If one passed under review the most recent archaeological publications, especially in the Anglophone world, it would be evident how the vast majority of scholars are currently engaging with theoretical themes, interpretations and approaches to the study of the ancient world. These studies are made possible thanks to the availability of excavation reports, finds catalogues and architectural studies from a variety of sites which were mainly carried out and published over the course of the twentieth century. However, one should keep in mind that some of these materials are now out-of-date or need substantial revision and, therefore, cannot be relied upon in an uncritical way. New modern methodologies and documentation techniques are providing the means for improving the quality of the recorded data, while also allowing a reassessment of older information and the interpretation of the surviving material evidence. The three books reviewed here — by Lynne Lancaster, Paolo Vitti and Carla Maria Amici — deal with practical studies of Roman period construction, based on recent research and recordings. They provide new and crucial details to enhance our understanding of ancient architecture, technology and engineering, complementing the results of other studies on analogous topics, such as those collected in the proceedings of the series of conferences Arqueología de la construcción, I–V (2008–2016) respectively held in Mérida, Siena, Paris, Padua and Oxford.
Following her ground-breaking Concrete Vaulted Construction in Imperial Rome (2005), in this new book Lancaster extends the analysis of Roman period vaults to a broader geographical frame which encompasses a number of regions of the Roman Empire. The study engages with six types of vaulting techniques: opus caementicium (ch. 1); brick barrel vaults (ch. 2); complex brick vault forms (ch. 3); vaulting tubes (ch. 5); hollow voussoirs (ch. 6); and armchair voussoirs (ch. 7). Each chapter opens with a description of the physical characteristics of the respective technique, followed by a series of examples where its use is archaeologically attested, based on L.’s autoptic analysis and recordings. While only the more significant cases are commented on in the text, Excel catalogues containing the documented archaeological evidence in its entirety can be downloaded from the publisher's website, together with a set of colour illustrations supplementing the 121 black-and-white figures which appear in the text. The structure of the book is very well organized, clearly indicating which sections are meant to be used by specialists and which ones are accessible to more general readers (1–2).
Among the techniques examined, terracotta hollow voussoirs (a variation of the better known tubuli) represent a particular case due to their almost exclusive use in bath buildings within the province of Britannia (129–51, figs 86–100). The earliest examples from London, Exeter and Caerleon date to the mid-first century a.d., while a lighter version of these voussoirs became widespread from the early second century onwards especially in Sussex and Kent. L. argues that the occurrence of this peculiar shape of voussoir is probably to be explained by the activity of specialized artisans who moved from Gallia to Britannia after Claudius’ invasion.
Stone and terracotta armchair voussoirs, on the other hand, were a popular type of vaulting technique across the Western Empire; their earlier development dates back to the third century b.c., with them becoming commonly employed in the first and second centuries a.d. (152–76, figs 101–13). While used primarily for baths, this technique is also recognizable in other types of buildings such as the Capitoline temples at Baelo Claudia (Spain) and Sala (Morocco) (on which see also S. Camporeale in B. Bowen, D. Friedman, T. Leslie and J. Ochsendorf (eds), Proceedings of the Fifth International Congress on Construction History (2015), 341–9).
Following the analysis of the techniques and the contexts where they were employed, in ch. 8 L. assesses the structural behaviour of vaults and the reasons which may have led to the choice of a particular type of vault for a given building project. Finally, ch. 9 brings all the evidence together and effectively illustrates how the skills, technological traditions and know-how of local builders contributed to shaping and developing different vaulting techniques across the Roman world.
The use of vaulted construction in a Roman provincial context, the Peloponnese, is at the centre of P. Vitti's book — a monumental work which was awarded the prestigious L'Erma Prize for Archaeology in 2013 and the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award in 2014. The book is based on the author's doctoral dissertation submitted to the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. It is the result of many years of field research at numerous sites in the Peloponnese, during which V. thoroughly recorded buildings and the associated construction techniques for the first time. The book is lavishly illustrated with 312 black-and-white and colour figures, including photographs, CAD drawings and well-presented sketches made by the author during the in-situ recording. It is further enriched by ten loose plates and is provided with a useful glossary in English, Italian, modern Greek, Spanish, French and German. In addition to its importance for analysing such a wealth of first-hand data, the book has the merit of offering a particularly welcome contribution to the archaeology and architecture of Roman period Greece — a topic which is often neglected, or is only briefly treated, even in recent academic works.
