81709 - Archaeology of the Ancient City (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The student, at the end of the class, will be familiar with the methods necessary for investigations both in the area of preventative and emergency urban archeology and of abandoned sites. To reach this result, the student, initially, will acquire the necessary knowledge base to understand the shape and development of ancient cities and their main architectonic features.

Course contents

The course will address the issues of archaeological research in urban areas with reference both to sites with a continuity of life (urban archaeology) and to abandoned towns with a focus on the Hellenistic and Roman periods in the Mediterranean area.


In all cases, the archaeology of ancient cities will be linked to the historical geography of the places where these sites developed and to the archaeology of the surrounding landscape.


Particular emphasis will also be placed on the in-depth study of some methodological aspects that make urban archaeology and the archaeology of the city in general a modern discipline, with the capacity for dialogue with experts from different backgrounds.

 

The first part of the course, of a methodological nature, will be focused on the main problems of urban archaeology and the development of the most innovative methodologies for the archaeological investigation of abandoned towns. Particular space will be given to the characteristic methods of preventive archaeology (Remote Sensing, Geophysics, Topography) and to the drafting of potential maps based on the study of geomorphology and therefore on the reconstruction of palaeoenvironments.


in addition, the main features of ancient cities will be presented, with particular reference to forms of citizenship (politeia/civitas), structuring of the population and urban planning (oppidum, vicus, pagus, urbs/kome, chora, asty, polis) in the Greek (poleis and federal systems) and Roman contexts (federated cities, Roman colonies, Latin colonies, municipalities, praefecturae, fora, conciliabula).


Finally, the typical morphological characteristics of planned urbanism will be analysed in both morphologically conditioned areas (terraced/scenic urbanism) and in flat areas (regular Hippodamean/Roman urbanism).

The second part of the course will be dedicated to the genesis and monumental development of Rome and to the urban phenomenon in a particular region of Greece corresponding to ancient Epirus, attempting to compare the dynamics characterising the various case studies through dialogue and discussion in the classroom.


With regard to the early Rome, the recent excavations on the Palatine will be considered and special attention will be given to the urban renewal programme of the Roman Forum, the Imperial Fora and the Campus Martius.


With regard to Epirus, the forms of aggregation that led to the genesis and development of the city will be analysed, with reference to the differences that characterise this area compared to other regions of Greece with a greater urban tradition such as Athens itself. In order to develop this theme, reference will also be made to some sites that are still under investigation, such as Phoinike and Butrint with their respective territories.

 

Other Teaching Activities and Field Research


As part of the course, a number of opportunities will be organised to meet with other archaeologists involved in the investigation of ancient cities, in order to explore specific topics and case studies.


Right from the start of the course, some research projects of the University of Bologna on ancient cities such as Butrint in Albania, Suasa and Monte Rinaldo in the Marche region will be presented.


Students attending the course and those wishing to devote their thesis to these topics will be offered the opportunity to participate in field research, subject to logistical availability.

 

Please refer to the project websites for further details:

https://site.unibo.it/butrint/en

https://cumarcheologia.it/

http://www.progettosuasa.it/

Readings/Bibliography

The students attending this course will need to study, besides attending the lessons, the following mandatory book:

F. Fabiani, L'urbanistica: città e paesaggi, Carocci 2014.

 

Students who do not attend this course will need to study the following mandatory book:

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

 

The foreign students attending this course may replace the mandatory manual in Italian with the following text:

N. Terrenato, The Early Roman Expansion into Italy, Cambridge University Press 2019.

 

Students who also support the course of Archeology  of the Roman city will need to study the following mandatory book:

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).

 

Reference bibliography
(Not mandatory but useful for optional further reading)

 

About Ancient Cities:

G. Childe, La Rivoluzione Urbana, Rubettino 2004 (1a ed. 1950);

C. Ampolo (a c.), La città antica, Laterza 1980;

C. Bearzot, Il federalismo greco, il Mulino 2014;

C. Bearzot, La polis greca, il Mulino 2009.

 

About Ancient Urbanism:

E. Greco, Ippodamo di Mileto. Immaginario sociale e pianificazione urbana nella Grecia classica, Pandemos 2018.

L.M. Caliò, Asty. Studi sulla città antica, Quasr 2012.

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

H. Von Hesberg, P. Zanker (a c.), Storia dell'architettura italiana. Architettura romana. Le città d'Italia, Milano 2012.

P. Gros, M. Torelli, Storia dell’urbanistica. Il mondo romano, Laterza 2010, pp. 5-270 (senza l'ultima parte sulle città provinciali);

E. Lippolis, M. Livadiotti, G. Rocco, Architettura greca. Storia e monumenti del mondo della polis dalle origini al V secolo, Bruno Mondadori 2007;

M. H. Hansen (ed.), A Comparative Study of Thirty City-State Cultures, Copenhagen 2000.

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

 

About Epirus:

L. Mancini, Edilizia di culto presso gli ethne dell’Epiro. Architettura e paesaggi del sacro alla periferia nord-occidentale della Grecia, Quasar 2022.

E. Rinaldi, Agorai ed edilizia pubblica civile sull'Epiro di età ellenistica, Bologna University Press 2020;

E. Giorgi, J. Bogdani, Il territorio di Phoinike in Caonia. Archeologia del paesaggio in Albania meridionale, Bologna 2012.

 

About Methodology:

F. Vermeulen, G.-J. Burgers, S. Keays and C. Corsi (eds.), Urban Landscape Survey in Italy and the Mediterranean, Oxbow 2012 (un articolo a scelta).

P. Johnson, M. Millett (eds.), Archaeological Survey and the City, Oxbow 2012 (un articolo a scelta).

F. Boschi, Looking for the Future, Caring for the past. Preventive Archaeology in Theory and Practice, Bologna University Press 2016.

Teaching methods

Lectures will have seminar settings with the use of presentations and case studies in which teacher-led research is being conducted.


Students will be asked to intervene actively in the course of the lectures.


Depending on the number of students, it will be possible to propose in-class readings of passages from the reference bibliography that will be critically discussed and analysed.


Lecture series, additional and open to the public, will be organised on specific topics by researchers working on relevant aspects.

Assessment methods

The active participation in lessons, conferences and teaching activities will also be evaluated.

The final vote will be determined by an oral exam.

The questions will cover the following topics:

1. Urban Archaeology and Archaeology of Ancient Cities (Methods and typology);

2. Urban and Monumental Development of Rome;

3. Urban genesis and Development inAncient Epirus.

 

For non-attending students, the interview will focus on the same topics, paying particular attention to the volumes being studied.

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 will be available on the web portal of the course.

Office hours

See the website of Enrico Giorgi