scholarly journals Epigraphy and Ambition: Building Inscriptions in the Hinterland of Carthage

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 ◽  
pp. 57-90
Author(s):  
Monica Hellström
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Economic Change ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Imperial Cult ◽  
Local Elites ◽  
Religious Buildings ◽  
Building Activity ◽  
Good Proxy ◽  
Epigraphic Evidence

abstractBuilding inscriptions are not a good proxy for building activity or, by extension, prosperity. In the part of Roman North Africa where they are the most common, the majority of surviving building inscriptions document the construction of religious buildings by holders of local priesthoods, usually of the imperial cult. The rise of such texts in the second century a.d., and their demise in the early third century, have no parallel in the epigraphic evidence for other types of construction, and should not be used as evidence for the pace of construction overall. Rather than economic change, these developments reflect shifts in the prospects of aspirational local elites, for whom priesthoods served as springboards to more prestigious positions. These positions were linked to Carthage through administrative arrangements that made this city the metropolis for scores of dependent towns and their ambitious elites.

The so-called “Magazzini Repubblicani” near the Porta Romana at Ostia

1935 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 77-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick H. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Economic History ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Considerable Importance ◽  
Third Century ◽  
The Third ◽  
Building Activity ◽  
History Of ◽  
The City ◽  
Region Ii ◽  
Eastern Half

The building with which this study is concerned occupies the eastern half of Region ii, 2, just inside the city gate at Ostia. Two specific statements have been made concerning it, that it commenced as magazzini or horrea in the republican era, and that it was converted into baths in the late third century A.D.; these were the suggestions of the excavators, and have never yet been questioned. They are points of considerable importance, because this building would thus be the only example of republican horrea yet discovered in Ostia, and the conversion of horrea into baths or shops, which the theory implies, would be important for the economic history of Ostia, whether the reason for the change was the concentration of horrea elsewhere or merely the decline of the city. The second statement, too, would point to building activity in Ostia at a time when no other big building was being put up. This paper is an attempt to prove that at no time was the building used as horrea, and that the conversion to baths is to be placed not in the third, but in the late first, or very early second century A.D. Five main periods will be distinguished, of which the appended table gives a summary.

Notes on the Third Century A.D. in Spartan Epigraphy

1984 ◽  
Vol 79 ◽  
pp. 263-288
Author(s):  
A. J. S. Spawforth
Keyword(s):  
Third Century ◽  
Imperial Cult ◽  
The Third ◽  
Epigraphic Evidence

This article contains epigraphically based studies which aim to bring increased order to the chronology and prosopography of Roman Sparta. It is concluded that only one occurrence of the nomen Aurelius can be assigned with any confidence to the period before the Constitutio Antoniniana. A dedication for Septimius Severus and his family is discussed. Epigraphic evidence for M. Aurelius Aristocles of Taenarum and his family is presented. An epigraphic reference to the ‘Pitanate Lochos’ recruited by Caracalla is discussed. The dating of the occasions when the god Lycurgus is attested as eponymous patronomos is discussed, when it is argued that Woodward's dating for the fourth to eleventh patronomates (c. 180–90) is some fifty to sixty years too early. The career of the champion runner P. Aelius Alcandridas is elucidated. Texts referring to the sculptor Demetrius are discussed. An account is given of priests of the imperial cult at Sparta under the Severi, fifteen priests being identified. A list of Spartan patronomoi of the third century is compiled. In an appendix a revised text of IG v. 1. 168 + 603 is proposed.

Recent Excavations at Lepcis Magna

1995 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 101-104
Author(s):  
H. M. Walda
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Second Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
African City ◽  
The Third ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Private Citizens ◽  
The City

Lepcis Magna is one of the best examples of an African city during the Roman period. Its importance lies in its location in relation to the Mediterranean and the well-watered hinterland of Tripolitania and its resources. The key factor in the development of the city was its position, sheltered by a promontory, at the mouth of Wadi Lebda. It displays the processes of growth which other Roman town-plans have made familiar: a nuclear chessboard with divergent though mostly rectilinear enlargements. Lepcis became more important than the other two ports of Oea and Sabratha.Wealthy private citizens contributed greatly toward the buildings of the first century. In the second century the Libyan S. Severus became Emperor at a time when a lively and independent culture was growing up in the western part of North Africa. Lepcis attained its greatest architectural glories under S. Severus and his two sons. With the decline of seaborne trade that followed the serious economic crises at the end of the third century, raids by the tribes of the interior became bolder and more ruthless.

scholarly journals From Early to Divine

Humanitas ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 75 ◽  
pp. 93-120
Author(s):  
Ehud Fathy
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Sixth Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
The Third ◽  
Christian Art ◽  
New Meanings ◽  
As If

The asàrotos òikos or “unswept floor” is a decorative theme found in Roman mosaics. The theme depicts scraps of food along other items, as if scattered across the room’s floor. According to Pliny the theme was first created by Sosus in Pergamon. The mosaic Pliny is referring to was never discovered; however, later Roman variations on this theme were discovered in both Italy and Tunisia. This article seeks to examine the changes made to the asàrotos òikos motif when it transitions from centre to periphery and from the first to the sixth century CE. This article explores the functions and meanings the theme has held in Roman thought during the first and second century CE, the change in perception and use of the theme during the third century in the provincial Roman towns of North Africa, the influence of the theme on Early Christian art – both in style and iconography, and the new meanings possibly assigned to the theme upon its later use in a Byzantine basilica.

