Tag Archives: Roman archaeology

Un protagonista dimenticato dell’edilizia: la figura del redemptor delle costruzioni nella Roma imperiale

Author: F. Sommaini

Download article as .pdf: Un protagonista dimenticato dell’edilizia: la figura del redemptor delle costruzioni nella Roma imperiale

This paper is the first in-depth study of the figure of the redemptor (the building contractor at the head of a construction company) in ancient Rome, with particular reference to the Imperial period. The introductory section analyses the sources in order to understand the generally unflattering opinion of these figures expressed by ancient writers. This is followed by a careful study based on historical, epigraphic and iconographic sources, aimed at assessing more objectively who the redemptor was in Roman society. Drawing primarily on evidence from the imperial period, but also incorporating occasional and valuable testimonies from the late Republic and Late Antiquity, the study reconstructs the role and professional profile of the redemptor. At the same time, new proposals are put forward concerning the organisational structure of building companies, as well as the characteristics and functioning of the place par excellence of the redemptor and his workers: the building site.

Aspects of circular economy on an urban and inter-urban scale in the Roman age: towards a more holistic model

Author: G. Furlan

Download article as .pdf: Aspects of circular economy on an urban and inter-urban scale in the Roman age: towards a more holistic model

During the last few years, interest in reuse practices in the Roman world has received increasing attention. On the other hand, the debate concerning the sustainability of contemporary economies has led to the refinement of theoretical tools such as that of circular economy. The paper examines, in the light of a circular economic framework, those aspects characterizing the Roman urban economy as circular. A series of activities and agents, sometimes leaving little archaeological footprint, reduced waste and optimized the use of fresh resources on a daily basis. These activities (maintenance, repair, secondary use, lateral cycling, recycling etc.) involved a wide range of materials and, far from occasional, they were well integrated into the so-called linear economic model (production, distribution, consumption, and discard). Although the available data are still fragmentary, this systematic review demonstrates that circular economy must be steadily included in the current narratives of Roman urban sites. Economic reasons seem to play a major role in moving the Roman urban circular mechanism; nonetheless, it also emerges a forma mentis putting the object at centre, and not its economic, monetary value. Quantifying the overall impact of circular practices in the Roman urban economy still represents a major challenge, but the data so far collected point to a significant influence.