List of Roman domes

The Pantheon in Rome. Largest dome in the world for more than 1,300 years

Oculus of the Pantheon.

This is a list of Roman domes. The Romans were the first builders in the history of architecture to realize the potential of domes for the creation of large and well-defined interior spaces. Domes were introduced in a number of Roman building types such as temples, thermae, palaces, mausolea and later also churches. Half-domes also became a favoured architectural element and were adopted as apses in Christian sacred architecture.

Monumental domes began to appear in the 1st century BC in Rome and the provinces around the Mediterranean Sea. Along with vaults, they gradually replaced the traditional post and lintel construction which makes use of the column and architrave. The construction of domes was greatly facilitated by the invention of concrete, a process which has been termed the Roman Architectural Revolution. Their enormous dimensions remained unsurpassed until the introduction of structural steel frames in the late 19th century (see List of the world's largest domes).

Domes

All diameters are clear span in m; for polygonal domes applies to the in-circle diameter. Main source is Jürgen Rasch's study of Roman domes (1985).

Diameter ⌀	Name, Part	Location	Built	Shape of dome, Ground plan	Material, Roof construction	Shell thickness (ST) ST to ⌀	Curtain wall thickness (CWT) CWT to ⌀	Diameter Oculus (DO) DO to ⌀	Comments/ Other characteristics
~ 43.45	Pantheon	Rome	~ 27-25 BC	Rotunda	Concrete, Lead plate roofing	~ 1.35 ~ 1:32	~ 5.93 ~ 1:7.3	~ 8.95 ~ 1:4.9	Largest dome of the world until 1881; largest unreinforced solid concrete dome in the world till present; archetype of Western dome construction to this day
~ 38.20	"Temple of Apollo"	Lake Avernus	~ 1st c.
~ 35.08	Baths of Caracalla, Caldarium	Rome	~ 3rd c.		Amphoras				Eight pillars; largest dome of the world out of ceramic hollowware
~ 29.50	"Temple of Diana"	Baiae	~ 2nd c.			~ 1.20 ~ 1:25	~ 5,70 ~ 1:5.2
~ 26.30	"Temple of Venus"	Baiae	~ 2nd c.			~ -	~ 2.90 ~ 1:9.1		Outer wall pillars
~ 25.04	Mausoleum of Maxentius	Rome	~ 4th c.	Rotunda
~ 25.00	Baths of Agrippa, 'Arco della Ciambella'	Rome	~ 1st c. BC	Rotunda					First Thermae in Rome with central dome; largest dome of the world
~ 24.15	Rotunda of St. George	Thessaloniki	~ 4th c.		Brick	~ 1 ~ 1:24	~ 6.00 ~ 1:4		Largest brick dome of the world
~ 23.85	Sanctuary of Asclepius	Pergamon	~ 2nd c.		Brick	~ -	~ 3.35 ~ 1:7.1		Earliest monumental brick dome; largest brick dome of the world
~ 23.70 to ~ 19.80	St. Gereon's Basilica	Cologne	~ 4th c.	Oval with eight niches and apse					Later medieval structure with Roman building fabric largest occidental dome between Hagia Sophia and Florence Cathedral
~ 23.65	"Temple of Minerva Medica"	Rome	~ 4th c.	Decagon	Concrete with brick ribs	~ 0.56 ~ 1:42	~ 2.60 ~ 1:9.1		Outer wall pillars
~ 22.00	Baths of Antoninus	Carthage	~ 2nd c.	Polygon					Seven domes with diameters between 17 and 22 m
~ 22.00	Rotunda at the Hippodrome	Constantinople	~ 5th c.	Rotunda with ten niches
~ 22.00	Baths of Diocletian, San Bernardo	Rome	~ 300		Concrete with brick ribs
~ 21.65 or ~ 21.25	Baths of Diocletian, 'Planetarium'	Rome	~ 300	Umbrella dome, Octagon	Concrete with inner brick covering			~ 4.20 ~ 1:5.1
