In architecture, a dome is known as an arc shape which offers a structure for supporting a roof. The vaulted ceilings can be found throughout Europe, and were a significant aspect of medieval architecture, especially churches and cathedrals. A barrel vault is the simplest form of a vaulted ceiling. It gets its name from the fact that it represents a barrel cut in half lengthwise. The Sumerians were responsible for the first known examples of the barrel vault.
The domes represent the first known examples of vaulted ceiling, which date back to 6000 BC. These vaults were Khirokitia the Neolithic village in Cyprus. Apparently, the domes represent the top half of a sphere recessed. One of the most famous examples is in Rome, at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter. It has a dome ceiling with a dome on top. The domes were also popular in the Islamic world between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The fan vaulted ceiling arose in developing the four arc centers. It originated in a curve centered on every nerve, rather than have separate centers for transverse diagonal wall and intermediate nerves. A prominent example of a fan vault can be found in Cambridge, UK, in the chapel of King’s College.