What is the oldest dome in the world?
What is the oldest dome in the world? The earliest masonry dome, the Pantheon, was so heavy that engineers carved intricate shapes, called coffers, along the walls to reduce the weight of the enormous structure. They also gouged a hole, called an oculus, at the top, which created a daily light show for which the Pantheon is still famous.
What is the oldest dome in Europe?
Once a Roman temple, now a church, the building was completed by the emperor Hadrian around 126 AD. A miracle in terms of ancient architecture, the Pantheon's dome is the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.