistant sur le degré d'élaboration atteint dès le I er siècle av. J.-C. par plusieurs théâtres d'Italie centrale, à Tusculum, Alba Fucens et Ostie ; leurs schémas d'implantation paraissent, pour autant qu'on puisse encore juger de leur phase initiale, assez proches de celui préconisé par le théoricien52 . Mais il importe surtout de garder en mémoire que, au moment où Vitruve rassemble son information, l'un des grands débats est celui qui s'instaure autour du projet puis de la réalisation du théâtre de Pompée, autour également du ou des projets césariens.…”