Matthew J. Mandich | University of Leicester (original) (raw)

Books by Matthew J. Mandich

Oxbow Books: Oxford and Philadelphia, 2016. This volume features a selection of 14 papers prese... more Oxbow Books: Oxford and Philadelphia, 2016.

This volume features a selection of 14 papers presented at the 25th annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference held at the University of Leicester in March 2015, which drew delegates of 17 nationalities from a variety of universities, museums, and research institutions in the UK, Europe, and North America. The volume opens with Dr Andrew Gardner’s keynote paper ‘Debating Roman Imperialism: Critique, Construct, Repeat?’ which aptly reflects on the current state and future directions of theoretical discourse in the field of Roman archaeology. This is followed by an array of papers with topics ranging in geographic scope and period, from small finds in early Roman Britain to bathing practices in Late Antique North Africa, and from the investigation of deviant burials to the application of urban scaling theory in Roman contexts. The range of contributing authors is also of note, as papers were submitted by PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, and university faculty, all helping to make the 25th anniversary edition of this series one that continues to emphasise and reflect the aims of TRAC, both as a conference and as a conduit for exploring more theory-driven approaches to the Roman past.

Papers by Matthew J. Mandich

FOLD&R Fasti On Line Documents & Research, 472, 2020

In the summer of 2017 and 2018, the archaeological excavation in the Horrea Agrippiana planned by... more In the summer of 2017 and 2018, the archaeological excavation in the Horrea Agrippiana planned by the Signum Vortumni project continued. The findings emerging from the new excavations allowed us to better understand the stratigraphic sequence already identified in the 2016 campaign. The late Republican domus, with walls in opus incertum masonry, has returned traces of the floors, II style wall decorations and some furnishings. It is confirmed as a high-level aristocratic domus, developed along the terraces of the western slopes of the Palatine. A significant new discovery concerns the construction phase of the Horrea Agrippiana. In the 2016 campaign, the re-mains of a structure interpretable as a warehouse had been found. It is characterized, at least on the northern side, by a series of parallel chambers, 4 meters wide, open to the south, finished in travertine block endpieces opening onto an ar-ea that was probably open-air. The new stratigraphic data could indicate that it is not an older phase of the Horrea, but its first project phase. This would have been interrupted by a fire (12 BC?) and then replaced by the new Horrea Agrip-piana project in opus quadratum, still visible on the site. Regarding the construction of the Horrea, the pottery from the new layers confirm the dating to the Augustan period. Finally, much interesting new evidence concerns the Late Antique phases of the warehouse. Some contexts testify to productive activities dating to the 5th-6th century AD, while a group of new burials, probably from the 7th century AD, seem to be connected to the life of the nearby diaconia of San Teodoro.

Archaeology and Economy in the Ancient World (52) Panel 12.10 , 2020

Classical Archaeology has long lacked the demographic diversity 1 present in STEM (Science, Techn... more Classical Archaeology has long lacked the demographic diversity 1 present in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines despite calls over the last decades to 'decolonize' the broader field of Archaeology and create a more reflexive approach that allows marginalized groups to be heard and responded to within the evolving theoretical and practical discourse. 2 Furthermore, while Classical Archaeology necessarily incorporates the historical study of many diverse regions, peoples, and cultures, it is predominately taught by white male and female scholars-especially in the UK and America. The organization and subsequent publication of excavations undertaken throughout the Mediterranean basin is also frequently carried out by these same lecturers and professors while the students working on such projects are largely homogeneous groups derived from their own departments, or those closely related. Although this issue is fairly obvious to anyone working in the field, it is frequently ignored, since few tangible steps have been taken to deliberately increase demographic diversity in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History, despite the benefits it has been shown to provide in other research-oriented disciplines. As such, the need for new programs designed for this purpose remains, and in this paper I would like to outline the details and results of a new collaborative effort that I orchestrated between two non-profits-College Track and ISAR.

