Video from Toldinstone Footnotes
The Strangest Scenes on Trajan's Column
"Mysterious machines, dragons, skulls on spikes...there's a lot going on in the details of Trajan's Column at Rome." from video introduction
Trajan’s column Table of Contents Materials Construction Spiral Staircase Frieze Lifting the Blocks Placement Trajan’s Forum Triumphal Columns Purpose of Trajan’s Column Influence Museums Around the World History Trajan’s Life and Policies Dacian Wars Author Perceptions Summary References Engineering While the Ancient Romans made many impressive advances in the field of engineering, particularly civil engineering, Trajan’s Column remains high on the list of ambitious endeavors for its time. Apollodorus of Damascus, who designed Trajan’s Forum, is thought to be the designer behind Trajan’s Column as well. In this section, proposed building techniques for the column and the engineering behind it will be explored. Materials Research for this section was done using Lynne Lancaster’s “Building Trajan’s Column,” unless it is otherwise noted. The column, standing ninety-eight feet alone and about one hundred and twenty-six feet with its pedestal, is made entirely of Luna (also known as Carrara) marble. In total, there are twenty-nine Luna marble blocks weighing one thousand and one hundred tons. A bronze statue of Trajan is thought to have been atop the column when it was first erected; however, this piece of the monument was lost somewhere in the Middle Ages. On 4 December 1587, Pope Sixtus V crowned the column with a bronze statue of St. Peter, which remains to this day (see Figure 1). The foundation of the column consists of concrete and a cap of travertine, a common building material in Rome..." from the article: Trajan’s column