List of ancient spiral stairs
The list of ancient spiral stairs contains a selection of Greco-Roman spiral stairs constructed during classical antiquity. The spiral stair is a type of stairway which, due to its complex helical structure, has been introduced relatively late into architecture. Although the oldest example dates back to the 5th century BC,[1] it was only in the wake of the influential design of the Trajan's Column that this space-saving new type permanently caught hold in ancient Roman architecture.[2]
![](../I/Trajans-Column-lower-animated.svg.png.webp)
Apart from the triumphal columns in the imperial cities of Rome and Constantinople, other types of buildings such as temples, thermae, basilicas and tombs were also fitted with spiral stairways.[2] Their notable absence in the towers of the Aurelian Wall indicates that they did not yet figure prominently in Roman military engineering.[2] By late antiquity, separate stair towers were constructed adjacent to the main buildings, like in the Basilica of San Vitale.
The construction of spiral stairs passed on both to Christian and Islamic architecture.
Spiral stairs
Monument | Location | Country | Date of construction | Height | Number of stairways | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Temple A[1] | Selinunte | Italy | c. 480 BC | 2 | ||
Temple of Bel[3] | Palmyra | Syria | 1st century | |||
Trajan's Column[4] | Rome | Italy | 113 | 29.68 m | 1 | 14 steps per turn |
Column of Marcus Aurelius[5] | Rome | Italy | Late 2nd century | 29.62 m | 1 | 14 steps per turn |
Baths of Caracalla[6] | Rome | Italy | 212–216 | 2 | ||
Baths of Diocletian[6] | Rome | Italy | 298–305 | 4 | ||
Round Temple at Ostia[6] | Rome | Italy | 3rd century | 1 | ||
Santa Costanza[6] | Rome | Italy | c. 350 | 1 | ||
Tomb of Galerius[6] | Thessaloniki | Greece | Early 4th century | 2 | ||
Imperial Baths[6] | Trier | Germany | Early 4th century | 8 | ||
Column of Theodosius[7] | Constantinople | Turkey | 386–393/4 | c. 50 m[8] | 1 | Total former column height |
St. Gereon's Basilica[9] | Cologne | Germany | Late 4th century | 16.50 m[A 1] | 1 | |
Column of Arcadius[7] | Constantinople | Turkey | 401–421 | c. 46.09 m[10] | 1 | Total former column height |
Basilica of San Vitale[11] | Ravenna | Italy | 527–548 | 2 | A pair of stair towers | |
Gate of the Great Palace[12] | Constantinople | Turkey | 532[A 2] | ? | ? | Procopius (Pers. 1.24.43) refers to sortie down a spiral stairway |
Sangarius Bridge[13] | Adapazarı | Turkey | 559–562 | 10.37 m[A 3] | 1 | Located in pier of triumphal arch at entrance of bridge |
Gallery
- Column of Marcus Aurelius. An almost 30 m high spiral staircase winds up inside, with 14 steps per full turn.
Footnotes
- Ancient staircase preserved to this height
- Date of evidence
- Height of arched doorway
References
- Beckmann 2002, p. 354; Ruggeri 2006, p. 77
- Beckmann 2002, pp. 353–356
- Beckmann 2002, p. 355
- Jones 1993, pp. 28, 31
- Jones 1993, pp. 28, 38
- Beckmann 2002, p. 354
- Beckmann 2002, p. 352
- Gehn, Ulrich (2012). "LSA-2458: Demolished spiral column once crowned by colossal statue of Theodosius I, emperor; later used for statue of Anastasius, emperor. Constantinople, Forum of Theodosius (Tauros). 386-394 and 506". Last Statues of Antiquity. Oxford University. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- Schäfke 1984, p. 102
- Gehn, Ulrich (2012). "LSA-2459: Demolished spiral column once crowned by colossal statue of Arcadius, emperor. Constantinople, Forum of Arcadius. 401-21". Last Statues of Antiquity. Oxford University. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
- Rasch 1985, p. 123, fn. 27
- Beckmann 2002, p. 349
- Whitby 1985, p. 129
Bibliography
- Beckmann, Martin (2002), "The 'Columnae Coc(h)lides' of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius", Phoenix, 56 (3/4): 348–357, doi:10.2307/1192605, JSTOR 1192605
- Gehn, Ulrich (2012). "LSA-2458: Demolished spiral column once crowned by colossal statue of Theodosius I, emperor; later used for statue of Anastasius, emperor. Constantinople, Forum of Theodosius (Tauros). 386-394 and 506". Last Statues of Antiquity. Oxford University. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- Gehn, Ulrich (2012). "LSA-2459: Demolished spiral column once crowned by colossal statue of Arcadius, emperor. Constantinople, Forum of Arcadius. 401-21". Last Statues of Antiquity. Oxford University. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- Jones, Mark Wilson (1993), "One Hundred Feet and a Spiral Stair: The Problem of Designing Trajan's Column", Journal of Roman Archaeology, 6: 23–38, doi:10.1017/S1047759400011454, S2CID 250348951
- Rasch, Jürgen (1985), "Die Kuppel in der römischen Architektur. Entwicklung, Formgebung, Konstruktion", Architectura, vol. 15, pp. 117–139
- Ruggeri, Stefania (2006), Selinunt, Messina: Edizioni Affinità Elettive, ISBN 88-8405-079-0
- Schäfke, Werner (1984), Kölns romanische Kirchen. Architektur, Ausstattung, Geschichte, Köln, ISBN 3-7701-1360-8
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Whitby, Michael (1985), "Justinian's Bridge over the Sangarius and the Date of Procopius' de Aedificiis", The Journal of Hellenic Studies, The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies, 105: 129–148, doi:10.2307/631526, JSTOR 631526, S2CID 162501276
Further reading
- Lancaster, Lynne (1999), "Building Trajan's Column", American Journal of Archaeology, 103 (3): 419–439, doi:10.2307/506969, JSTOR 506969, S2CID 192986322
External links
Media related to Roman stairs at Wikimedia Commons
- Traianus – Technical investigation of Roman public works