This thesis deals primarily with the materials and techniques found in the Eastern Empire up to the 4th century AD, putting them into their proper historical and developmental context. The first chapter examines the development of architecture in general from the very earliest times until the beginning of the Roman Empire, with particular attention to the architecture in Roman Italy. This provides the background for the study of East Roman architecture in detail. Chapter II is a short exposition of the basic engineering principles and terms upon which to base subsequent despriptions. The third chapter is concerned with the main materials in use in the Eastern Mediterranean - mudbrick, timber, stone, mortar and mortar rubble, concrete and fired brick. Each one is discussed with regard to manufacture/quarrying, general physical properties and building uses. Chapter IV deals with marble and granite in a similar way but the main marble types are described individually and distribution maps are provided for each in Appendix I. The marble trade and the use of marble in Late Antiquity are also examined. Chapter V is concerned with the different methods pf wall construction and with the associated materials. There is an enquiry into the use of fired brick and a comparative study of brick and mortar joint thicknesses in Rome with relation to those in the Eastern Mediterranean. Chapter VI looks at all forms of timber construction including roofing with a discusslon of the wooden roof truss. Chapter VII discusses the origins of the arch and vault, relating pertinent early examples to Roman usage. It is concluded that the Greeks probably played a large role in the transmission of the idea of arcuated construction to the west. The development and use of pitched-brick vaulting is also traced. In Chapter VIII the origins of domical construction are studied with examples from all over the Mediterranean. The origins of the pendentive are reviewed and a basic terminology is established in an attempt to end confusion. Chapter IX deals with epigraphic and literary evidence for the financial costs of ancient building including labour, transport and material expenses. Architects and other skilled workmen are also discussed, and there is a-study of the instance of re-use of materials in Late Antiquity and its implications. Finally Chapter X complements Chapter I in discussing architecture up to the 7th century AD in both the East and the West, tracing distinctly Eastern Roman techniques into the Byzantine period.

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In the arid Mediterranean world the careful management of water was essential for survival. Control of this resource was akin to political power. Rome and its environs were no different: water was an important status symbol and granting public access to it was considered a particularly generous gesture. During the principate a successful emperor was expected to demonstrate concern for the needs of the populace and one of the most effective ways for him to do this was by providing abundant quantities of water. As a political tool, water proved to be invaluable in its versatility. Imperial gifts could manifest in the form of access to drinking water, leisure spaces such as public gardens and baths, or even spectacular games and shows given on purpose-built artificial lakes. Additionally, massive engineering works such as aqueducts, harbors, and drainage projects, aimed at improving the water and food supply, were carefully designed to showcase the resources and generosity of the imperial patron. This study traces the origins of these forms of largesse, following their development from the Republican period to the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. By examining the water-related monuments and spectacles of each individual Julio-Claudian emperor in the context of their time, this dissertation aims to reconstruct the structures themselves, their intended audiences, and the water policies and patterns of influence created by each Julio-Claudian emperor. The first principes of Rome were still shaping their role and exploring ways in which they could balance their exercise of power with their expected responsibilities to the different strata of Roman society. The early principes began to experiment with water related munificence, and created many new forms of buildings and displays for the public that would eventually become canonical components of Imperial largesse and legitimization. / text

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (February 26, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

Architecture has a remarkable capacity to not only reflect social patterns and behaviors but to engender public image and identity. Therefore, it has proven to be a viable source for understanding the lives of ancient people. In fact, many scholars have established a connection between the atrium-house's design and the power and social identity of the paterfamilias, or male head of household. However, little has been said about what these same architectural features mean in relation to his female counterpart, the materfamilias. Therefore, this paper argues that the architecture of the atrium-house likewise engendered a sense of power and freedom for the Roman matron in two main ways. First, the atrium-house was considered in many ways a continuation of the public realm, and was thus structured to be open and outward instead of inward and private. In addition, archaeological and other evidence suggests that the atrium-house lacked gendered divisions and therefore allowed the matron to freely utilize even the most public areas of the home. Second, just as the paterfamilias was able to use the visual dynamics of the atrium-house to manipulate his public image and to glean authority, so also did the materfamilias use the tactics of visibility to assume masculine power. As a result, the architecture of the atrium-house helped to structure the social identity of the materfamilias in promoting her power and influence in both family and social life.

No description available.

Thesis--Tuebingen.

