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History tells us that the Pantheon is a Greek word meaning to honor all Gods (particularly the Olympian divinities). The first incarnation of this ancient temple was built by Agrippa, the son-in-law of the Roman Emperor Augustus, about 27 B.C. As with many cities, tragedy in the form of large fires seemed to strike Rome. Originally, many Roman buildings contained travertine (limestone rock) which easily cracked in fires. The first Pantheon was severely damaged and required replacement except for some parts of the lower porch section and foundation. The Pantheon was rebuilt by the Emperor Hadrian during the period 118 to 128 A.D.

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Michelangelo the great painter of the Sistine chapel once described the design of the Pantheon as an "Angelic and not human design." Rightly so, for it is indeed one of the most unusual structures ever built by human hands. The ancient Roman's ability to draw the intricate plans and select only the most successful time-proven construction techniques made this complex building possible. The following pictures show the beautiful interior.

Inside the Pantheon

The building design is one of a large round shape very much like a large barrel with a dome covering the top. There is a light-well in the center of the dome. Layers of beautiful thin brickwork cover the outside, round walls. Small access holes appear occasionally in the wall which were used during construction to frame interior voids. The main entrance is thoroughly impressive: double bronze doors 21 feet high (6.4 meters), a lasting and fitting contribution from their metal smiths. These doors are protected by a high, broad porch, made with 16 well arranged granite columns supporting a gable styled roof. The beams in the roof structure of the porch are wooden. They were substituted for bronze members stripped-out by those in later years needing metal for their canons.

The rotunda has a rather awesome inner diameter of 142.4 feet (43.4 m), made mostly of concrete.

Foundation

The Pantheon was built on marshy, unstable earth which gave a serious supporting problem to its builders. The Jutland Archaeological Society described in detail various aspects of the ring foundation; they found it rested on a bed of bluish colored river clay. This condition invited disaster, and in the final construction phase, the foundation cracked at the two ends of the North-South axis.

As you can imagine, if one section of a building settles slightly faster and lower than an adjacent section, very large bending stresses are initiated at a point between these two sections which can crack the concrete. And uneven settling was the problem given to the builders. The present-day engineering solution to this type of foundation problem is to drive piles through the clay to bedrock so the building will be firmly supported all the way around. The Roman builders chose a different approach. They built a second ring to hold the first ring from cracking further and to

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give the clay more area to support the structure. It worked because the building has lasted over 1800 years.

In addition to keeping the crack from extending, the builders placed buttress walls on the south side opposite the massive porch. This acted as a clamping device; and although the structural projection appears to be an additional room, it only serves the purpose of being part of the clamp.

Initially, the width of this ring foundation was 23'-7" (7.2 m) wide, only about 3 feet (0.9 m) greater than the walls it supported. The second ring that binds the original together is 10 feet (3.0 m) wide making the total width of the foundation about 34 feet. From the floor level to the bottom of the foundation is 15'-4" (4.7 m).

These rings are made of pozzolan concrete consisting of travertine pieces in layers held together by a mortar of lime and pozzolan. Interestingly enough, the Jutland Society's investigation showed the foundation material had become "rock hard," a case we might expect when we study the chemistry of pozzolanic reaction under these conditions.

Wall

The round wall may best be described as one containing many cavities and chambers on different levels. There is no evidence that a staircase system existed between these upper chambers, and we can assume their function along with other niches was to reduce construction materials together with the weight. This wall can be thought of structurally as a series of concrete piers separated at floor level by 8 very large niches equally spaced along the inner perimeter. The thick wall acts much like a buttress in supporting a thrust from the dome.

Two granite columns help support the ceiling in the niches. It is interesting to note that within these niches lie great kings of Italy, important popes, and at one time the famous painter Raphael.

