Towards an Archaeology of the Roman Empire

Abstract

Although there has been considerable archaeological effort spent on exploring the archaeology of the Roman world, it has generally been directed towards the understanding of individual sites, monuments or provinces. These lectures consider how we might understand these different and diverse elements within the overall structure of Roman imperialism. They explore how and why Roman imperialism changed as Rome’s territorial control increased in scale, influenced in part by the nature of the peoples brought under Roman hegemony. A series of propositions were made concerning the structuring principles of the Roman world, and changes in the overall framework through time explored.