~ 21.55	"Temple of Mercury"	Baiae	~ 1st c. BC		Concrete			~ 3.65 ~ 1:5.9	Earliest monumental dome; largest dome of the world
~ 20.18	Mausoleum of Helena	Rome	~ 4th c.		Ceramic amphora incorporated into dome's base	~ 0.90 ~ 1:22	~ 2.40 ~ 1:8.4
~ 19.80	Baths of Caracalla, Side building	Rome	~ 3rd c.	Octagon					Preliminary form of the pendentive dome
~ 19.40	Baths of Bacucco	Near Viterbo	~ 4th c.	Umbrella dome, Octagon
~ 19.30	Baths of Diocletian, Tepidarium	Rome	~ 300					~ 3.68 ~ 1:5.2
~ 18.38	Pantheon	Ostia	~ 3rd c.			~ -	~ 1.98 ~ 1:9.3
~ 18.00	Church of Euphemia	Constantinople	~ 5th c.	Hexagon
~ 16.75	Hadrian's Villa, 'Serapeum'	Tivoli	~ 2nd c.	Umbrella dome	Concrete				Hollow space system
~ 16.45	Imperial Baths, Tepidarium	Trier	~ 4th c.		Concrete
~ 15.70	Basilica of San Vitale	Ravenna	~ 6th c.		Clay pipe, Wooden roof construction
~ 15.60	Nymphaeum in Albano Laziale	?	~ 1st c.		Concrete			~ 2.08 ~ 1:7.6	Earliest evidence for hollow spaces at dome's base for reduction in weight
~ 15.00 to ~ 13.00	Southern baths	Bostra	~ 3rd-4th c.	Octagon	Concrete
~ 15.00	Western baths	Gerasa	~ 2nd c.	Square	Voussoir				One of the earliest stone domes with square plan; largest stone dome of the world
~ 14.70	"Heroon of Romulus" at the Roman Forum	Rome	~ 4th c.		Lead plate roofing	~ 0.90 ~ 1:16	~ 1.80 ~ 1:8.2	~ 3,70 ~ 1:4.0
~ 14.50	"Temple of Portunus"	Porto	~ 3rd c.		Concrete with inner brick covering	~ -	~ 2.20 ~ 1:6.6
~ 13.71	Mausoleum of Tor de' Schiavi	Via Prenestina	~ 4th c.			~ 0.60 ~ 1:23	~ 2.60 ~ 1:5.3		Four openings at dome's base
~ 13.48	Domus Aurea	Rome	~ 1st c.	Cloister vault, Octagon	Concrete			~ 5.99 ~ 1:2.3	First dome with octagonal plan; earliest in palace architecture
~ 13.35	Mausoleum of Diocletian	Split	~ 300		Brick, Tiled roof	~ 0.68 ~ 1:20	~ 3.40 ~ 1:3.9		Double-walled dome
~ 12.90	Chapel of Saint Aquilino	Milan	~ 4th c.		Brick
~ 12.33	"Tempio della Tosse"	Tivoli	~ 4th c.		Concrete with brick ribs	~ 1.30 ~ 1:9	~ 2.08 ~ 1:5.9	~ 2.10 ~ 1:5.9
~ 12.00	Hadrian's Villa, Summer Triclinium (Exedra)	Tivoli	~ 2nd c.		Concrete with inner brick covering
~ 12.00	Baths of Aquae Flavianae	El Hammam	~ 3rd c.		Clay pipes				Largest dome of the world out of ceramic hollowware
~ 12.00	Church of Hodegetria	Constantinople	~ 5th c.	Hexagon
~ 12.00	Skeuophylakion	Constantinople	~ 5th c.	Dodecagon
~ 11.90	Baptistery	Nocera Superiore Campania	~ 6th c.						Eight rectangular dome windows
~ 11.90	Hadrian's Villa, 'Heliocaminus'	Tivoli	~ 2nd c.						Double-walled dome with spacing for ceiling heating
~ 11.50	"Red Basilica"	Pergamon	~ 2nd c.		Brick				Two Rotunda; largest brick dome of the world
~ 11.50	Santa Costanza	Rome	~ 4th c.		Concrete with brick ribs, Tiled roof directly resting on dome shell	~ 0.70 ~ 1:16	~ 1.45 ~ 1:7.9		Tambour
~ 11.50	Mor Gabriel Monastery	Tur Abdin	~ 6th c.		Brick			~ yes
~ 11.47	Praetorium	Cologne	~ 4th c.	Octagon		~ -	~ 2.00 ~ 1:5.7
~ 11.10	Gordian's Villa	Rome, Via Prenestina	~ 3rd c.	Octagon		~ -	~ 1.35 ~ 1:8.2		Preliminary form of the pendentive dome; eight openings at dome's base
~ 11.00	Therme d’Allance	?	~ ?
~ 10.80	Mausoleum of Gallien	Rome, Via Appia	~ 3rd c.	Rotunda with six niches		~ -	~ 1.60 ~ 1:6.8
~ 10.70	"Mausoleum of Centocelle"	Centcelles, near Tarragona	~ 4th c.		Brick and stone	~ 0.40 ~ 1:27	~ 1.90 ~ 1:5.6
~ 10.40 to 1~ 9.40	Hadrian's Villa, small baths	Tivoli	~ 2nd c.	Elliptical dome with wavelike rim