The niches, as well as all other wall openings, have an archway of bricks, known as a relieving arch, to support the upper wall over the openings. The relieving arch is a semicircle of thin bricks standing radially on end extending in the concrete wall. This arch distributes upper loads to the piers during the long time the pozzolan concrete is curing, but after curing, it becomes an integral part of the wall. This archway of bricks was only part of the wall and did not extend into the dome. This type of arch is customary with Roman construction for that period. It is shown together with the niches and their columns in the following figure:

To dimension the wall is not an easy task. First, the standard overall width at the piers is about 20'-4" (6.2 m), but the curtain wall on the side of the large niches is reduced to 7'- 4" (2.2 m) thick. Inside the piers there are small cavities which are semi-circular in shape having a radius of 7'-8" (2.3 m). The logic behind this shape is unknown, but curved surfaces reduce concentration of stresses that are objectionable in structures. The entrance to the cavities is through a 3'-6" (1.1 m) passageway from the outside.

The outside height of the circular wall is 104 feet (31.7 m) which seems awesome when viewed from the door step. It is the height of about a 7-story office build-

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ing. The top cornice on the wall has an overhang of about 3'-8" (1.1 m) serving as an effective rain shield for the brick facing. The cornice is made of marble and has weathered well. This round wall is divided by two lower cornices. One is at 40'-4" (12.8 m) above the floor, and the other is higher at 71'-6" (21.8 m) from the floor. The latter serves as the spring line for the dome. The wall section becomes much thicker above the second cornice as the dome departs from the wall line.

Characteristic of all Roman walls of that time, the wall was tied together with a special horizontal layer of brickwork every 3'-11" (1.2 m). These bonding courses are made of tile-like bricks called bipedales (about 2 feet/0.6 m square) which extended completely through the wall. Brickwork on both sides of the wall was brought up with the placement of the concrete. This will be explained in later sections.

The composition of the wall has been documented by the Jutland Archaeological Society and by Lugli; they agree quite reasonably. The lower section near floor level consists of alternate layers of travertine fragments and fragments of tufa in a mortar of lime and pozzolana. The middle placement of the wall was alternate layers of pieces of tufa and broken tiles or bricks also in the same mortar. The uppermost level of the wall consists of concrete predominantly of broken bricks in mortar. The wall was made lighter as it was made higher, a remarkable example of gradation in their engineering planning.

Dome

The dome is an interesting and difficult feature to describe because its configuration is so unusual on both sides. The radii of the dome is 71'-2" (21.7 m) which serves as the basis for the original design. However, G. Cozzo (an Italian engineer) cast doubts on this figure and claimed it to be more like 82 feet (25.0 m).15 This is pointed out to show there are conflicts among the specialists who continue to study the Pantheon. In this case the former figure appears adequate. The relative thickness of the dome is reduced from 19'-8" (5.9 m) at the base to nearly 5 feet (1.5 m) at the top.

On the outside surface, there is a series of seven steprings half way up the dome, and then the dome line changes into a circular line. On the inside surface the dome contains a series of 5 bands made of waffle-like depressions called coffers. There are 140 coffers which required special forming for the waffle shape. At midpoint the dome contour changes from these coffers to a circular line. In the center of the dome is a large opening, the oculus.

The outside rings are not uniform, there are 7 rings, and the measurements scaled from drawings of the dome are meant to be purely descriptive. The first ring has its outside edge resting on the center of the main wall. It appears to be some 7.5 feet (2.3 m) thick with a horizontal distance to the next ring about this same distance. The remaining 6 step-rings are stepped inward much like placing a series of machine washers, one above the other with their diameters decreasing as they are stacked. The height of these 6 rings vary, and they are estimated to be 2'- 6" (0.8 m) on the average. The horizontal distance to the next of these smaller rings is estimated to be 4 feet (1.2 m). There is an exterior stairway leading through these rings to the oculus.

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Digressing for a moment, I can perceive the ancient construction practices applied to building this dome. It is known that the very old Mycenaean tombs in Greece were made by corbeling stone slabs over one another. Following this example in history, it is likely that the Romans used this principle in placing one step-ring on another in building this section of the dome. This work took a long time. The cementing materials properly cured and gained strength to support the next upper ring. The smaller step-rings are faced with semilateres (bricks)16 which gives credibility to the corbeling method. Each ring was built like a low Roman wall. The circular part of the upper dome was likely placed by using wooden scaffolding.

