Monuments of the early church . plan we must distinguish again,with reference to the mode of roofing, between the buildingswhich consisted merely of concentric colonnades surmounted bya wooden roof, and those which were surmounted by a dome(supported by pillars or columns) and a ring-vault. THE CENTRAL TYPE—Simple Plan 135 ROUND OR POLYGONAL BUILDINGSSIMPLE PLAN The simplest case is a cylindrical wall surmounted by adome in the form of a half-sphere. The heavy dome construc-tion of the Komans required a very thick supporting wall,which for economy of building material, as well as for purelyart
Monuments of the early church . plan we must distinguish again,with reference to the mode of roofing, between the buildingswhich consisted merely of concentric colonnades surmounted bya wooden roof, and those which were surmounted by a dome(supported by pillars or columns) and a ring-vault. THE CENTRAL TYPE—Simple Plan 135 ROUND OR POLYGONAL BUILDINGSSIMPLE PLAN The simplest case is a cylindrical wall surmounted by adome in the form of a half-sphere. The heavy dome construc-tion of the Komans required a very thick supporting wall,which for economy of building material, as well as for purelyartistic considerations, was broken by a series of niches. ThePantheon at Rome is the most colossal and altogether thenoblest example of this type ; the wall surface is diversified byeight great niches (including the door), alternately square andsemicircular, with another row of niches above; but it becomescontinuous again before itmeets the dome. Light isadmitted by a great opaonin the centre of the great magnitude of. the Pantheon made possi-ble a special decorativefeature which consisted inrows of columns in front ^ of the niches, but the Fig. 43. - Plans of b^ulldm^^s^of t^ application of the general ^^ ^^^^^^^^ baptistery, Eavenna. 6, S. George,scheme was obviously Thessalonica. c, Arian baptistery, Eavenna. quite independent of size. Booms of this type were constructed by the Romans as ad-juncts to palaces, but more commonly as bath rooms and mauso-leums. The Christians employed them for the same purposes,that is, as mausoleums and baptisteries. This type was mani-festly appropriate to the mausoleum, not only on account of itsshape, but on account of its monumental solidity. While inthe construction of their churches the Christians showed astrange indifference about the solidity and endurance of thebuildings, they seem to have shared the solicitude of thepagans for the eternal perpetuation of their tombs. The tworound buildings which formerly adjoined S. Peters (F
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectchristi, bookyear1901
