Roman Arch

Written by Pookas Kreations

Roman Mayson was the person who developed the first vaulted arch that was named for him, later on he elaborated on this new technology to create the vaulted arch. He said that when studying the problem of supporting ceilings so they didn't collapse he was hit with an inspiration on how it needed to be built and attributed it to Brigid, Goddess of Creativity.

This new idea allowed him to build large vaulted ceilings for rooms, hallways, and cisterns. With this new technology the communal warren of tunnel emerged to become more of an arcoplex than a warren of interconnected tunnels. The tunnels, homes, and shops were not cramped but welcoming.

Even the art that was added to his carving and brickwork, actually added more support to his basic architecture. Often mosaics, tilework, latticing, and other styles of art were used, but before this a layer of mud or mortar was needed to both smooth the surface and help the other material to stick. All of this added both structure and strength to every surface underground, and rarely was a place found that didn't have some type of decoration. Some where very simply painted, while others were very elaborately decorated.

Utility

To support heavy weights of earth.

Manufacturing

First stone or brick blocks of a useful size must be made and placed together to form the arch.

Parent Technologies

• Architecture
• Bricklaying
• Engineering
• Masonry
• Stone Masonry

Inventor(s)

Roman Mayson

Access & Availability

Yes, he freely shared his discovery with other halfling architects.

Complexity

Once the discovery was made, putting it to use is easy.

Discovery

Roman was given a vision by the Goddess Brigid, that allowed him to create this new building technology. The keystone is the most important part of the arch, it supports the entire structure. The formula is Weight=Mass x Graity or w=mg.

Related Species

• Halfling