In the summer of 2017 and 2018, the archaeological excavation in the Horrea Agrippiana planned by... more In the summer of 2017 and 2018, the archaeological excavation in the Horrea Agrippiana planned by the Signum Vortumni project continued. The findings emerging from the new excavations allowed us to better understand the stratigraphic sequence already identified in the 2016 campaign. The late Republican domus, with walls in opus incertum masonry, has returned traces of the floors, II style wall decorations and some furnishings. It is confirmed as a high-level aristocratic domus, developed along the terraces of the western slopes of the Palatine. A significant new discovery concerns the construction phase of the Horrea Agrippiana. In the 2016 campaign, the remains of a structure interpretable as a warehouse had been found. It is characterized, at least on the northern side, by a series of parallel chambers, 4 meters wide, open to the south, finished in travertine block endpieces opening onto an area that was probably open-air. The new stratigraphic data could indicate that it is not an older phase of the Horrea, but its first project phase. This would have been interrupted by a fire (12 BC?) and then replaced by the new Horrea Agrippiana project in opus quadratum, still visible on the site. Regarding the construction of the Horrea, the pottery from the new layers confirm the dating to the Augustan period. Finally, much interesting new evidence concerns the Late Antique phases of the warehouse. Some contexts testify to productive activities dating to the 5th-6th century AD, while a group of new burials, probably from the 7th century AD, seem to be connected to the life of the nearby diaconia of San Teodoro.

Frontiers in Digital Humanities , 2019

This article investigates the urban expansion and economic development of ancient Rome through th... more This article investigates the urban expansion and economic development of ancient Rome through the application of models and theories originally designed for the study of contemporary cities. While the growth of ancient settlements is often difficult to track and analyze, archaeologically observable changes in land use can be read and interpreted as a function of broader economic oscillations over the longue durée. By reexamining the available archaeological and textual evidence pertaining to land use change on Rome's eastern periphery this article demonstrates how the frameworks selected can be successfully appropriated via a narration of Rome's urban transformations from the mid-Republic to the later Imperial period. The ultimate goal is to determine if the patterns of urban expansion identified in modern cities also existed in ancient Rome. The findings provided have the potential to produce rich insights on the dynamics of urban and economic growth across time and geographies, thereby opening the door for new and further studies.

Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal , 2019

Complexity science refers to the theoretical research perspectives and the formal modelling tools... more Complexity science refers to the theoretical research perspectives and the formal modelling tools designed to study complex systems. A complex system consists of separate entities interacting following a set of (often simple) rules that collectively give rise to unexpected patterns featuring vastly different properties than the entities that produced them. In recent years a number of case studies have shown that such approaches have great potential for furthering our understanding of the past phenomena explored in Roman Studies. We argue complexity science and formal modelling have great potential for Roman Studies by offering four key advantages: (1) the ability to deal with emergent properties in complex Roman systems ; (2) the means to formally specify theories about past Roman phenomena; (3) the power to test aspects of these theories as hypotheses using formal modelling approaches; and (4) the capacity to do all of this in a transparent, reproducible, and cumulative scientific framework. We present a ten-point manifesto that articulates arguments for the more common use in Roman Studies of perspectives, concepts and tools from the broader field of complexity science, which are complementary to empirical inductive approaches. There will be a need for constant constructive collaboration between Romanists with diverse fields of expertise in order to usefully embed complexity science and formal modelling in Roman Studies.

TRAC 2015: Proceedings of the Twenty-Fifth Annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference, Mar 2016

In a recent critique on the correlation between urbanization and economic development in the Roma... more In a recent critique on the correlation between urbanization and economic development in the Roman world, it was stressed that ‘we need a theory of (ancient) urbanization and of the nature of the processes that supported the development of urban centres before we can attempt to delineate and quantify the parameters of this development, let alone begin to discuss the implications of this for the economy’ (Morley 2011: 153). Yet this is no easy task, as urban planners, economists, geographers, sociologists, and land use analysts still struggle to quantitatively and qualitatively understand the growth and sustainability of modern cities and complex urban systems. That said, progressive work in the field of urban scaling has finally allowed for a more scientific approach to the evolution of cities by identifying a set of basic principles by which all urban systems abide (Bettencourt et al. 2007). Developed by researchers at the Santa Fe Institute (SFI), urban scaling is used ‘to predict the average social, spatial, and infrastructural properties of cities as a set of scaling relations that apply to all urban systems’ (Bettencourt 2013a). While confirmed scaling relationships have been observed in thousands of modern cities worldwide (Bettencourt et al. 2007), only preliminary studies have been conducted for the ancient world, and solely in a Mesoamerican context (Ortman et al. 2015). As the theoretical framework of urban scaling is designed to better examine and interpret the (often elusive) empirical and theoretical processes behind urbanization and demographic and economic growth, it has the potential to be extremely useful for Roman contexts, as will be discussed. This paper will begin by outlining some of the fundamentals of urban scaling, how it can be used to assess and quantify growth, and how scaling relationships have been observed in ancient contexts to date. This will then be followed by a more theoretical discussion in which I will use the tenets of urban scaling theory to explore the demographic and economic growth of Rome from the mid-Republic to the early Augustan period (c. 225 – 2 B.C.), and provide two competing scenarios for the overall growth (and decline) of the City, and by proxy, Empire.

