Printing the Past: A Static Analysis of the Parthenon and Pantheon

My research is an interdisciplinary combination of modern mechanical engineering practices and ancient Greco-Roman architecture. I am investigating the post-and-lintel construction used by the ancient Greeks as well as the arches and domes constructed by the Romans using both bibliographic and testing aspects. My research consists of how these structures were planned, engineered, and constructed as well as comparing and contrasting the differences between them including time of construction, efficiency, and stress analysis. I then designed and printed 3D models of both post-and-lintel and arch structures using the printers on campus, and analyzed static factors in each structure including shear force, normal force, and moment diagrams. Based on each unit structure I printed simplified models of the Greek Parthenon and Roman Pantheon with proportionally accurate dimensions. Both of these major architectural feats exemplify the limits of civil engineering in each civilization using post-and-lintel as well as arches respectively. The purpose of 3D printing these models is to evaluate how this process and this relatively new technology benefits the field of archaeology and ancient architecture, fitting into the greater picture of the relevance of studying ancient architecture today, as well as utilizing modern technologies to understand the past.