The compression ring (oculus) at the center of the dome is 19'-3" (5.9 m) in diameter and 4'-7" (1.4 m) thick. The ring is made of 3 horizontal rings of tile, set upright, one above the other; the ring is 2 bricks thick.16/17 This ring is effective in properly distributing the compression forces at this point. There is a bronze ring covering the lip dating back to the original construction, but other bronze plates on top of the roof have been removed and later replaced with lead plates.

According to the Jutland Archaeological Society investigations, the lower section of the dome is made of concrete with alternating layers of bricks and tufa; both have good affinity with the lime-pozzolan mortar which filled the voids. The upper dome above the step-rings (the top 30 feet/9.1 m) is concrete comprising about 9 inch lumps of light tufa and porous volcanic slag in alternating layers bonded with mortar.18 It was customary for the Romans to use larger stones in the dome concrete than in the walls. Selecting light stones for the aggregate is another case of gradation to get light-weight concrete, a process that seems to have been evolved about the middle of the first century B.C.

GUIDE TO ENGLISH CULTURE

WINDSOR CASTLE

Windsor Castle is the largest inhabited castle in the world and the oldest in continuous occupation. The enormous castle was begun by William the Conqueror on a typical Norman motte and bailey plan. William chose a commanding spot for his fortress, on a high (100ft) cliff overlooking the Thames River. He built up a mound of earth and erected a wooden palisade.

Though the castle has been expanded and enlarged numerous times over the subsequent centuries, the basic layout of William's plan can still be seen. Henry I replaced the wooden structure with a shell keep of stone, using stone quarried at Totternhoe in Bedfordshire. Henry II rebuilt the defenses and added a second bailey in 1175, and at the same time provided for more comfortable accommodation. Henry was fond of Windsor, and planted an herb garden and a vineyard here. It was Henry who built the first royal apartments, the foundations of which can still be seen in the basement of the present apartments.

The castle withstood two sieges in the early medieval period. Prince John attempted to take the throne in 1194, when his brother Richard I was out of the country. Nobles who remained loyal to the king tried and failed to wrest control of the castle

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from John. Later, when John was legitimately king, Windsor was unsuccessfully besieged again by the nobles as part of the hostilities which culminated in the signing of the Magna Carta.

Though Henry III contributed some minor building, the next major builder was Edward III. In the years following the Black Death in 1349 Edward lavished over £50,000 on Windsor Castle, making it the single largest crown building project of the Middle Ages. Edward was driven by a desire to match the French crown in architectural splendour. From that time on Windsor has stood as one of the principle residences of the monarch.

Later monarchs added to the complex of buildings we now know as Windsor castle. Henry VIII built the great entry gate which bears his name. The last major building took place under George IV when the tower was raised – at the cost of £1 million – to make it the highest of any castle tower in the country.

ST GEORGE'S CHAPEL

The grounds contain St. George's Chapel, one of the most beautiful examples of medieval church architecture in England. The chapel is the official home of the Order of the Garter. Every June an official gathering of the Order is held at Windsor Castle, and at that time any vacancies are filled with new members. The monarch and royal members of the order attend an official luncheon at the Waterloo Chamber, after which they walk in procession to a service at the Chapel. More on the Order of the Garter. St George's Chapel was begun in 1475 by Edward IV, and finished 50 years later.

Within the chapel are the tombs of 10 monarchs, including Edward IV, Charles I, George V and Queen Mary, and George VI. Also buried here is Henry VIII, who lies beside his favourite wife, Jane Seymour. Behind St George's Chapel is the entrance to the Albert Memorial, built by Queen Victoria in memory of her husband and consort, Prince Albert. Albert himself is buried in the Frogmore Mausoleum in the grounds of Windsor Great Park.

When the queen is in residence the Royal Standard flies atop the Round Tower. At other times the Union Jack is flown.

Visible across the river from the castle is Eton, home to one of Britain's most historic – and exclusive – public schools.

