Honduras -- The Mayan Ruins of Copan 8

The Mayan Arch

Most of us are familiar with the Arch. Wikipedia defines an arch as: " a curved structure capable of spanning a space while supporting significant weight (e.g. a doorway in a stone wall). " While I know some professionals who disdain the use of Wikipedia, this definition seems the most concise statement I know of. The Arch design we are familiar with (called "The Roman Arch" because the Romans used it extensively in their buildings) can be seen in this shot of the Richmond Fredericksburg and Potomac (now part of the CSX Railroad) railroad span across the Rappahannock River in the town of Fredericksburg VA. This beautiful structure was built to replace a series of bridges that were constructed at this spot by the RF&P at various times. Several of the earlier bridges were torn down/destroyed and then rebuilt during the various military actions involving the Fredericksburg area.

As you can see from this shot up on the terrace at Copan, the Mayans also used an arch in their buildings. It was, however, obviously different in design from the Roman Arch that we are most familiar with today. The important point to remember is that this arch design was developed independently by the Mayans.