THE ROMAN CERAMIC MATERIAL FROM FIELD WALKING IN THE ENVIRONS OF NEPI

2011 ◽  
Vol 79 ◽  
pp. 147-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Mills ◽  
Ulla Rajala
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Ceramic Assemblage ◽  
Ceramic Building Material ◽  
Ceramic Building ◽  
Coarse Wares ◽  
Definition Of

This paper explores the ceramic assemblage of the Nepi Survey Project from the third century bc to the seventh century ad. The surface collection allows the detailed characterization of chronology, ware, fabric supply and functional characteristics. The assemblage shows a settlement explosion in the early second century bc, with another major rise from the Augustan period. The sharp decline in the late second to early third centuries ad is visible here, as it is throughout the region. The later peaks of the late fourth to mid-fifth and the mid-sixth centuries ad conform to the late Roman sequence from Mola di Monte Gelato. The dominant pottery class is oxidized coarse-wares, at 73%. The distribution of the different fabrics, including some of regional supply, suggests a number of different marketing mechanisms. Fine-wares and terra sigillata combined at 3% is what would be expected in the fringes of the Empire. The amphora class makes up over 5% of the assemblage, with the most variety exhibited at large villas and suburban halos. The most important supply originated from North Africa, with fish sauce as the main import. The functional analysis allows the definition of a ritual structure in the proximity of the cemeteries of the Massa area with highly varied types related to eating and drinking. The ceramic building material shows the importance of Campanian contacts, although the lack of imbrices suggests that many tile scatters derive from reused material.

The Date of the Muratorian Fragment

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-172
Author(s):  
John F. Lingelbach
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Church History ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Current Work ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Historical Theology ◽  
First Time ◽  
Objective Methodology

Three hundred years after its discovery, scholars find themselves unable to determine the more likely of the two hypotheses regarding the date of the Muratorian Fragment, which consists of a catalog of New Testament texts. Is the Fragment a late second- to early third-century composition or a fourth-century composition? This present work seeks to break the impasse. The study found that, by making an inference to the best explanation, a second-century date for the Fragment is preferred. This methodology consists of weighing the two hypotheses against five criteria: plausibility, explanatory scope, explanatory power, credibility, and simplicity. What makes this current work unique in its contribution to church history and historical theology is that it marks the first time the rigorous application of an objective methodology, known as “inference to the best explanation” (or IBE), has been formally applied to the problem of the Fragment’s date.

Death in Motion: Funeral Processions in the Roman Forum

2010 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Favro ◽  
Christopher Johanson
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Digital Representations ◽  
Funeral Rituals ◽  
Roman Forum ◽  
Interactive Simulations

Scientifically accurate, three-dimensional digital representations of historical environments allow architectural historians to explore viewsheds, movement, sequencing, and other factors. Using real-time interactive simulations of the Roman Forum during the mid-Republic and the early third century CE, Diane Favro and Christopher Johanson examine the visual and sequential interrelationships among audience, actors, and monuments during funeral rituals. Death in Motion: Funeral Processions in the Roman Forum presents a hypothetical reconstruction of the funeral of the Cornelii family in the early second century BCE and argues that the conventional understanding of the staging of the funeral oration may be incorrect. It then reviews the imperial funerals of the emperors Pertinax and Septimius Severus to compare the ways that later building in the Roman Forum altered the ritual experience, controlled participant motion, and compelled the audience to submit to an imperial program of viewing.

scholarly journals Magnetic Survey at the Roman Military Camp of el Benian in Mauretania Tingitana (Morocco): Results and Implications

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 28
Author(s):  
Francesco Martorella
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Geophysical Survey ◽  
Magnetic Survey ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Military Camp ◽  
Building Activity ◽  
Economic Studies

The topic of military settlements and the role of troops in the northern provinces of North Africa during the age of the Roman Empire has recently gained a strong interest in historical, archaeological, epigraphical, and economic studies. In particular, at Mauretania Tingitana (in the north-east area of modern-day Morocco), the presence of numerous military camps in the Early and Later Roman Empire has now been assessed. In this framework, the present work deals with the geophysical survey, by means of magnetometry, at the site of el Benian, where the largest military camp is located. In particular, the magnetic survey has highlighted the organization of the camp, almost totally unknown previously. The result of the magnetic survey has confirmed intense building activity over the centuries and made it possible to identify and characterize the structures typical of a military field.

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