HALF-TIMBERED HOUSES

Half-timbered houses, their blackened oak beams showing the fissures and cracks of great age, the floors tilting crazily askew, these images are a part of the charm of medieval and Tudor England for visitors. But what was half-timbering, and why were the buildings we marvel at today built this way?

Until the 17th century England was blessed with an abundant supply of oak, which was the most common material used for timber framing.

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Oak is hard and durable, which in part explains why so many medieval halftimbered buildings have survived.

The term "half-timbering" refers to the fact that the logs were halved, or a least cut down to a square inner section. In other areas of Europe, such as Romania and Hungary, there was no comparable hard wood available, houses were more frequently constructed using whole logs.

Unlike modern framed buildings where the walls are installed outside and inside the frame, in half-timbered buildings the walls are filled in between the structural timbers.

Most commonly this infill was wattle-and-daub (upright branches interwoven by smaller branches and covered by a thick coat of clay mud), laths and plaster, or bricks.

A permiter footing of an impervious material like stone or brick was built first, then a sill beam laid on the footing. Upright beams were mortised into the sill beam. Timber framed houses are essentially big boxes, with upper "boxes" (stories) set upon lower ones.

Often the upper floors project out over the lower ones. There are several conjectures as to the reasons for this. One is that houses in cities were taxed on the width of street frontage they used. So a high, narrow house saved the owner money, yet to maximize interior space the non-taxed upper floors were lengthened. Also, the projecting upper floors helped protect the lower house from rain and snow in the days before gutters and down-pipes.

The construction methods used in half-timbering allow buildings to be easily dis-assembled and put up again elsewhere. This has helped salvage houses which would otherwise have been destroyed to make way for new development. Many medieval timber-framed houses have been re-erected at open air museums such as the Weald and Downland Museum at Singleton, West Sussex, and the Avoncroft Museum of Buildings at Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

By the 15th and 16th century timber framing began to be exploited for its decorative qualities. Timbers which had minimal structural importance were added to the frame, to enhance the decorative effect of dark wood set into whitewashed walls. The Jacobean period saw this use carried to extremes, such as in the photo shown here.

By the Jacobean period wood for timber framing was in short supply in England. For too many years wood had been used for building, heating, and for making charcoal.

Also, the great expansion of the British merchant fleet after the medieval period used up large quantities of wood. Finally, the introduction of cheap, easily available bricks after the Tudor period provided an attractive alternative to half-timbering.

By the way, the sloping, slanting, floors we see today in half-timbered buildings are not due to sloppy building practices, but a result of the natural warping of the wood as it aged. Also, the blackening of timbers was a natural aging effect. They were not treated or painted when built. It is only a desire of modern builders to provide a romanticised version of half-timbering that has produced imitation or black painted timbers.

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Aside from the museums mentioned above, some of the best examples of halftimbered houses that visitors can see today are in the town of Lavenham, Suffolk, Little Moreton Hall in Cheshire, and Lower Brockhampton manor in Herefordshire. A personal favorite is Baddesley Clinton, near Solihull, West Midlands.

LONDON ANTIQUE MARKETS

As a result of conducting annual tours for collectors to Great Britain and based on our own collecting hobbies, we have discovered that Britain is a grand hunting ground for collectibles of every type, from early antique items right on up to modern day collectibles.

High on our list of places to check out are the weekly antique street markets in and around London. There you can find literally everything, from choice early antiques to not-so-old Beanie Babies!

A word of caution - watch for fakes and reproductions, typically found anywhere antiques and collectibles are sold.

PORTOBELLO ROAD

Probably the most popular of the street markets for tourists is the famous Portobello Road antiques market, located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

While a few of the shops are open during the week, the majority of activity takes place every Saturday with an estimated 1500 dealers filling the streets and buildings for several city blocks.

On the negative side, the market is very crowded and noted for pick-pockets, so guard your purses and wallets. On the bright side, many of the best antiques found in Britain eventually make their way to Portobello Road.

Do you collect dolls, toys, teddy bears and juvenilia? Some of Britain's finest dealers have stalls at this market. Antique jewelry, fine china, silver, you name it, it's here. Because the market appeals highly to travelers, antique furniture is not commonly found.

