Ribs to strengthen the groins and sides of a cross vault were first employed in the Church of Sant'Ambrogio, Milan (11th cent.). The semicircular arch was universally employed in Romanesque vaulting throughout Europe, and the Roman cross vault was the type used for covering square or rectangular compartments. The cross, or groined, vault is formed by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults, producing a surface that has arched openings for its four sides and concentration of load at the four corner points of the square or rectangle. The tunnel (or barrel) vault spans between two walls, like a continuous arch. Roman vaults were the basis on which more complex and varied forms were developed in the Middle Ages. Thus vaults and domes could be easily erected over vast spaces, producing impressive and complex thermae, amphitheaters, and basilicas. Casting concrete in one solid mass, the Romans created vaults of perfect rigidity, devoid of external thrust, and requiring no buttresses. the development of a mature vaulting system. The vaulting technique of the Etruscans was absorbed by the Romans, who started in the 1st cent. ![]() The Chaldaeans and Assyrians used vaults for the same purpose but seem also to have made architectural use of high domes and barrel vaults. In ancient Egypt brick vaulting was used, chiefly for drains.
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