The Singular Brick Vault by Slices in Tower J17 from the Aurelian Walls in Rome

Abstract

The lower chamber of tower J17 from the Aurelian Walls in Rome is covered by a singular brick vault by slices that is almost completely preserved. This kind of vault is unusual in a Roman context and specifically in Aurelian Walls. Brick vaults by slices were extensively studied by the French engineer Auguste Choisy, who mainly scrutinized their ease of construction that doesn’t require formwork and can adapt to different plans to achieve lowered vaults. The best-known examples are in Byzantium and generally in the Eastern Roman Empire, while we don’t know many cases dating from late Roman antiquity on the Italian peninsula. Based on a rigorous photogrammetric survey and thorough data management, a detailed analysis of this vault allows us to establish a hypothesis about its construction process and to deepen the knowledge of this type of structure.