Hours: While some dealers are ready by 7 or 8 AM, primary activity begins around 8:30 or 9 and runs until 4 or 5 in the afternoon, although you will see some dealers packing by mid day.

How to get there: Taxis are a great way to get around London, and typically inexpensive. You can also reach the market by Underground on the tube, exiting at Notting Hill Gate and follow the crowds or signs.

CAMDEN PASSAGE

A market that is less well known but equally fun to shop is Camden Passage, held every Wednesday and Saturday. Here also are dealers lining the narrow street and filling the adjacent buildings for a few blocks. It is not as large as Portobello

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Road market, but your chances of finding "a sleeper" are probably better at Camden Passage.

Their selection runs the gamut from Art Deco, Victorian treasures, watercolours and much, much more. Activity starts mainly after 8 AM and runs until 4, with some dealers packing up by mid day. Take the Underground Northern line to Angel station.

BERMONDSEY MARKET

For this market, held every Friday, you have to get up early and be there when the dealers are unpacking before dawn! Known as the market where the dealers shop, it is at the corner of Long Lane and Bermondsey street, and a torch (flashlight) might be handy if you arrive early enough.

It's a fun market to shop and chances of finding a bargain are best here, but it is not easy to get to by underground. Take the tube to London Bridge station, and from there it is a fair walk to the market. At this hour of the morning you might be better served to take a tax!

Other markets worth exploring include Camden Lock (Sundays), Covent Garden (Mondays), Alfies (daily, but primarily weekends) plus a host of others for those who have the time. Information is readily available at any tourist information centre or at your hotel.

HELPFUL HINT

Most hotels in London do not offer washcloths, so a package of hand wipes cut in half and discarded after use are a valuable item to carry. Take extra caution crossing streets, as the traffic is coming at you from the right, not the left! Many a tourist has ended up in the casualty ward as a result of looking left and stepping into the path of a fast moving car. For more traveler's tips see the free booklet offer below.

Britain for Collectors is written by Terry & Doris Michaud, internationally known in the world of teddy bear collectors. They have authored 5 books on collecting and regularly write features for magazines in the U.S. and abroad. In a partnership with Bill & Rosemary Hayes they conduct annual collector's tours to Great Britain.

TEA IN BRITAIN

Tea, that most quintessential of English drinks, is a relative latecomer to British shores. Although the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China, it was not until the mid 17th century that the beverage first appeared in England.

The use of tea spread slowly from its Asian homeland, reaching Europe by way of Venice around 1560, although Portuguese trading ships may have made contact with the Chinese as early as 1515.

It was the Portuguese and Dutch traders who first imported tea to Europe, with regular shipments by 1610. England was a latecomer to the tea trade, as the East India Company did not capitalize on tea's popularity until the mid-18th century.

Coffee Houses. Curiously, it was the London coffee houses that were responsible for introducing tea to England. One of the first coffee house merchants to offer tea was Thomas Garway, who owned an establishment in Exchange Alley. He sold

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both liquid and dry tea to the public as early as 1657. Three years later he issued a broadsheet advertising tea at £6 and £10 per pound (ouch!), touting its virtues at "making the body active and lusty", and "preserving perfect health until extreme old age".

Tea gained popularity quickly in the coffee houses, and by 1700 over 500 coffee houses sold it. This distressed the tavern owners, as tea cut their sales of ale and gin, and it was bad news for the government, who depended upon a steady stream of revenue from taxes on liquor sales. By 1750 tea had become the favoured drink of Britain's lower classes.

Taxation on Tea. Charles II did his bit to counter the growth of tea, with several acts forbidding its sale in private houses. This measure was designed to counter sedition, but it was so unpopular that it was impossible to enforce. A 1676 act taxed tea and required coffee house operators to apply for a license.

This was just the start of government attempts to control, or at least, to profit from the popularity of tea in Britain. By the mid 18th century the duty on tea had reached an absurd 119%. This heavy taxation had the effect of creating a whole new industry - tea smuggling.

