Vault (architecture)

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In architecture, a vault (French voûte, from Italian volta) is a self-supporting arched form, commonly of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while rings of voussoirs are constructed and the rings placed in position. Until the topmost voussoir, the keystone, is positioned, the vault is not self-supporting. Where timber is easily obtained, this temporary support is provided by centering consisting of a framed truss with a semicircular or segmental head, which supports the voussoirs until the ring of the whole arch is completed. The Mycenaeans (ca. 1800–1050 BC) built tholos tombs, also called beehive tombs, which were underground structures with conical vaults. This type of vault is one of the earliest evidences of curved brick architecture without the use of stone arches, and its construction represented an innovative technique for covering circular spaces.

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