page_title: Roman technology
section_title: The Pantheon
hierarchical_section_title: Roman technology / Engineering and construction / Buildings / The Pantheon
caption_attribution_description: العربية: آيا صوفيا، كاتدرائيَّة وجامع سابقًا، ومتحف حاليًّا. English: Hagia Sophia.
context_page_description: Roman technology is the collection of techniques, skills, methods, processes, and engineering practices utilized and developed by the civilization of ancient Rome.The Roman Empire was a technologically advanced civilization of antiquity. The Romans incorporated technologies from the Greeks, Etruscans, and Celts. The technology developed by a civilization is limited by the available sources of energy, and the Romans were no different in this sense. Accessible sources of energy determine the ways in which power is generated. The main types of power accessed by the ancient Romans were human, animal, and water.
  With these limited sources of power, the Romans managed to build impressive structures, some of which survive to this day. The durability of Roman structures, such as roads, dams, and buildings, is accounted for the building techniques and practices they utilized in their construction projects. Rome and her surrounding area contained various types of volcanic materials, which Romans experimented with the creation of building materials, particularly cements and mortars. Along with concrete, the Romans used stone, wood, and marble as building materials.
context_section_description: The Romans designed the Pantheon thinking about the concepts of beauty, symmetry, and perfection. The Romans incorporated these mathematical concepts into their public works projects. For instance, the concept of perfect numbers were used in the design of the Pantheon by embedding 28 coffers into the dome. A perfect number is a number where its factors add up to itself. So, the number 28 is considered to be a perfect number, because its factors of 1, 2, 4, 7, and 14 add together to equal 28. Perfect numbers are extremely rare, with there being only one number for each quantity of digits (one for single digits, double digits, triple digits, quadruple digits, etc.). Embodying mathematical concepts of beauty, symmetry, and perfection, into the structure conveys the technical sophistication of Roman engineers. 
  Cements were essential to the design of the Pantheon. The mortar used in the construction of the dome is made up of a mixture of lime and the volcanic powder known as, pozzolana. The concrete is suited for the use in constructing thick walls as it does not require to be completely dry in order to cure.
  The construction of the Pantheon was a massive undertaking, requiring large quantities of resources and man-hours. Delaine estimates the amount of total manpower needed in the construction the Pantheon to be about 400 000 man-days.  
caption: Hagia Sophia constructed 537 CE
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