It is a groin vault with clearly marked ribs at the point of penetration of the barrels. Compared to the previous groin vault, the new use of the ribs allowed the weight of the vault to be shifted to columns or pillars reinforced with ancillary columns. The rib vault was lighter, it did not require a massive wall on which it would have to support. The rib vault appeared at the end of the 11th century in early gothic buildings, for example, in Durham Cathedral, Caen, Cefalù. Based on this basic gothic vault, many variations of lighter forms, with smaller and more decorative divisions developed later. Among them were: stellar vaults from the fourteenth century and diamond vaults from the 15th century.
