
Contents
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I. Studying Roman Buildings I. Studying Roman Buildings
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II. Rethinking Polarities II. Rethinking Polarities
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A. Past Debates on Roman Architecture A. Past Debates on Roman Architecture
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1. Archaeology or Architectural History 1. Archaeology or Architectural History
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2. Form and Function 2. Form and Function
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3. Utility and Ornament 3. Utility and Ornament
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4. Public Architecture and Private Building 4. Public Architecture and Private Building
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5. West and East/Greek and Roman 5. West and East/Greek and Roman
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6. Centre and Periphery 6. Centre and Periphery
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7. Republic and Empire 7. Republic and Empire
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8. Conservatism and Innovation 8. Conservatism and Innovation
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9. The Column and the Arch 9. The Column and the Arch
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10. Interior and Exterior 10. Interior and Exterior
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B. New Polarities for Thinking about Roman Architecture B. New Polarities for Thinking about Roman Architecture
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1. ‘Architecture’ or ‘Building’? 1. ‘Architecture’ or ‘Building’?
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2. Designer and Patron 2. Designer and Patron
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3. Building and Audience 3. Building and Audience
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4. The Built and the Written 4. The Built and the Written
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5. The Monumental and the Ephemeral 5. The Monumental and the Ephemeral
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References References
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53 Architecture
Get accessEdmund Thomas (Durham University)
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Published:18 September 2012
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Abstract
Perhaps more than other aspect of Roman culture, the study of architecture is affected by two preconceptions, the first resulting from its durability, the second from later attitudes. First, because buildings appear as a solid and visible legacy of Roman culture, it is assumed that Romans themselves clearly recognised the meaning of architecture. Yet, within a short time-span, two ancient writers, Varro and Vitruvius, presented different views. Vitruvius, the more fortunate in transmission, was ambivalent about the definition of ‘architecture’, calling it first a compound of aesthetic concepts – organisation, layout, good rhythm, symmetry, correctness, and allocation; but, a chapter later, a combination of scientific domains – building, mechanics, and orology. For Varro, architecture was one of nine ‘disciplines’; his lost treatise can hardly have contained such technicalities or defined ‘architecture’ so comfortably within the parameters of the modern academic subject. This article explores past debates on Roman architecture, including one concerning archaeology and architectural history; form and function as well as utility and ornament of Roman buildings; public architecture and private building; and centre and periphery.
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