DSST Art of the Western World Exam Prep

Answer - D - Rib vaults were first used in Durham Cathedral.

Key Takeaway: Rib vaults are vaults in which the diagonal arches form rib-like patterns in order to support the roof. The rib vault technique was new to the Romanesque era and was first used in the roofs on the choir side of the Durham Cathedral at the end of the eleventh century. Early uses of the ancestors of the Gothic rib vault can be found in other parts of Durham and at Caen.