by Andrew Cai

Created on: February 23, 2010   Last Updated: February 25, 2010

The arch was and is still one of the greatest architectural discoveries of all time.  Still in use today, it was the only way to hold roofs up without beams until the 19th century.  The arch comes in many shapes whether it is pointed, semicircular, or segmental.  The arch has been found in many early civilizations and some have been found as early as Mesopotamia.  The Egyptians used arches in tombs and vaults and the Greeks used arches for practical construction.  Romans later exploited the principles of the arch from the Greeks. 

 It was not until the time of the Etruscans that arches were used in monuments.  The Romans borrowed ideas from these earlier races and created the idea of setting the arch on top of two pedestals to span a walkway.  With the improvement of arches came the use of these supports in bridges.  The only drawback to this was that there had to be strong supports on the side otherwise all the force would be concentrated in one area. 

The advantage of arches is that they span an open space, therefore reducing the tensile stresses.  This was extremely useful to earlier civilizations since although stone was very durable, they were extremely weak when it came to force.  Arches are also used to span a large area where it is important to keep the weight distributed.  The arch does its job while beautifying the structure it supports. 

During the medieval ages, arches were crucial in the building of cathedrals, which were extremely weak due to the amount of windows.  With the combination of arches and buttresses, the immense weight could be supported while making the House of God look elegant. 

There are many types of arches used.

Triangular: has a curved top but slightly resembles a triangle
Semi-circular: also known as the round arch, it is as its name states, semi circular.
Segmental: forms a partial curve over a window/door.  It is semi-elliptical at the top.
Lancet: narrow, pointed arch
Equilateral pointed: has two circular curves intersecting at the peak of the arch
Roman: a strong semi-circular arch
Tudor: similar to Gothic arches but has a wider span.
Flat: resembles a rectangle, emphasizes horizontal aspects
Gothic: a narrow pointed opening
Moorish or Horseshoe: extends beyond a semicircle with the top being rounded.  It curves slightly before descending.

Nowadays, arches are used majorly in bridges because it reduces tension.  Arches are self supporting and can hold massive amounts of weight on a multi-level scale, which makes it important to all buildings.  Without arches, we wouldn't have some of the great architectural marvels that we enjoy today, such as the Coliseum.

Learn more about this author, Andrew Cai.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.