Ancient City, Universal Growth? Exploring Urban Expansion and Economic Development on Rome's Eastern Periphery

Matthew J Mandich

doi:10.3389/fdigh.2019.00018

Abstract

This article investigates the urban expansion and economic development of ancient Rome through the application of models and theories originally designed for the study of contemporary cities. While the growth of ancient settlements is often difficult to track and analyze, archaeologically observable changes in land use can be read and interpreted as a function of broader economic oscillations over the longue duree. By re-examining the available archaeological and textual evidence pertaining to land use change on Rome’s eastern periphery this article demonstrates how the frameworks selected can be successfully appropriated via a narration of Rome’s urban transformations from the mid-Republic to the later Imperial period. The ultimate goal is to determine if the patterns of urban expansion identified in modern cities also existed in ancient Rome. The findings provided have the potential to produce rich insights on the dynamics of urban and economic growth across time and geographies, thereby opening the door for new and further studies.

Highlights

“If anyone wishes to estimate the size of Rome by looking at these suburbs he will necessarily be misled for want of a definite clue by which to determine up to what point it is still the city and where it ceases to be the city; so closely is the city connected with the country, giving the beholder the impression of a city stretching out indefinitely.”
Funerary activities relocated beyond the agger following its construction (Albertoni, 1983; Cifani, 2013), the completion of a new circuit wall in the Fourth century BC triggered the accretion of a greater number and variety of distinct fringe belt land uses beyond this imposing fixation line
Are-examination of the available evidence from ancient Rome’s eastern periphery has shown that the processes of fringe belt formation, modification, and translation were unfolding in ancient Rome much as they would in a contemporary urban setting

Summary

Introduction

“If anyone wishes to estimate the size of Rome by looking at these suburbs he will necessarily be misled for want of a definite clue by which to determine up to what point it is still the city and where it ceases to be the city; so closely is the city connected with the country, giving the beholder the impression of a city stretching out indefinitely.”. 20 BC)— a denser network of buildings stretched well past the city walls forming what could today be considered somewhat of a conurbation This continuously built area, or continentia aedificia, as it was referred to in legal texts, already existed beyond the walls in the time of Caesar and its continued expansion presented multiple cadastral challenges (e.g., Cicero, Ad Atticus 13.33a; Suetonius, Caesar, 44; Lex Iulia Municipalis; Digesta6 50.16.87, 50.16.139, 50.16.147). Bid-rent theory, the fringe belt model, and settlement scaling theory are useful for tracking Rome’s physical growth and interpreting it as a function of concomitant economic development To demonstrate how these frameworks can be successfully applied, archaeological and textual evidence pertaining to Rome’s eastern periphery is used to analyze land use patterns beyond the circuit wall from the mid-Republic (Fourth century BC) to the late Imperial period (Third century AD). How the patterns observed compare to those seen in modern settlements is key for determining if Rome was expanding (at least for a period) like a post-industrial city

Methods

Results

Conclusion