History of mediæval art . exception of the termination of the apses thereis no appearance of vaulting in any early Christian basilica. Dis-tricts poorly furnished with timber, such as Syria, had ceilingsformed of stone lintels, a construction which, of course, greatlycramped the width of the plan. The arcades were quite incapableof resisting the great thrust which would have been brought to BASILICAL CONSTRUCTION. 31 bear against them by a vault over the broad nave. Indeed, theinadequate character of the columns as supports led to a diminu-tion of the thickness of the wall quite at variance wi
History of mediæval art . exception of the termination of the apses thereis no appearance of vaulting in any early Christian basilica. Dis-tricts poorly furnished with timber, such as Syria, had ceilingsformed of stone lintels, a construction which, of course, greatlycramped the width of the plan. The arcades were quite incapableof resisting the great thrust which would have been brought to BASILICAL CONSTRUCTION. 31 bear against them by a vault over the broad nave. Indeed, theinadequate character of the columns as supports led to a diminu-tion of the thickness of the wall quite at variance with its height,and the preservation, through so many centuries, of such carelesslybuilt masonry of tufa and brick is due rather to the extraordinaryexcellence of the Roman mortar than to any wisdom of design. At the end of the basilica opposite to the entrance there wasan enormous arch, not much less in width than the nave itself, andgenerally supported upon two large columns standing close to the ^^m m Hi . -niT 1
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