Editing Ancient Roman architecture (section)

===Stone===
[[File:3223 - Roma - Santa Maria degli Angeli - Interno - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 17-June-2007.jpg|thumb|Frigidarium of [[Baths of Diocletian]], today [[Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri|Santa Maria degli Angeli]]]]

[[Marble]] is not found especially close to Rome, and was only rarely used there before [[Augustus]], who famously boasted that he had found Rome made of brick and left it made of marble, though this was mainly as a facing for brick or concrete. The [[Temple of Hercules Victor]] of the late 2nd century BC is the earliest surviving exception in Rome. From Augustus' reign the quarries at [[Carrara]] were extensively developed for the capital, and other sources around the empire exploited,<ref>Henig, p. 28</ref> especially the prestigious Greek marbles like [[Parian marble|Parian]]. [[Travertine]] [[limestone]] was found much closer, around [[Tivoli, Lazio|Tivoli]], and was used from the end of the Republic; the [[Colosseum]] is mainly built of this stone, which has good load-bearing capacity, with a brick core.<ref>Henig, p. 32</ref> Other more or less local stones were used around the Empire.<ref>Favro, (ii) Materials and construction techniques</ref>

The Romans were fond of luxury imported coloured marbles with fancy veining, and the interiors of the most important buildings were often faced with slabs of these, which have usually now been removed even where the building survives. Imports from Greece for this purpose began in the 2nd century BC.<ref>Henig, p. 22; Favro, (ii) Materials and construction techniques, which lists major quarries</ref>