Roman Concrete Groin Vaults: Design and Construction Principles, Formwork and Falsework for the so-called Cenotaph of Annia Regilla, Rome

Abstract

Although Roman concrete groin vaults are part of the standard repertoire of vault types used by Imperial builders, many questions about their construction remain unanswered. These include, for example, questions about the vaults' underlying geometry, how the concept for the geometry was actually translated into built reality on site, the structure of the falsework and formwork and the constructional process for creating the vaulting. This paper seeks to gather and interpret observations made on two groin vaults at the so-called Cenotaph of Annia Regilla in Rome.