What civilisation invented the arch?
The Etruscans were the first civilization to use an arch. The uses of the arch were limited because the arch did not fit in well with the classical architecture. They used the arch when building: gates, bridges and drains. As a point of interest, you should know that after the Romans conquered the Etruscans, they assimilated the arch to fit into their architectural scheme. It was not a Roman “invention”! http://www.richeast.org/htwm/Greeks/Romans/arch/arch.html Only with the Etruscans did the arch reach the formal importance, besides that structural, that this example puts in light.
