Description
Book SynopsisIn (Re)using Ruins, Douglas Underwood presents a new account of the use and reuse of Roman urban public monuments in a crucial period of transition, A.D. 300-600. Commonly seen as a period of uniform decline for public building, especially in the western half of the Mediterranean, (Re)using Ruins shows a vibrant, yet variable, history for these structures. Douglas Underwood establishes a broad catalogue of archaeological evidence (supplemented with epigraphic and literary testimony) for the construction, maintenance, abandonment and reuses of baths, aqueducts, theatres, amphitheatres and circuses in Italy, southern Gaul, Spain, and North Africa, demonstrating that the driving force behind the changes to public buildings was largely a combined shift in urban ideologies and euergetistic practices in Late Antique cities.
Trade Review"This book is innovative and underlines transformations in the late antique Mediterranean area. Its approach to reuse is rich, full of nuance, and based on a subtle analysis of all archaeological data. [...] There is no doubt this book will become a reference for the evolutionary processes of public buildings during Late Antiquity". Blaise Pichon, in Bryn Mawr Classical Review , 13.07.2020.
Table of ContentsForeword List of Illustrations Abbreviations Introduction Methods and Structure: Coverage Methods and Structure: Approach and Evidence Methods and Structure: Definitions 1 Late Antiquity and the City Historical Background Urban Evolutions in Late Antiquity Conclusions 2 Baths, Aqueducts and Water Introduction Early Imperial Baths and Aqueducts Baths in Late Antiquity Aqueducts in Late Antiquity Trends and Causes Conclusions 3 Spectacle Buildings Introduction Early Imperial Spectacle Buildings Spectacle Buildings in Late Antiquity Trends and Causes Conclusions 4 Reuse and Public Buildings Past Study Reuse in the Early Empire Conceptualising and Categorising Reuse The Reuse of Public Architecture in the Late Antique West, ca.300–600 Overall Trends 165 Reuse and the Late Antique City Conclusions 5 Analysis and Discussion Explanations for the Demise and Reuse of this Group of Public buildings Public Buildings and the Late Antique City Conclusion Appendix I: Timeline of Dates and Events Appendix II: Benefaction in the Western Empire Appendix III: Tables Bibliography Ancient Textual Editions Modern Sources Index