~ 10.00	Gordian's Villa, Hall	Via Prenestina	~ 2nd c.
~ 10.00	"Villa delle Vignacce"	Via Latina	~ 2nd c.		Ceramic amphora at dome's base				Earliest known use of amphora at dome's base
~ 19.85	Cathedral, Baptistery	Ravenna	~ 5th c.
1~ 9.50	Hadrian's Villa, Piazza d'Oro (vestibule)	Tivoli	~ 2nd c.	Umbrella dome				~ 1,90 ~ 1:5.0
1~ 9.50	Praetextat catacomb, 'Calventier tomb'	Rome	~ 3rd c.	Rotunda with six niches
1~ 9.00	Capito Thermae, Laconicum	Miletus	~ 1st c.		Concrete
1~ 9.00	Small Roundtemple	Baalbek	~ 3rd c.
1~ 8.50	Domus Augustana	Rome	~ 1st c.	Cloister vault, Octagon					One of the earliest cloister vaults with octagonal curtain walls
~ 18.10	"Torraccio del Palombaro"	Rome, Via Appia	~ 4th c.			~ 0.90 ~ 1:9	~ 2,30 ~ 1:3.5	~ 1.50 ~ 1:5.4
1~ 7.70	Baths of Maxentius	Rome	~ 4th c.	Umbrella dome, Octagon
~ 17.60	Domus Flavia	Rome	~ 1st c.
1~ 7.60 to 1~ 6.20	Hadrian's Villa, 'Heliocaminus'	?	~ 2nd c.	Cloister vault, Uneven octagon
1~ 6.80	Nymphaeum	Riza, Epirus	~ 250-350	Dodecagon
1~ 6.75	"Temple of Venus", Annex building	Baiae	~ 2nd c.	Flat umbrella dome, Octagon
~ 16.65	Hall of Thermae Pisa	?	~ 2nd c.	Cloister vault with eight windows, Octagon				~ 2.00 ~ 1:3.3
~ 16.52	Stabian Thermae, Laconicum	Pompeii	~ 1st c. BC	Cone vault (early form of the dome)	Concrete			~ yes	Oldest known concrete domes
1~ 6.00	Hunting Thermae	Leptis Magna	~ 200	Cloister vault with eight windows
~ 15.86	Arch of Marcus Aurelius	Tripoli	~ ?	Cloister vault	Voussoir
1~ 5.70	Water Castellum	Pompeii	~30 BC- ~14 AD	Flat dome
~ 15.40	Octagon near 'Temple of Mercury'	Baiae	~ 2nd c.	Umbrella dome, Octagon
1~ 5.40	San Vitale, Stair towers	Ravenna	~ 6th c.		Brick
~ 15.20	"Sedia del Diavolo", Tomb	Rome, Via Nomentana	~ 2nd c.	Square
1~ 4.70	Tabularium	Rome	~ 1st c. BC	Cloister vault, Square					Earliest cloister vault
~ 14.41	"Temple of Venus", Annex building	Baiae	~ 2nd c.	Umbrella dome above circular ground plan				~ 0.59 ~ 1:7.5
1~ 4.40	Mausoleum of Galla Placidia	Ravenna	~ 5th c.		Tiled roof
1~ 4.00	Tomb at Casal de' Pazzi	Rome, Via Nomentana	~ 2nd c.	In-circle dome, Square	Concrete				Preform of pendentive dome; hollow space system
~ 11.65	"Villa of the Mysteries", Laconicum	Pompeii	~ 1st c. BC	Cone vault (early form of the dome)	Brick and clay (upper calotte)				Concrete wall shell
~ ?	Mausoleum of Constantine at the Church of the Holy Apostles	Constantinople	~ 4th c.	Presumably Rotunda with twelve niches

Half-domes

Diameter ⌀	Name, Part	Location	Built	Shape of dome, Ground plan	Material, Roof construction	Shell thickness (ST) ST to ⌀	Curtain wall thickness (CWT) CWT to ⌀	Comments/ Other characteristics
~ 30.00	Baths of Trajan	Rome	~ ?					Largest dome(s) of the world
~ 22.00	Baths of Diocletian, Two apse halls	Rome	~ 300
~ 18.50	Trajan's Forum	Rome	~ ?
~ 15.80	Santi Cosma e Damiano, Apse	Rome	~ 6th c.
~ 11.00	Nymphaeum	Jerash	~ 2nd c.		Concrete
1~ 9.60	Basilica, Apse	Bostra	~ 3rd c.		Concrete, inside covered with ashlar
1~ 8.00	Cathedral, Annex rooms	Bostra	~ 6th c.		Concrete
1~ 5.70	Pantheon, Front niches	Rome	~ 2nd c.

See also

• Record-holding domes in antiquity
• List of world's largest domes
• Roman architecture
• List of Domes in France
• History of Roman and Byzantine domes

Sources

Main source

Further sources

External links

• Traianus — Technical investigation of Roman public works
• The Roman Pantheon: The Triumph of Concrete