30438 - Archaeology of Roman Cities

Learning outcomes

In this lesson we will look closely at the features of urban civilization in the Roman world, focusing in particular on the characteristics of urban layouts, monuments and their evolution, the various forms of culture promoted in both Rome and its municipalities and colonies, mostly in Italy, from the Republic to the late imperial era.

Breaking this lesson into two parts allows for the didactic activity to be divided into looking at the center of power on one hand and at the Italian suburbs in the other, with some extension into the western and eastern provinces, with specific examples and themes. These themes will include the various aspects of figurative expressions and material culture that developed in various historic and cultural contexts. Students will be able, at the end of this lesson, to critically solve the problems examined, not only with useful instruments for understanding and the development of knowledge in this specific field, but also with the fundamental skills necessary for designing projects and carrying out research in the field of archeology.

Course contents

The course will be divided into two distinct modules (6+6 cfu).

The first module (6 cfu) will be dedicated to the Roman city, with particular attention to the urban development of Rome and the comparison with the urban phenomenon in the Middle Adriatic area.

Then the main typologies of Roman cities in the Italic area will be presented, with particular reference to the first forms of aggregation (praefecturae, fora, conciliabula), up to their subsequent administrative and urban structuring (federated cities, Roman colonies, Latin colonies, municipalities).

The second module (a further 6 cfu) will be devoted to the study of material culture, that is to say the study of artefacts characteristic of urban contexts with particular regard to Roman ceramics.

Both topics will be closely linked to the practical activity that will be possible to carry out in the field and in the laboratory within the framework of the research projects linked to the course, compatibly with logistical requirements.

 

First Module

The first part of the course, corresponding to the first module, includes a methodological introduction dedicated to the analysis of the sources for the study of the ancient city and the definition of the idea of city and citizenship in the Roman world.

Then the characteristic dynamics of the 'Urban Revolution' will be analysed, also through comparative procedures with different epochs and traditions, to then consider the genesis of the Italic city.

Ample space will also be devoted to the genesis of Rome itself, thanks to the recent excavations of the Palatine Hill, and to its architectural and urban development with particular reference to the monumental development of the Roman Forum, the Imperial Forums and the Campus Martius. Particular attention will be paid to the development of specific architectural and urban models that would later form the basis of the constitution of other Roman cities on the peninsula.

In order to better clarify the dynamics of the genesis and development of Roman town planning in the rest of the peninsula, a number of case studies from both the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian areas will also be presented. These urban experiences will be placed in their territorial contexts, examining in depth the theme of minor settlements (oppida, vici, pagi), of agrarian appoderament (centuriazione) and of the road system.

Finally, a number of case studies from the Middle Adriatic area will be considered that present specific characteristics from those well known from the Tyrrhenian area. At this stage, first-hand information will be drawn from ongoing research, such as that in the Roman municipality of Suasa, the city of Asculum and the Sanctuary of Monte Rinaldo in the Marche region, i.e. field projects in which students may ask to participate.

 

Second Module

The topics examined in the second module of Archaeology of the Roman City will focus on the relationship between urbs and civitas, concentrating on life in the Roman city through the study of material culture

Therefore, it will first be presented the informativeness of artifacts from urban contexts. Through the analysis of specific contexts (e.g., Arezzo, Scoppieto, Suasa, Asculum, Ostia, Ancona, Rome and the Monte Testaccio), various aspects related to the study of artifacts will be explored, with particular reference to the Archaeology of production, of consumption, of trade, and of discarding.

Cultural considerations will then be added, observing the artifact as an expression of the culture of its user: the proposed examples will relate to the Adriatic area, analyzing the material culture found at various sites to reveal the dynamics of Romanization in that area.

Finally, a number of lessons will be devoted to an in-depth study of the main ceramic classes of the Roman period, with special reference to black-gloss pottery, Italic and Northern Italic terra sigillata, thin-walled pottery, common and kitchen wares and amphorae.

The course may be completed by the practicum workshop on Hellenistic and Roman material culture (recommended but not required), that will be held between December 2023 and January 2014. It will focus on the documentation of ceramic artifacts from Bologna University’s excavations in the Adriatic and Ionian areas (Suasa, Monte Rinaldo, Phoinike, Butrint). After presenting the basics of correct graphic and photographic documentation, the importance of collecting data in a single functional document for study will be stressed.

For a presentation of the sites under study, please refer to the following links:

https://cumarcheologia.it/

http://www.progettosuasa.it/

Readings/Bibliography

First Module (6 cfu)

Students attending the course will be required to study:

Lecture notes with the aid of the presentations available on the course website.