Ch. 1 presents state of the art and introductory remarks on vaulted construction in Rome by reviewing previous works, including the author's painstaking study of Hadrian's Mausoleum (see P. Vitti in L. Abbondanza, E. Lo Sardo and F. Coarelli (eds), Apoteosi, da uomini a dei. Il mausoleo di Adriano (2014), 243–67). Ch. 2 offers a useful overview of building activities and patronage in the Peloponnese from the latter half of the first century b.c. to the second century a.d., which reveals the crucial rôle played by the local élites in promoting urban embellishment over a period traditionally seen as one of decadence and cultural stagnation in Greece.
The core of the book is found in ch. 3, which describes twenty-nine case studies where different types of vaulting techniques are attested (83–332). These include major cities such as Corinth and Argos, smaller centres (for instance, Troezen and Gytheion), as well as isolated ruins in the Peloponnesian landscape. A variety of types of edifices is included in this sample to gather a wide and heterogeneous range of data — from larger public constructions to funerary monuments. For each case study GPS coordinates are provided, particularly useful for smaller sites and buildings, and a select bibliography. V.’s descriptions of buildings and techniques are detailed and comprehensive, supported by excellent graphic documentation which allows the reader to follow his arguments easily.
This evidence is compared and further analysed in ch. 4. The most widespread vaulting technique in the Peloponnese was the one which involved the use of solid-brick vaults, while concrete vaults were only rarely employed — a deliberate choice which allowed builders to reduce the use of complex formwork and centring in the construction process (337–50, figs 4.2–15). As summarized in ch. 9, this particular technique, which had developed in the Peloponnese in the Roman imperial era, was adapted and commonly employed across Asia Minor in the fourth century a.d., demonstrating an unexpected richness of construction techniques and traditions in this region of Greece that were imitated in other territories in later periods.
In the last book under review here, C. M. Amici analyses a series of techniques and architectural solutions which architects and stonemasons put into practice during construction projects in antiquity. Building on her personal experience, extensive research and published works (see, for instance, C. M. Amici, Foro di Traiano: basilica Ulpia e biblioteche (1982); Il Foro di Cesare (1991); C. Amici, C. Giavarini and A. Samuelli Ferretti, The Basilica of Maxentius: The Monument, its Materials, Construction and Stability (2005)), this new volume discusses case studies from different geographical contexts throughout a broad time frame, from the late Republican period up to the Byzantine era (and beyond).
This study engages with five techniques/applications in ancient building projects: metal grids (ch. 1); modular ceiling slabs (ch. 2); metal bars (ch. 3); reinforced columns and reinforced flat arches (ch. 4); and innovations in vaulting systems (ch. 5). The text is accompanied by 177 illustrations, the vast majority in colour. Unlike L.’s and V.’s volumes, where there are sections which can be quite easily accessed by general readers, A.’s book is intended to be used by a more select audience of specialists of ancient architecture and engineering, although useful summaries in English are included at the beginning of each chapter.
Among the techniques analysed in the book, the employment of metal bars in Hagia Sophia in Istanbul is one of the most fascinating examples (55–82, figs 21–51), showing the application and evolution of a technique first developed in Roman construction — for example, in the Basilica Ulpia, Trajan's Baths, the theatre at Taormina and the Basilica of Maxentius. In the discussion, A. highlights Hagia Sophia's various building phases (from the reign of Justinian to the Ottoman period) and provides clear reconstructions of the elevation and the use of metal bars throughout the different periods.
In conclusion, these three books demonstrate how building techniques that were in use in the Roman era had originally developed in a variety of geographical contexts, being gradually assimilated to what is traditionally referred to as ‘Roman architecture’. The authors convincingly argue that the city of Rome itself can hardly be used as a point of reference to explain the creation, evolution and spread of these techniques. The capital of the Empire was rather placed at the receiving end of this mixture of technological traditions — a direct result of the encounter between local cultures and Roman imperial dominance. This is a crucial statement that fits well within the current trends of scholarship on the archaeology and history of Rome, which are continuously revising old-fashioned approaches in favour of more dynamic interpretative models focusing on concepts such as ‘interrelations’ and ‘discourse’. The rich architectural evidence analysed in these three volumes provides a solid ground in support of these ideas and there is no doubt that future studies will directly benefit from this wealth of new information. These books also show how in-situ research and the study of first-hand materials are still of primary importance for modern archaeology. Indeed, to quote one of Mr Holmes’ most renowned remarks — as well as Lynne Lancaster's opening passage in her book — we should always remember that even in the fields of archaeology, architecture and ancient history, ‘it is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data’.
