<Li> <P> Parabolic arch </P> </Li> <P> True arches, as opposed to corbel arches, were known by a number of civilizations in the ancient Near East and the Levant, but their use was infrequent and mostly confined to underground structures, such as drains where the problem of lateral thrust is greatly diminished . A rare exception is the Bronze Age arched city gate of Ashkelon (modern - day Israel), dating to c. 1850 B.C. An early example of a voussoir arch appears in the Greek Rhodes Footbridge . Corbel arches were found in other parts of ancient Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas . In 2010, a robot discovered a long arch - roofed passageway underneath the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl, which stands in the ancient city of Teotihuacan north of Mexico City, dated to around 200 AD . In ancient Persia, the Achaemenid Empire built small barrel vaults (essentially a series of arches built together to form a hall) known as iwan, which became massive, monumental structures during the later Parthian Empire . This architectural tradition was continued by the Sasanian Empire, which built the Taq Kasra at Ctesiphon in the 6th century, the largest free - standing vault until modern times . </P> <P> The ancient Romans learned the arch from the Etruscans, refined it and were the first builders to tap its full potential for above ground buildings: </P> <P> The Romans were the first builders in Europe, perhaps the first in the world, fully to appreciate the advantages of the arch, the vault and the dome . </P>

Where did the romans get the arch from