In addition, they will be required to study a mandatory textbook, recommended for archaeology students, or a mandatory textbook and a reading recommended for archaeology students:

Mandatory textbook for archaeology students:

N. Terrenato, La grande trattativa. L'espansione di Roma in Italia tra storia e archeologia, Carocci 2022.

Mandatory textbooks for art history students:

Paul Zanker, La città romana, Laterza 2015 (ebook) or Roberto Meneghini, Riccardo Santangeli Valenziani, I Fori Imperiali, Carocci 2023.

A. Carandini, Roma. Il primo giorno, Laterza 2007 (reading book).

 

Students who will not be attending class are required to study the following text in addition to those already indicated above:

P. Gros, M. Torelli, Storia dell’urbanistica. Il mondo romano, Laterza 2010, pp. 5-270 (without the last part about cities of the provinces).

Students who also take the Archaeology of the Ancient City exam are required to study the following text instead of the textbook:

P. Gros, L'architettura romana. Dagli inizi del III secolo a. C. alla fine dell'alto impero, Longanesi 2001, pp. 134-300 (Edifici del centro monumentale: templi, fori, basiliche, curie).

 Second Module (6 cfu)

Students attending the course will be required to study:

Lecture notes with presentations available on the course website;

M. Ceci, R. Santangeli Valenzani La ceramica nello scavo archeologico. Analisi, quantificazione e interpretazione, Roma 2016

E. Panero, Nella bottega del vasaio romano, in G. Bejor, M.Castoldi, C. Lamburgo, E. Panero, Botteghe e artigiani. Marmorari, bronzisti, ceramisti e vetrai nell’antichità classica, Milano Mondadori 2016, pp. 163-207.

Students who do not attend the course will be required to study in addition to the manuals already indicated above also the following texts:

D. Gandolfi, Ceramica e archeologia: qualche nota introduttiva, in D. Gandolfi (a cura di), La ceramica e i materiali di età romana. Classi, produzioni, commerci e consumi, Bordighera 2005, pp. 15-34.

THREE readings of your choice from the following:

a) L Brecciaroli Taborelli, Ceramiche a vernice nera, in D. Gandolfi (a cura di), La ceramica e i materiali di età romana. Classi, produzioni, commerci e consumi, Bordighera 2005, pp. 59-103.

b) A. Ferrandes, Gli artigiani e Roma tra alta e media età repubblicana, in Gli artigiani e la città. Officine e aree produttive tra VIII e III sec. a.C. nell'Italia centrale tirrenica, Atti della Giornata di Studio (Roma - British School at Rome, 11 gennaio 2016), Scienze dell’Antichità 23.2 , 2017, pp. 21-53. disponibile anche su academia.edu: https://www.academia.edu/36223654/2017_Gli_artigiani_e_Roma_tra_alta_e_media_et%C3%A0_repubblicana?auto=download

c) G. Pucci, Terra Sigillata Italica, in Aa. Vv., Atlante delle forme ceramiche, II. Ceramica fine romana nel bacino mediterraneo (tardo ellenismo e primo impero), suppl. EAA, Roma 1985, pp 359-380.

d) L. Gervasini, La ceramica a pareti sottili, in D. Gandolfi (a cura di), La ceramica e i materiali di età romana. Classi, produzioni, commerci e consumi, Bordighera 2005, pp. 279-310.

e) B. Bruno, Le anfore da trasporto, in D. Gandolfi (a cura di), La ceramica e i materiali di età romana. Classi, produzioni, commerci e consumi, Bordighera 2005, pp. 353-394.

 

Bibliography


(Texts not mandatory but useful for further study)

 

About Rome:

H. Von Hesberg, P. Zanker (a c.), Storia dell'architettura italiana. Architettura romana. I grandi monumenti di Roma, Milano 2009;

A.M. Monaco, Korai, imagines clipeate, statue ducum triumphali effigie nel foro di Augusto: nuove ipotesi, in Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene, pp. 335-359 (disponibile su academia.edu).

A. Carandini, R, Cappelli (a c.), Roma, Romolo, Remo e la fondazione della città, Electa 2000, pp. 68-73, 95-150, 275-280.

 

About Roman Urbanism:

H. Von Hesberg, P. Zanker (a c.), Storia dell'architettura italiana. Architettura romana. Le città d'Italia, capitoli 1-2, 8-10, 13-15, 19-20, Milano 2012;

 

About Middle Adriatic Cities:

M. Silani, Città e territorio: la formazione della città romana nell'ager Gallicus, Bologna 2017;

F. Vermeulen, From the mountains to the sea. The Roman Colonisation and Urbanisation of Central Adriatic Italy, pp. 61-107 oppure 108-160 (Colonisation and Consolidation);

E. Giorgi, F. Demma, Riflessioni sulla genesi e lo sviluppo urbano di Asculum nel Piceno. Dalla città federata alla colonia romana, in Atlante Tematico di Topografia Antica 28 (2018), pp. 26.

