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Arch - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-31) |
 | | Arches were used by the Persian, Harappan, Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek and Assyrian civilizations for underground structures such as drains and vaults, but the ancient Romans were the first to use them widely above ground although it is thought that Romans learned it from the Etruscans. |
 | | The parabolic and catenary arches are now known to be the theoretically strongest forms, and they were introduced in construction by the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí, who admired the structural system of Gothic style, but for the butresses, that were designated by him "architectural crutches". |
 | | A vault is an application of the arch extended horizontally in two dimensions; the groin vault is the intersection of two vaults. |
| www.sciencedaily.com /encyclopedia/arch (909 words) |
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