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The Pantheon: The ancient building still being used after 2,000 years
- gandalfian 6y agoI guess tombs don't count as used
- gumby 6y agoHa, not if nobody visits them any more.
- discussDev 6y agoI think the point is they almost always have at least one person on site ;-)
- PaulRobinson 6y agoThe headline does not read “The only ancient building still being used”
- gandalfian 6y agoTrue, I must have misread it.
- cghendrix 6y agoGot to visit it once. Truly an amazing space to experience.
- tomcam 6y agoMy Wife surprised me with the Pantheon. We were walking through Rome and she steered me to this rather ugly building (at least on the outside). When we got in I was flabbergasted. It is an astonishing space, surpassed only by Saint Peters in Rome to me anyway. I had studied it as a kid but only in books, and never paid much attention to the outside, so the surprise was magnificent. One of the great experiences of my life.
- _the_inflator 6y agoThe experience is absolutely overwhelming. Same here, I read about it, heard about it, also thought: "Damn it, looks like it could need a paint". This is so stunning. Moving from the outside to the middle was only a couple of meters but really an adventure. Something like the Grand Canyon in reverse, really hard to describe.
- gadders 6y agoI loved it, but I went there for the ancient Roman aspect and was kind of sad that that has been overlaid with the Roman Catholic stuff.
- linksnapzz 6y agoHad it not been for various popes, the structure would’ve been pulled down for building materials after the end of the Empire in the west.
- gadders 6y agoProbably true, but not the bit I was interested in or what makes the building special.
- OnlyOneCannolo 6y agoThe only reason it's still around is because it's been in continuous use for two millennia.
- gadders 6y agoYes, that's what the poster just above said to me as well. I'm not disputing that, but there thousands and thousands of Catholic churches but only one Pantheon.
- toyg 6y agoAnd you didn't even mention the tacky "King of Italy" coffins. I was discussing this yesterday with friends: the building is still a church but a few years ago it was sold to the State (so the Church doesn't have to be responsible for the upkeep...). This means the State could, in theory, throw out all the Catholic paraphernalia and ripristinate a classical-looking interior, if local government so wished. We don't have images of the original Roman statues but I'm sure there are plenty that could be moved in from other locations. It would be definitely something that would stir international attention and attract more funds (always good) and more tourists (not always good - it's debatable whether one of the most-visited hotspots in the city actually needs more attendance...) In any case, it will likely never happen; not only because of the massive outcry from religious quarters in "the" Catholic city, but also because a lot of the academic world is strongly opposed to this sort of "restauration" both on philosophical and practical grounds, after some massive missteps that lost us priceless artefacts in the previous centuries. It's a shame, I think a classical Pantheon would be superb, but that's life.
- onion2k 6y agoI'm not sure it counts as a 'building', but Stone Henge in the UK has been in use for more than 4000 years. It's also well worth a visit if you're at all interested in weird ancient stuff.
- Someone 6y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge#After_the_monument_(1600_BC_on) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge#After_the_monument_..., emphasis added: “The Y and Z Holes are the last known construction at Stonehenge, built about 1600 BC, and the last usage of it was probably during the Iron Age. Roman coins and medieval artefacts have all been found in or around the monument but it is unknown if the monument was in continuous use throughout British prehistory and beyond, or exactly how it would have been used. Notable is the massive Iron Age hillfort known as Vespasian's Camp (despite its name, not a Roman site) built alongside the Avenue near the Avon. A decapitated seventh-century Saxon man was excavated from Stonehenge in 1923. The site was known to scholars during the Middle Ages and since then it has been studied and adopted by numerous groups” So, it seems there may have been a thousand or so years it wasn’t in use. I think that puts the “still” part into doubt.
- DFHippie 6y agoIt's a little swamped with tourists and tour buses, though. If you want a place less overwhelmed with queues and cameras I suggest Avebury.
- edflsafoiewq 6y agoIsn't it right next to a highway?
- KineticLensman 6y agoStonehenge is approx 250 metres from the A303, which is one of the main routes into the South West UK. The A303 at the closest point is a single lane in each direction, and frequently very slow at that point, so isn't massively obtrusive in the sense that a 6-lane motorway would be. That said, there is a plan to dig a tunnel nearby to get rid of the road completely. Stonehenge is debatable as a visitor attraction, especially if you are in the UK only for a few days. By coach from London it is pretty much a full day, when there is a lot more history in London itself. In my opinion. Stonehenge itself (as opposed to the larger archaeological landscape) is small compared with Roman or Greek remains, so if you don't have an appreciation of the history of the place, may be underwhelming. It also gets crowded very quickly, although the fact that a close approach to the stones isn't usually possible means that everyone gets a view. Last time I went I arrived early, and got some great HDR images of the stones under an impressive moody sky. [Edit - I also agree about Avebury being worth a visit. You can walk amongst the stones themselves, which are almost part of a historically pretty village. The really impressive structures in the nearby vicinity in my opinion are the hill forts such as Old Sarum [0] near Salisbury and Maiden Castle [1] near Dorchester. These are truly massive Iron Age earthworks. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Sarum#Prehistory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Sarum#Prehistory [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maiden_Castle,_Dorset https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maiden_Castle,_Dorset
- arethuza 6y agoAnother remarkable building that is not quite so old (a mere ~1500 years) is the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia
- xenocratus 6y agoToo bad Turkey decided to convert it back from a museum to a mosque [1]. Guess I won't be visiting Istanbul, then... [1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53366307 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53366307
- arethuza 6y agoI'm sure you can still visit it even though it is a mosque - I've certainly visited many mosques in Turkey and other countries.