Want to know where to get a really good "cuppa"? You could do worse than to start with The Parlour, South Molton, Devon, which was named winner of the 1999 Britain's Top Tea Place of the Year by the Tea Council.

Smuggling Tea. Ships from Holland and Scandinavia brought tea to the British coast, then stood offshore while smugglers met them and unloaded the precious cargo in small vessels. The smugglers, often local fishermen, snuck the tea inland through underground passages and hidden paths to special hiding places. One of the best hiding places was in the local parish church!

Even smuggled tea was expensive, however, and therefore extremely profitable, so many smugglers began to adulterate the tea with other substances, such as willow, licorice, and sloe leaves. Used tea leaves were also redried and added to fresh leaves.

Finally, in 1784 William Pitt the Younger introduced the Commutation Act, which dropped the tax on tea from 119% to 12.5%, effectively ending smuggling. Adulteration remained a problem, though, until the Food and Drug Act of 1875 brought in stiff penalties for the practice.

Tea Clippers. In the early 1800's ships carrying tea from the Far East to Britain could take over a year to bring home their precious cargo. When the East India Company was given a monopoly on the tea trade in 1832, they realized the need to cut the time of this journey. The Americans actually designed the first "clippers", or streamlined, tall-masted vessels, but the British were close behind. These clippers sped along at nearly 18 knots by contemporary accounts - nearly as fast as a modern ocean liner.

So great was the race for speed that an annual competition was begun for clippers to race from the Canton River to the London Docks. The first ship to unload its cargo won the captain and crew a hefty bonus.

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The most famous of the clipper ships was the Cutty Sark, built in 1868. It only made the tea run eight times, but for its era it was a remarkable ship. The Cutty Sark is now on exhibition at Greenwich.

Tea Customs. Afternoon tea is said to have originated with one person; Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford. In the early 1800's she launched the idea of having tea in the late afternoon to bridge the gap between luncheon and dinner, which in fashionable circles might not be served until 8 o'clock at night. This fashionable custom soon evolved into high tea among the working classes, where this late afternoon repast became the main meal of the day.

Tea Gardens. The popular pleasure gardens of Ranelagh and Vauxhall in London began serving tea around 1730. An evening of dancing and watching fireworks would be capped by tea. The concept caught on, and soon Tea Gardens opened all over Britain. Usually the gardens were opened on Saturday and Sunday, and an afternoon of entertainment and dancing would be highlighted by serving tea.

Tea Shops – that oh, so British establishment, can be traced to one person. In 1864 the woman manager of the Aerated Bread Company began the custom of serving food and drink to her customers. Her best customers were favoured with tea. Soon everyone was asking for the same treatment. The concept of tea shops spread throughout Britain like wildfire, not in the least because tea shops provided a place where an unchaperoned woman could meet her friends and socialize without damage to her reputation.

Tea and Pottery. What connection, you might be excused for asking, does tea have with the growth of the British pottery industry? Simply this: tea in China was traditionally drunk from cups without handles. When tea became popular in Britain, there was a crying need for good cups with handles, to suit British habits. This made for tremendous growth in the pottery and porcelain industry, and the prosperity of such companies as Wedgwood, Spode, and Royal Doulton.

KING ARTHUR IN BRITAIN - THE REAL HERO BEHIND THE MYTH

The time...early 5th century. As the Roman hold on Britain got progressively weaker and the Roman Empire tottered on into a creaky old age, England was subject to a fresh influx of settlers from the area of modern Germany. These settlers, tribes of Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians, may have first come to England as mercenaries in the Roman army. In the wake of the Roman withdrawal British leaders, perhaps under a powerful overking, Vortigern, hired these mercenaries for protection. Mercenaries can be helpful as long as they are paid, but when the money ran out the Germans rose in rebellion.

The Anglo-Saxons. These Germanic tribes are the "Anglo-Saxons" to whom we owe much of our tradition, language, and physical heritage. They poured in upon the Romanized Celts of Britain much as the Normans would do to them in later times, pushing the inhabitants of the island back into the hills of Wales and Cornwall, creating pockets of Celtic culture and language.

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