Prehistoric Rome

Here are some photos I took of the colosseum while visiting Rome. The first three photos are of the Colosseum and the second two are of the Pantheon. The Colosseum if an amphitheater build of concert and sand. It is located in the center of the city and is the largest amphitheater that has ever been built. It is estimated that the Colosseum could fit between 50000 and 80000 people at once. The Colosseum was used for different types of entertainment like gladiator combats, wild animal fights, and races. The building techniques of the Colosseum are still used in todays designs. 

The two photos below are of the Pantheon that is also located in Rome. This was the first building of its time to use the dome shape design. At the top of the dome there is a hole to let in light. This hole is known as an oculus. The Pantheon is the worlds largest unreinforced concert dome in the world. The building is one of the best preserved building in all of Rome. This is thought to be because over time it was very frequently used as a church. I remember the inside being one large room and although it was day time it was still some what dark inside. 

Prehistoric Greece

Below are pictures I took of the Elgin Marbles while visiting the British Museum in London. The pieces were detailed parts of the architecture in Greece. The sculptures are now known as the Parthenon sculptures. The sculptures were removed from the Parthenon and other buildings then transported to Britain by sea. To date there is controversy as to who the sculptures rightfully belong to and Greece has demanded for the sculptures to be return many of times. The arrangement of the sculptures being removed from Greece and moved to England was done by Thomas Bruce, 7th Lord Elgin. He was the British ambassador of the Ottoman Empire from 1799-1803. The Parthenon is a sculpture located in Athens dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena. The building is about 228 feet by 101 feet in size. The temple was constructed from 447 B.C to 432 B.C.

Pediments: Pediments were found at the top of buildings and were triangular shaped slots for holding large sculptures. The picture above is one of the sculptures that was in a pediment on top of the Parthenon. The pediment on the east of the building tell a story of the birth of Athena. The pediment of the west tell the story of battle between Athena and Poseidon.  

extra credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeEdQFHmDJI
Here is a video of more of the pieces.

Response 2

Responses for Ancient Civilization time:
Becca- Your pictures with the diagram of paths showing how people moved throughout the pyramids was very interesting.
Emma- The pictures you used are great for your discussion about the fine detail that was used on the tombs and furniture.
Erin- Your information on the Ziggurat was very interesting. It is crazy that people were capable of building structures as tall as seven stories high like the Ziggurat.

Response 1

Responses for Pre Historic time:

Amanda- I enjoyed her examples of the stonehenge building techniques used today.
Angie- I liked how you discussed how the different patterns were used in constructed.
Anna- I love the piece of furniture you found that was inspired by the walls of the caves.

Ancient Civilization

Ancient Egyptian lived in constructed rectangular houses made of wood, sun dried bricks, and mud from the Nile. The climate in Egypt is very hot and almost rainless, this made the labour of building very intense. The rooms in larger houses were constructed around a courtyard. Windows in the houses were small and covered with a mat or shutter to keep out the dust and heat. Many houses of the time were multiple stores with a flat roof.  During the summer people would sleep on the roof to feel the breeze from the Mediterranean and stay cool.

Egyptian people often times had gardens at their homes. These gardens could include fruit trees, botanical gardens, exotic trees, and ponds. In tombs there were depictions that gardens were very formal. It is estimated that there were 18 different types of trees grown by the Egyptians. 

Above is the layout of an estate belonging to a nobleman. The gardens and agricultural yards were separated by a wall. Servants lived in separated quarters than the main house with the kitchen and workshop nearby them. Women had their own place in the home that was called a "harem" (different than the harems associated with Muslims). These grand estates were built as close to the river as possible but still a safe distance if flooding occurred. Being next to the water mad transportation easier. 

Furniture of the time was very minimal and homes would only consist of a few items per room. The people did not have many things to keep stored so baskets and chests were used when needed. Tables were hardly ever used, even when writing on scrolls people would squat and write on them using the ground. People slept in beds constructed of wooden legs with leather cloths fastened to them. 

Extra Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGQczWQoExI

Here is a video of ancient Egyptian furniture.

Prehistoric Periods

I was interested in learning more about the primitive igloos. The word "igloo" actually means house. The inuit would build these houses during the winter to live in while they hunted. The Inuit people didn't stay in one location very long so the structures they built as homes were very temporary.  Up until the mid 1950's there were still people living in these sorts of structures. The winter months were long and very cold with very few hours of daylight. The top layer of soil was so frozen it made digging beneath the soil almost impossible.

To build the igloos they would stack the snow ice blocks cut from a special knife. The blocks were stacked inwards to create the dome like structure. Loose snow was then used to fill in the cracks between blocks, this helped insulate the home. It only took the inuit people about 20-30 minutes to build the structures. Inside the home they would stack ice blocks then cover them with fur to create a sleeping structure.

During the summer months they would pack their things and relocate. The summer homes were tents constructed of caribou or seal skin. The skin was hung from wood pieces in the middle. Wood was very hard to come by so they were heavily guarded by its owner.

extra credit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-x5QOSqP3E
here is a short video on how the igloos are constructed