Structural assessment of the Roman wall and vaults of the cloister of Tarragona Cathedral

Abstract

The Mediterranean city of Tarragona was a capital city in Roman times. Nowadays, the remains of the ancient constructions coexist with many subsequent buildings. This is the case of the Gothic Cathedral cloister, whose walls partially take advantage of the remains of the temenos's wall. This paper focuses on the assessment of that unique overlapping of construction phases. The investigation is performed through an unprecedented topographical survey by means of massive data capture techniques. This information is the basis for the mechanical assessment of the equilibrium conditions of the northern corner of the gallery, which is performed on the well-known theoretical framework of limit analysis by means of thrust lines. The study allowed to enhance the understanding about the equilibrium conditions and the deformation processes of the gallery masonry elements, where the mechanical relation between the Roman and Gothic walls is essential.