2015/05/06 by Paula Fuentes González, Santiago Huerta · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Engineering · #Historical Studies of Medieval Iberia #Masonry and Concrete Structural Analysis #Medieval Architecture and Archaeology #Vault (architecture) #Arch #Engineering #Structural engineering #Chapel #Forensic engineering #Computer science
paper · doi:10.1080/15583058.2015.1025456
openalex publication_date 2015/05/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
The vault of Villaviciosa is one of the oldest existing examples of a true ribbed vault, and is the first of the crossed-arch type. Although its perfection suggests earlier trials, none has been found so far. It predates the oldest Romanesque ribbed vaults by more than a century. Notwithstanding its importance, no construction and structural study has ever been done; neither has an accurate survey been published. The purpose of this article is to fill this gap in the history of vault construction. A detailed survey has been made, providing the first accurate drawings of the vault. A close inspection of the extrados, completed with a visual inspection of interior damages, has allowed ascertaining the main construction features. With the geometry and the material data a structural analysis has been carried out. This analysis explains the fundamental structural behavior of the vault and throws new light into some historical issues; for example, it leads to discarding the widespread belief that the ribs are decorative: they are supporting the weight of the vault.