This dissertation investigates one subset of the many "signs and symbols" representative of traditional Roman religion at Ostia -- its temples and sanctuaries. It uses this body of evidence to foreground a discussion of social and cultural transformation from the 3rd through 6th c. C.E. This period witnessed the decline of traditional religious practices and the rise of a more prominent Judaism and Christianity. Earlier treatments of this topic, however, have often approached the material by assembling a catalogue of buildings, documenting limited incidences of new construction or repair evidenced throughout the Late Roman town. This project, by contrast, instead of beginning with material dated to the "twilight years" of Roman Ostia, starts with the first records of excavation at Ostia Antica. It is these archaeological reports, some comprehensive, others more impressionistic, which document the eclectic nature of objects, sculpture, and architecture that were frequently found preserved throughout the town. These reports represent a new starting point for reconstructing the appearance of the Late Antique city. Drawing upon this material, each of my four chapters takes one element of the traditional landscape (the Capitolium, the so-called Temple of Hercules, the Sanctuary of Magna Mater, or the cult of Vulcan) and then interweaves one or more facets of Christianity or Judaism in order to reveal, dialectically, the dynamism of urban change. Socially and economically, Ostia itself witnessed significant changes during this time. This dissertation provides new answers to when, why, and how those changes took place. It reveals how ambitious architectural projects of the Late Roman Empire continued to achieve stature by visually engaging with both the presence and prestige of earlier monuments. Uncovering new evidence with which to challenge the concept of a late 4th c. "pagan revival," my research, in particular, suggests that accommodation of the past, not urban conflict, was a dominant social model. Finally, I suggest that a broad view of traditional and Christian festivals, from the 4th c. through 6th, shows how new cults, like those of Aurea or Monica, mother of Augustine, simultaneously preserved and transformed the city's traditions into the Early Middle Ages. / text

La recherche proposée envisage les modalités de formation des territoires ecclésiastiques entre le Ve et le XIIIe siècledans les diocèses de Rennes, Dol et Alet/Saint-Malo. Le choix centré sur trois diocèses de haute Bretagne se justifie enraison de leur localisation à la rencontre de deux systèmes théorisés d’organisation ecclésiastique entre, d’une part, l’évêché de Rennes de tradition gallo-franque et, d’autre part, les évêchés d’Alet/Saint-Malo et de Dol, lesquels auraient évolué sous l’influence de l’Église dite « celtique » jusqu’au IXe siècle, dans le cadre de l’émigration bretonne à l’ouest de la Vilaine. Dans le premier modèle, les structures ecclésiastiques hériteraient des circonscriptions civiles antiques, tandis que dans l’espace breton, l’Église se définirait davantage en termes communautaires que territoriaux. En se fondant sur les données textuelles et l’archéologie, en particulier des sites funéraires et du bâti religieux, l’objet de l’étude est de montrer que l’Église n’a pas toujours entretenu le même rapport à l’espace, tant en zone bretonne que franque. Ce futseulement au tournant des XIe-XIIe siècles, dans le contexte de la Réforme grégorienne, que l’Église s’imposa comme une institution très temporelle, ayant vocation à prendre en charge le siècle. La création des paroisses, du diocèse et des cadres intermédiaires (archidiaconés et doyennés) s’inscrit alors dans une dynamique unitaire : celle de l’affirmation de l’évêque comme pouvoir autonome, qui, en tant que seul dispensateur du sacré sur terre, exerçait une autorité spirituelle supérieure sur les églises et les clercs relevant de sa juridiction / Our work aimed to understand the formation of ecclesiastical territories of Rennes, Dol and Alet/Saint-Malo dioceses between the fifth and thirteenth centuries. Our focus on these three dioceses of Haute Bretagne is justified by thecrossroads between two theorised systems of ecclesiastical organisation. On the one hand, the Episcopal see of Rennes originated from gallo-frankish tradition and, on the other hand, Episcopal sees of Alet/Saint-Malo and Dol which evolved until ninth century due to the Celtic Church, in the framework of Breton emigration west of the Vilaine. In the first model, ecclesiastical structures were inherited from antique civil districts, contrary to the second model where the Church wasestablished following criteria that were more based on community than territory. Based on textual analysis and archaeology, especially from funeral sites and religious buildings, we intend to show that Church, in the Breton zone as in the Frankish zone, did not always have the same relationship to space. It was only between the eleventh and twelfth centuries, in the context of Gregorian Reform that Church emerged as a temporal institution, dedicated to taking charge of population. The creation of parishes, diocese, archdeaconries and deaneries followed the same dynamics: the affirmation of bishop as an autonomous power, who, as holder of sacredness, have exerted a spiritual authority beyond that exerted by churches or clerics dependents on his jurisdiction

In this thesis the main focus is the varied body of entertainment structures in Pergamon in the Roman era. Pergamon was a well known city in the Hellenistic period with close ties to Athens and continued its standing as a major cultural center through the Roman period. Especially notable is the fact that one of the only three known amphitheatres of Asia Minor was in Pergamon. Since the amphitheatre is a well-known Roman building type with no Greek precedent, its presence in Pergamon is particularly worth investigating. Besides the amphitheatre Pergamon also boasted a well known Greek theatre, a Roman theatre, a stadium and several odea which make the city a highly promising case study for multiple structures of entertainment. Hence the aim is to explore the architectural, social and political implications for the combined presence of these structures all within the same city.