I sistemi di copertura nelle domus di età romana

The roofing system for houses from Roman times is currently one of the least studied aspects of ancient architecture. One reason is certainly to be found in the very few or almost inexistent archaeological remains: In fact, during an excavation substantial information is usually found concerning the foundation of the structures and on the walls, not surprisingly objects of thorough investigations, whilst the attics and roofs, by far the parts that are most difficult to conserve, are rarely found in the collapse. Therefore the lack of archaeological data is reflected in the manuals on architecture and building related to the Roman period where there are few references to the construction techniques, generally referred to the public buildings. The study of ancient sources (literary, epigraphic, iconographic), the analysis of the archaeological evidence (especially from the area around Vesuvius), the study of the way wooden roofs have been built in the modern era (before using laminated wood) and the study of wood itself was not neglected -as the main material used for roofs- all these studies have made it possible to understand what was known about the roofs of Roman houses; to understand what the constructive typologies were certainly used in the old; to identify the technical and dimensional parameters needed to propose correct reconstructions from a philological point of view, but also static; to understand the relation between the different types of roofing and the planimetry-sizeplanes. Finally, the set-up of the Domus 3D calculation program finally allows to dimension the roof beams and locate the tilting angles of the roofs based on the number of supposed planes in the building and the thickness and type of the wall structures.