- cfontes 6y agoI've been there as a mosque and it was fine, I am agnostic but from a super Catholic family, didn't bother me or the rest of the group at all, it was quite cool. The smell thought, was super funky, I guess that is what carpets and 1000's of feets do :) You will be missing out, Turkey is a super cool country, awesome food, super very proud people. Haia Sofia is not even in the TOP 10 of my list of cool stuff to do in Istambul. I really hope to go back some day and spend a at least 2 weeks in the region next time.
- tsjq 6y agoWhat's in your list Top10 in Istanbul ? Curious
- arethuza 6y agoTurkey is (or at least was) a very popular holiday destination from the UK - and I've been loads of times. However, I did get a lot of grief at US immigration once when I was asked about all of the Turkish stamps in my passport... and had to spend twenty minutes or so explaining why I liked Turkey, which fortunately is pretty easy.
- 2rsf 6y agoThe Roman Herod's theater at Caesarea is also used for shows and is 2000 years old
- pezezin 6y agoThe Roman Theatre in Mérida is also 2000 years old, and it's used regularly every year for a very popular classical theatre festival. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Theatre_(M%C3%A9rida) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Theatre_(M%C3%A9rida) Visiting those super old buildings is really fascinating.
- pjmlp 6y agoAnd the Ancient Theatre of Philippi, which is from mid-4th century BC.
- coldcode 6y agoBuilding the Pantheon today would be a demanding feat, imagine building it 2000 years ago and even imagining the dome would hold up when you started the work, much less for 2000 years. Whoever the architect/engineer was, they were unbelievably bold.
- briancp 6y agoSince it’s made of unreinforced concrete, getting it permitted in almost any jurisdiction in the world would be exceedingly difficult. Which is somewhat ironic, as it’s the lack of corrodable reinforcing that’s enabled it’s extremely long lifespan.
- trianglem 6y agoCan plastic be used for reinforcement of the concrete in any way?
- adolph 6y agoThe ideal is a non-stretchy material. Concrete is strong under compression, but has weak tensile strength. Rebar significantly increases the tensile strength of the structure. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebar
- smegger001 6y agoYeah what you would really want is a carbon fiber or fiber glass rebar for reinforcement rather than steel to avoid corrosion.
- toyg 6y agoTechnically it has not, though. It was rebuilt twice, iirc, although the last time more than 1000 years ago.
- Tronno 6y ago
- matfior 6y agoI have been in Rome many times but I always pay a visit whenever I go back since it's my favourite monument there (never been a fan of St Peter, too much stuff in there). The setting is amazing since it's hidden inside the city and the structure itself it's a beautiful and impressive testament to the architectural prowess of the romans. There is truly nothing like it.
- mstade 6y agoDitto. Walking in to the Pantheon, especially off season when there aren't as many tourists, is like traveling back in time. I can't help but think about all the things that may (or may not) have happened in that space, and my imagination immediately runs wild. Whenever I find myself in Rome I have to go there, it's like a calling almost. I have much the same feelings when walking around Forum Romanum, my imagination runs wild there also. There's something about seeing those ruins that make my mind just rebuild them and I imagine their former glory so vividly it's almost like I can see it right in front of me. Rome is a very nice place to visit off season, I very much enjoy it.
- matfior 6y agoBest season (at least for me) is end of Spring, beginning of Summer. Not too hot, plenty of sun. Rome is an extremely complicated place to live in and navigate but its beauty can be sometimes out of this world.
- mstade 6y agoI couldn't agree more! Also in my experience this applies to a lot of other places in Italy as well. Sardinia for example is an absolute marvel end of May, early June, before the summer rush starts kicking into gear.
- apples_oranges 6y agoThere are also many amphitheatres still around and often in use (concerts and theatre performance) all over Europe (and beyond): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_amphitheatres https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_amphitheatres
- baybal2 6y agoNot to say, even some Greek ones are (which are often confused with Roman ones)
- hypertexthero 6y agoMy favorite building in Rome! Here is a recent photo: https://www.simongriffee.com/notebook/GRS-20201031-103011/ https://www.simongriffee.com/notebook/GRS-20201031-103011/
- kolbe 6y agoWhile reading this article, I thought “I don’t think Romans used rebar, and yet this still stands 2000 years later?” Turns out, someone on Quora had the same question, and the answer lies in the fact that Romans did not use the same recipe we use for concrete. They included volcanic ash, which creates a stronger chemical bond, and obviates the need for rebar to some degree. A quick google search shows there’s a small movement to alter our current Portland Cement mixture to include volcanic ash. https://www.quora.com/How-come-buildings-from-the-Roman-Empire-needed-no-steel-reinforcement-when-modern-buildings-do https://www.quora.com/How-come-buildings-from-the-Roman-Empi...
- coryrc 6y agoIt's the shape: everything is in compression. You could do it with modern concrete (w/o rebar) and it would also last a long time.