Building a Better Rome

Jan 24th, 2018:
     "When in Rome, do as the Romans do". Well, what do the Romans do? Apparently they go to the town theatre for some good entertainment. However, it just so happens that their theatre wasn't just any old theatre, it's a massive Colosseum! Unfortunately when we were there, they were all out of lions, so we had to settle for lots of cool pictures and tourism plaques describing the history. Fantastic experience though, really a one-of-its-kind place.

    The article we had relating to the site visit was about the quantification of labor costs to build the buildings of ancient Rome, as well as a look at the materials they used and some techniques of construction. There was a lot of analysis on the cost-to-benefit trade-off for using certain types of rock in their cement; trying to balance the economic quagmire of local labor, transportation costs, and aesthetic value. Choosing what rock and how much rock varies the price by how far the quarry is from the city, but there might be certain rock types that aren't "good enough" for the rich, and thus being cost-effective isn't as important. One might say that the same conundrum exists today - do I want to go to the store to buy something and assess it's quality firsthand, or do I want to order online and pay the shipping costs so I can stay in my house? The Romans of antiquity faced these same problems, just in a different form.

     Touring around the Colosseum, we could see and appreciate the architecture of the place; they knew exactly how to lay the brickwork to create the arches that would hold the structural integrity of the entire building. The structure is still standing, two millennia later, and contemporary structures can't quite compare. Sure, it looks as if some giant took a couple bites out of it, but it is at least eight times as old as America, so the Romans clearly built it to last, and poured their heart and soul into constructing it. I, and billions of other tourists like me, thank them for their accomplishment.