The Roman Republic was founded in the year 509 BC and fell in 476 AD.

羅馬共和國建立於公元前 509 年，於公元 476 年滅亡。

At its height, it covered almost two million square miles and touched three continents.

在其鼎盛時期，它覆蓋了近 200 萬平方英里，觸及三大洲。

The Roman Empire's lasting influence can still be seen in the arts, science, politics, and as this video will illustrate, architecture.

在藝術、科學、政治以及本視頻所展示的建築領域，我們仍然可以看到羅馬帝國的持久影響。

The ancient Romans improved upon many Greek architectural innovations, but made huge advances in engineering, sanitation, and technology.

古羅馬人改進了希臘人的許多建築創新，並在工程、衛生和技術方面取得了巨大進步。

Roman architecture is characterized by a few common components: the arch, the vault, the dome, and the use of concrete.

羅馬建築有幾個共同的特點：拱門、穹頂、圓頂和混凝土的使用。

The Romans improved upon the earlier Etruscan arch, using it frequently as a structurally sound, durable, and efficient building technique.

羅馬人在早期伊特魯里亞拱門的基礎上進行了改進，將其作為一種結構合理、經久耐用且高效的建築技術頻繁使用。

You can see arches put to use here in the Roman aqueducts, a series of tubes that transported water.

您可以在這裡看到羅馬渡槽中使用的拱門，這是一系列運送水的管道。

Many famous Roman buildings, including the Colosseum shown here, use the arch design's impressive load-bearing abilities.

許多著名的羅馬建築，包括這裡展示的鬥獸場，都採用了拱形設計，其承重能力令人印象深刻。

Arches are still widely used in architecture today.

如今，拱門在建築中仍被廣泛使用。

Roman architects also used vaults, similar to a set of long intersecting arches that structurally rely on one another.

羅馬建築師也使用拱頂，類似於一組相互交叉的長拱門，在結構上相互依賴。

The ridges and grooves of the Roman vault are clearly visible in these ruins from the city of Caesarea, Greece.

在希臘凱撒利亞城的這些遺址中，羅馬拱頂的脊和槽清晰可見。

The Romans also achieved a major feat of engineering when they perfected the dome.

羅馬人在完善穹頂工程時也取得了一項重大工程成就。

The large concrete dome over the Pantheon in Rome stood as the largest dome in the world for more than 1,000 years.

羅馬萬神殿的大型混凝土穹頂作為世界上最大的穹頂屹立了 1000 多年。

More visible from the interior, this large dome is made of molded concrete and features a hole in the center, referred to as an oculus.

從內部更容易看到這個大穹頂，它由模製混凝土製成，中間有一個洞，被稱為 "眼孔"。

The oculus lets in natural light.

該微孔可引入自然光。

Aside from design innovations, the Romans also advanced in building materials.

除了設計上的創新，羅馬人在建築材料方面也很先進。

Concrete had been used for hundreds of years, but the Romans found a way to make it harder by adding the binding agent Pozzolana, which is volcanic ash.

混凝土的使用已有數百年曆史，但羅馬人找到了一種方法，通過添加粘合劑 Pozzolana（即火山灰）來增加混凝土的硬度。

The Romans used concrete for buildings, roads, and even for underwater construction, protected by pipes until it hardened.This picture from the city of Caesarea in Greece shows the ruins of a building set on an underwater concrete foundation, following the Roman example.

羅馬人將混凝土用於建築、道路，甚至用於水下建築，並用管道加以保護，直至混凝土硬化。

This new harder concrete gave architects much more freedom.

這種新的堅硬混凝土為建築師提供了更大的自由度。

And it has helped Roman architecture to stand for hundreds of years.This scientific innovation made it possible for generations of architects to study and be inspired by examples of Roman architecture.

這一科學創新讓一代又一代的建築師得以研究羅馬建築，並從中獲得靈感。