8 Exceptionally Well Preserved Roman Buildings (Outside Italy)

The ancient Romans were masters of architecture in using cutting-edge techniques and materials and with the conviction that their empire would last forever it's no surprise that they built things to last. In this video we'll take a look at some of the best preserved Roman remains throughout the empire. This amazing Roman bridge spans the Tigris river in western Spain built in what was the Roman province of Lusitania during the reign of Emperor Trajan. It saw completion in 106 AD and it serves as one of the finest examples of Roman bridge building and a feat of engineering. The architect was a man named Gaius Julius Lacan. He inscribed the bridge with the following words this permanent bridge will remain forever in the world and for almost 2 000 years those words have remained true and it still serves its original purpose to this day. However due to its strategic position between Portugal and Spain it's seen a lot of action throughout history. It's been partially destroyed by the Spanish to stop the Portuguese in 1760 and later destroyed by Wellington to stop the French Grande Armée from invading Portugal during the Napoleonic wars but its restoration has been faithfully done. Stones for the repairs have been taken from the original quarry. The bridge is 181 meters long and it towers 45 meters over the Tigris river below. The triumphal arch in the middle of the bridge has been destroyed so many times very little of the original remains but it was dedicated to Emperor Trajan. One of the most iconic buildings of the Roman empire is of course the Colosseum in Rome and amphitheaters just like it were built all around the Roman empire and here in El Djem Tunisia we can see one of the best preserved amphitheaters in the world. This massive arena is considered to be the most impressive Roman remain in the whole of North Africa and it was made famous as one of the places where the Hollywood epic Gladiators was shot. It was built sometime during the third century entirely out of stone blocks and it was modeled after its slightly bigger brother in Rome. It's estimated amphitheater could seat around 35 000 people only the arenas in Rome and Capua were bigger. It's 148 meters long and 122 meters wide. After the fall of the Roman empire the structure was used as a fortress and the local people would hide in here when the vandals conquered North Africa and the amphitheater saw further destruction when the Ottoman attacked the arena in the 17th century destroying the western side of the building. Today it stands as a testimony to Roman power in North Africa. The city walls of Lucus Augusti, modern day Lugo, is the finest example of late Roman fortification in Western Europe. These walls were built during the third and fourth centuries. Despite renovation work carried out these walls conserved the regional layout stretching 2 100 meters and 85 towers protrude out of the wall. These walls safeguarded the inhabitants of the city from the increased barbarian threat in the late empire. While the walls no longer have the moat that would have surrounded them in ancient times it's still not difficult to imagine how intimidating these must have appeared to any potential aggressor These 10 meters high walls would have deterred all but the most determined foe and today these walls are kept in good condition and tourists are allowed to walk on top of them. Located in Pula, Croatia we find this temple dedicated to the first emperor Augustus. On the inscription of the temple we get a clue about when it was built. It reads in honor of Rome and Augustus Caesar son of the deified Julius, father of his country. So it was presumably built sometime late 1st century BC or very early 1st century AD. The temple was originally part of a triad of temples on the forum of Pula but only the temple of Augustus survives intact today. However parts of the back wall of another temple can be seen on the 13th century communal palace right next to the temple of Augustus. The temple would have been closed down in the 4th century during the prosecution of pagans in the late roman empire but it was later reopened during byzantine rule and converted into a church and later it was used for grain storage. By the late 19th century the temple was partly concealed by houses and unfortunately the temple was almost completely destroyed in an ally raid in 1944 but it was restored in 1947 to its original state which we can see today. Today it's home to a small museum of roman sculptures. While it's not as monumental in size as the temples we find in Rome and other major cities around the empire it still serves as one of the best examples of a roman temple in the early days of the empire. And not far away from this temple we find the Pula arena an amphitheater built sometime between 27 BC and 68 AD constructed before its larger counterpart in Rome but it bears many similarities to the Flavian amphitheater in Rome. The part facing the sea consists of three stories while the opposite part only has two stories as the amphitheater was built into a slope. It's 132 meters long and 105 meters wide and the wall stands 32 meters at its highest and it could approximately seat 23 000 spectators. The amphitheater was used for gladiatorial games until the 5th century when emperor Honorius prohibited gladiatorial combat. With the decline of the gladiatorial games the amphitheater began to see stones plundered by the local populace. As late as 18th century stone was being taken from the amphitheater for the foundation of the Pula cathedral. Throughout the middle ages the interior of the arena was used for racing and occasional tournaments by the knights of Malta and medieval fairs. And today the arena is used as a venue for many concerts and even a few hockey games have been held in the amphitheater. Located in northwestern Spain this magnificent lighthouse has been standing watch over the north atlantic on the spanish coast for more than 1 800 years. It's the oldest lighthouse in the world that's still in use today. It's 57 meters tall and it's still one of the highest lighthouses in Spain today. It's thought to be modeled after the famous lighthouse at Alexandria. It's known as the tower of Hercules because of the local myth that the greek hero Hercules slew the giant Crayon of the three days and three nights of continuous battle. And when his foe was defeated Hercules buried the giant's head and his weapons and ordered a city to be built on the location. The lighthouse on top of a skull and crossbones represent the buried head of Hercules slain enemy that appears in the coat of arms of the local city Acruña. Another myth about the lighthouse dated from the 11th century tells about the local celtic king called Breogan that he constructed this massive tower and his sons could see all the way to Ireland on top of the tower where they would eventually sail and become the descendants of the celtic ancestors of the current irish people. A massive statue of Breogan has been erected close to the The lighthouse has been in continuous use since its construction but saw massive renovation during the 18th century when it was redesigned in the neoclassical style we see today. On the southern coastline of Britain we find this amazingly preserved late roman fortification built in the late 3rd century when the empire saw increased piracy in the english channel. It probably served as a base from which the roman fleet defending britain operated. The romans abandoned britain in the 5th century however it's unlikely that the fort was completely abandoned occupying such a commanding position at the head of a huge natural harbor. A 10th century hall and tower were discovered inside the walls which suggests it was used as a high status residence or a small village during the saxon period. While the northwestern corner of the fort was rebuilt into a normand castle the roman walls remains largely intact some stones have been taken and a few bastions have been removed or destroyed. Together with the walls of Lugo it's one of the best preserved late roman military fortifications. In Thessaloniki Greece we find this rotunda built by the Tetrarch Galerius in the early 4th century. The rotunda would have had an oculus like the pantheon in Rome. The building's original purpose is still a bit of a mystery perhaps it was intended to be emperor Galerius' mausoleum or it was a pagan temple. However we do know that Galerius was never interred in the rotunda. Upon his death in 311 ad he was buried in Serbia. The rotunda was part of a larger imperial complex. The rotunda was converted into a christian church by emperor Theodosius the first and that's when it was decorated with high quality mosaics and it would remain a church for almost 1200 years until the ottoman conquest. When it was eventually converted into a mosque the minaret was added to the structure and it remained a mosque throughout the ottoman period when the greeks captured the city during the balkan war in 1912 it was once again reconsecrated as a christian church and despite the fact that Thessaloniki is prone to earthquakes this building has lasted the centuries largely thanks to its six meter thick walls and the solid construction techniques used for its construction. It's one of the older churches surviving in the world today. Hey guys thank you so much for watching the video this is actually the second video i've done on the well-preserved roman buildings so if your favorite building didn't make it in this video please check out the other one and if you still didn't find your favorite building please leave it in the comment below and i'll consider making yet another video just like this one thank you so much and i hope to see you in the next one