E. Giorgi, Suasa: genesi e sviluppo di un municipio romano dell’agro gallico, in « Atlante Tematico di Topografia Antica » 30 (2020), pp. 95-114.

E. Giorgi, Le necropoli di Suasa: la cultura funeraria di un centro romano dell'ager Gallicus, in G. Lepore, B. Muka (a c.), L’archeologia della morte in Illiria e in Epiro. Contesto, Ritualità e Immagini tra età ellenistica e romana, Roma 2020, pp. 409-434;

E. Giorgi, Diramazioni della Salaria sul versante adriatico, in «Atlante Tematico di Topografia Antica», 31 (2021), pp. 147-166;

E. Giorgi, L’appoderamento agrario dell’agro suasano alla luce delle nuove ricerche, in «Agri Centuriati», 18 (2021), pp. 9-26.

Teaching methods

Lectures will be seminar-based in nature with the use of presentations and extensive reference to case studies in which research is being carried out and in which students will be able to participate, subject to logistical constraints.

Additional seminars and lectures will be organised on specific topics, including hosting other researchers working on relevant aspects.

During lectures and seminars students will be asked to actively participate in the course of the lectures.

Compatible with the number of students, some in-class readings (taken from the Bibliography) may be proposed for critical discussion.

At the end of the course, students will be given the opportunity to participate in a workshop on the ceramics of the Roman municipality of Suasa.

Assessment methods

 

 

The Exam (Interview)

The learning assessment for students attending the course will also be based on the evaluation of active participation in discussions and other learning activities, such as lectures and critical readings in class.


The final grade will be established by means of an oral examination in which at least 3 questions will be asked in relation to the main topics addressed in the course of the lectures.


The interview will be opened by the candidate with a topic of his/her choice (first question) to be followed by two follow-up questions on the other topics (two questions). Further in-depth questions may be requested if necessary to facilitate the assessment.


For the first module, the topics may be, for example:


1. Urban Genesis in the Italic Area;


2. Urban and Monumental Development of Rome;


3. Genesis and Development of the Middle Adriatic City;


For part 2 of the course (6 cfu) the topics could be, for example:


1. Ceramics in Archaeology;


2. Roman Ceramics;


3. The Material Culture of the Middle Adriatic Roman Cities.


For non-attending students, the colloquium will focus on the same themes with particular reference to the volumes studied.


For non-attending students, the colloquium will focus on the same themes with reference to the volumes studied.

 

Modalities of evaluation

The following evaluation parameters will be adopted, for attending students and non-frequenting students.

Attending Students

Excellent evaluation (30 and praise-28): active participation of the student in the lessons; the student will have to demonstrate the possession of high level knowledge, the ability to interpret the landscape problems correctly and showing a certain autonomy of reasoning. The student will demonstrate the ability to move well within the "parure" of sources presented in class. Excellent oral expression skills including in the technical languages presented.

Good grade (27-23): The student has attended the course and will demonstrate possession of knowledge at a good level, but mainly mnemonic; the interpretation of the problems proposed will be correct, but not always precise and autonomous. The language used will be appropriate with some problems in the more technical aspects.

Sufficient rating (22-18): The student has attended the course, demonstrates possession of the basic knowledge of the discipline, but assumed in mnemonic form; the interpretation of the problems is mostly correct, but conducted with inaccuracy and little autonomy. The language used will be fair, but lacking in technical language.

Insufficient evaluation: the lack of acquisition of the basic concepts of the discipline, combined with a poor ability to make use of the sources presented and an adequate language will be evaluated with insufficient score, which provides for the repetition of the exam.

Non-Frequenting Students
Non-frequenting students will be evaluated primarily on the basis of their ability to gain awareness of the issues inherent in Landscape resulting from manual and bibliographic study, combined with adequate language.

Excellent evaluation (30 cum laude -28): the student will demonstrate a solid understanding of the subject matter, the demonstration of a critical sense in evaluating the sources to be drawn upon in reconstructing the ancient landscape. He/she will express him/herself in language appropriate to the subject, even in its technical parts.

Good evaluation (27-23): the student will demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of the subject, but will not have fully succeeded in developing a critical sense, with verbal expression and reasoning on the issues proposed not always perfect.

Sufficient rating (22-18): the student will demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the subject matter, but will have failed to develop a critical sense, with verbal expression and reasoning on proposed problems not fully satisfactory.

Insufficient assessment: lack of acquisition of basic concepts of the discipline, coupled with a poor ability to make use of the sources presented and adequate language will be assessed with an insufficient score, which requires retaking the exam.

 

Teaching tools

The presentations used during the lessons are available on the web portal of the course.

Office hours

See the website of Enrico Giorgi

See the website of Anna Gamberini