The Romans adopted the principle of the crane from the Greeks and modified its design to create apparatus capable of lifting huge weights. Some of Rome’s most magnificent buildings undoubtedly benefitted from the use of cranes. The Pantheon, for example, has sections which weigh up to nine tonnes each and had to be lifted over nine metres. It is thought that the Romans used two types of crane. The first, the 'polyspastos', had a jib built from two timber beams in an inverted v-shape; the thickness and length of these beams would determine the weight the crane could carry. The second crane type, the 'rispastos', used a single beam jib and could be swung sideways but was not able to bear heavy loads.
