Model of a roman arch with centering The purpose of this model is to demonstrate the steps involved in the construction of a roman arch, using a centering to hold the structure in place until completion, at which point the arch becomes self-supporting. The elements of the arch and centering The piers are built first Then we install the centering We lay the voussoirs on the centering The keystone completes the arch We lower the centering We extract the centering The arch is complete