This book is an interesting contribution to the study of the Roman Forum, focusing on the relationship between late antique building restorations, concepts of time, and power. The subject matter is not new, but Kalas explores it comprehensively, presenting a compelling case that invites scholars to look again at these monuments. The Forum underwent a series of restorations and additions from the time of Diocletian until the Byzantine period. As the author argues, these restorations adjusted the appearance of the area according to new political and cultural conceptions, while they simultaneously celebrated the restoration of Roman values. Although the argument is stimulating, its presentation is affected by a certain amount of speculation and a number of factual mistakes.
After a useful introduction that presents a history of scholarship on the Roman Forum and an outline of the theoretical premises of the book, the first chapter is dedicated to a discussion of the works carried out by Diocletian and Maximian. As Kalas suggests, the two speaker-platforms that framed each end of the Forum celebrated imperial power and harmony. The monuments, however, are discussed in a repetitive and piecemeal way, making the argument hard to follow. The discussion in this chapter is also limited to these two monuments, presenting a very partial picture of the works undertaken during the Tetrarchic period. The second chapter is dedicated to Constantine, considering also the fate of his predecessor and rival Maxentius. As Kalas shows, senators were keen supporters of the Constantinian regime, re-dedicating some of the works of Maxentius in his successor's name.
Chapter 3 discusses the dedication of honorific statues in the Forum, arguing that they served the double purpose of celebrating individuals (especially rulers) and of expressing political changes. This is an interesting topic, but Kalas sometimes pushes the evidence too far in search of the motivations behind specific dedications. He makes valuable observations on the relationships between groups of statues, even if some of his reconstructions are questionable. Chapter 4 analyses the use of the basilicas Aemilia and Iulia, and the dedication of statues moved from other locations. As scholars have observed, these buildings were the focus of a very specific type of dedication, and Kalas is correct to stress their continued importance for the civic and social life of the city. The discussion, however, suffers from some misunderstanding of the phases of these monuments, and the assertion that these were commercial spaces with shops needed to be supported with evidence.
The role played by Roman temples in the image of the Forum is the subject of Chapter 5. The reuse of architectural decoration (spolia) receives great attention, but the discussion of its implications—a form of signalling restoration and the renewal of time—is too speculative. The final chapter is dedicated to a thorough description and examination of the Senate House and the spaces connected to it. These were spaces where senators met, and where their identities were redefined as a response both to tradition and innovation. Kalas returns to his general argument in the Conclusion, including a brief discussion of how the Forum continued to play the same role, mediating tradition and innovation, during the Ostrogothic period.
The book as a whole would have benefited from a clear discussion of the differences between the early imperial and the Late Antique history of the Forum. Kalas seems to assume that early imperial aristocrats could freely build and dedicate monuments, a freedom that ended with the Tetrarchic regime; this is too simplistic on both counts. Examination of the issue of who commissioned and funded monuments is particularly confusing in the case of statue dedications (e.g. p. 81). Kalas puts great emphasis on the creation of the office of curator statuarum, an office that is only attested in action once (CIL VI 1708), and one wonders how important it really was in actuality.
There are also factual mistakes that affect the overall argument. For example: the brick-stamps found used in the honorific bases on the south side of the Forum are not necessarily post-Diocletianic (p. 49); the prefect Paulinus dedicated the equestrian statue of Constantine on behalf of the Senate, when he was already a consul (p. 58); CIL VI 36952 was dedicated by a financial officer of equestrian (perfectissimus, and not clarissimus) rank, making no reference to Constantine's financial policies (p. 60); CIL VI 1195 (the statue of Honorius) does not survive because it is the same dedication as CIL VI 1731 (the statue of Stilicho), hence the same text (p. 90); the statue-base reused by Probianus in front of the basilica Iulia was not addressed by a successful senator to Constantine I (p. 106), but by an official of equestrian rank (perfectissimus) to Constantine II when he was Caesar (CIL VI 1156a); the wall separating the tabernae from the aula of the basilica Aemilia was only restored during the Tetrarchy, and not built ex novo (p. 112).
As this small sample suggests, factual mistakes matter. And yet, The restoration of the Roman Forum is an interesting book, which puts forward an important and innovative agenda for the study of Late Antique Rome. It raises important issues concerning the material culture and the built environment of Late Antique cities, and addresses questions that should be at the very centre of archaeological theory: the relationship between time, memory and the physical environment that is produced by social interaction, while at the same time giving meaning to it.
