Roman Architecture and Society

by James C. Anderson jr

Focusing primarily on Rome and other cities of central Italy, James C. Anderson, jr., describes the training, career path, and social status of both architects and builders. He explains how the construction industry was organized―from marble and timber suppliers to bricklayers and carpenters. He examines the political, legal, and economic factors that determined what would be built, and where. And he shows how the various types of public and private Roman buildings relate to the urban space as a whole. Drawing on ancient literary sources as well as on contemporary scholarship, Roman Architecture and Society examines the origins of the architectural achievements, construction techniques, and discoveries that have had an incalculable influence on the postclassical Western world. This detailed and concise account will appeal not only to students and scholars of Roman history, but to all with an interest in ancient architecture and urban society.

Genres: Nonfiction, Architecture, Ancient History

472 pages, Paperback

First published June 11, 1997

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anderson gives an excellent general overview of the evidence for how architects worked, who they were. Especially interesting is the chapter on "Manpower and Materials," in which he describes the problems of getting and moving the materials and labor to the job sites, the debate about slave labor vs. free labor. The chapters in the section called "Organizing Space" provide some very interesting overall introductory comments on city planning, public and private building - including some very interesting comments on taberbnae and the social implications for "mixed use zoning" in the insulae of the big cities. While these chapters give an great introduction to the types of buildings and their orientations in cities, and he even suggests that buildings and their locations could be used as propaganda, the theoretical analysis is lacking and this leaves it as little more than an overview or introduction. There are extensive notes and the textual references are extensive. There are simply not enough illustrations - not a SINGLE photograph in the whole book - which makes many of the descriptions less useful. The line drawn plans provided are often less than clear and are frequently lacking directional indicators of North. Lastly and most importantly, he fails to describe decoration and detail - as if structurally insignificant detail are inessential to the lived experience of architecture in society.

This book would be most useful as a broad introduction for someone hoping to get a big picture of the elements of architecture in the Roman world. I imagine it could be very useful for advance undergraduates and beginning graduate students.