at Stonehenge) and with the Sun (including the summer solstice). It is also thought that
the complex served as a place in which ancient rites and rituals were performed on signif-
icant days of the year. And it was all built without the help of computers.What are the modern connectionsbetween architecture and mathematics?
The foundations of modern architecture began with mathematics. Mathematical plan-
ning goes into creating almost every working, free-standing structure, from the small-
est monument to the tallest buildings and bridges. For example, in order to build a
structure, the area where the building will be erected must be measured to see if it
will fit (measurements and surveys); then the building plans need to be drawn up in
scale drawings made proportionally smaller to the structure’s real size (for more infor-
mation, see below); and the amount of building material must be estimated (mathe-
matics to figure out the budget). Finally, the actual structure must be built to specifi-
336 cations so the building will stand without collapsing (geometry and measurement).
Who was Vitruvius?
M
arcus Vitruvius Pollio (c. first century BCE) was a Roman writer, architect,
and engineer. He was the author of De Architectura libri decem,known
today as The Ten Books of Architecture. This Latin treatise, dedicated to Octa-
vian, the heir and adopted son of Julius Caesar, was written around 27 BCE. (For
more about Octavian, see “Mathematics throughout History.”)Possibly the first works published about architecture, the books entailed a
compilation of architectural ideas of Vitruvius’s day and covered the following ten
subjects: principles of architecture; history of architecture and architectural
materials; Ionic temples; Doric and Corinthian temples; public buildings, the-
aters, music, baths, and harbors; town and country houses; interior decoration;
water supply; dials and clocks; and mechanical engineering with military applica-
tions. Specifically, the topics included such forward-thinking ideas as the manu-
facture of building materials and dyes (material science), machines for heating
water for public baths (chemical engineering), amplification in amphitheaters
(acoustical engineering), and the design of roads and bridges (civil engineering).De architecturawas wildly successful, and Vitruvius’s architectural advice
was followed for centuries. But because Vitruvius’s books were passed down
through the ages, they were copied by various people, especially throughout the
middle ages. Many medieval engineers added information to the texts, treating
the books as handbooks, not documents to be preserved. In the end, historians
have had to winnow away the added sections to find the true writings of Vitruvius.