TRAC 2014. Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference , 2015

Despite numerous publications, conferences, and excavations focused on the suburbs (or ‘suburbi... more Despite numerous publications, conferences, and excavations focused on the suburbs (or ‘suburbium’) of ancient Rome over the last several decades, current definitions of this space, its extent, and its functions remain frustratingly varied and even conflicting. This is partly due to the lack of specific demarcations for such spaces in the surviving ancient literature and epigraphy. In fact, the term suburbium only appears twice in known ancient sources (Champlin 1982: 110). However, these assorted and often unsatisfactory modern definitions are also largely the result of a tendency to ignore the numerous and diverse aspects of the suburban realm in order to achieve a simplified, manageable definition. The frequent treatment and study of the Roman ‘suburbium’ as an autonomous entity, disconnected from the Urbs, further compound the situation, as arbitrarily separating this space diminishes its role in a greater interconnected system largely dependent on the city that it surrounds (see Ravetz et al. 2013). Given the current frustrations, one must wonder, whether we are asking the right questions of this space.

This article introduces a set of concepts and approaches that I argue will have validity for redefining and reassessing the Roman ‘suburbium’. In it, I will take a holistic approach to the Roman suburbs, embracing their complexity to combat their innate ambiguity. While the topic is indeed substantial, discussion of individual sites and detailed historical sequencing will necessarily be omitted since the focus instead will be on providing new models by which to reexamine and redefine this space (given the myriad issues of the archaeology). This is no easy task however, as even today’s metropolitan planners, (economic) geographers, and land-use analysts struggle to accurately demarcate and assess extra-urban areas around contemporary metropoleis (see www.plurel.net). Yet, by approaching the problem from a theoretical standpoint, and analyzing Rome Ekistically - as a dynamically expanding polis (see Doxiadis 1968: 193-199 and below), innovative ways of mapping and measuring may be assessed, offering a clearer understanding of this space, in turn allowing for its evolution, functions, and mobility to be better tracked from Republic to Empire.

Book Reviews by Matthew J. Mandich

Journal of Roman Archaeology, 2021

Review of FISCHETTI, A. L., and P. A. J. ATTEMA, eds. Alle pendici dei colli Albani. Dinamiche i... more Review of FISCHETTI, A. L., and P. A. J. ATTEMA, eds. Alle pendici dei colli Albani. Dinamiche insediative e cultura materiale ai confini con Roma. Groningen: University of Groningen and Barkhuis Publishing, 2019. Pp. viii + 268. ISBN: 978-94-92444-83-7.

This edited volume puts forth the results of research presented at a conference held at the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome in February 2017 focused on the archaeological landscape of the slopes of the Alban Hills (colli Albani). The 23 contributions within represent a broad range of recent studies focused primarily on the area between the via Appia and the via Latina, with particular emphasis on the often neglected transitional zone located on Rome's present-day periphery (i.e., municipia VII and VIII). This volume aims to both collate and structure the scattered archaeological evidence for this area, while redressing the balance of attention it receives in contrast to the well-known nearby historical centers of the Alban Hills (the Castelli Romani). Ultimately, the collection is designed to make new data available for the ongoing reconstruction of the economic, political, and administrative systems operating in this lesser-known part of the campagna Romana.

Journal of Roman Studies , Nov 2014

Conferences and Sessions by Matthew J. Mandich

Despite the size and centrality of the city of Rome, it is often avoided in the current theoretic... more Despite the size and centrality of the city of Rome, it is often avoided in the current theoretical discourse in favour of more heterogeneous datasets, predominantly from provincial settings. This is likely due to the archaeological and historical complexity of the City’s evolution and its inextricable association with the Romanization paradigm. However, as the archaeological evidence suggests, Rome’s expansion as a city and polity in central Italy was hardly uniform, featuring much higher levels of settlement variability than previously hypothesized. Given recent publications on Rome’s early expansion and the results of ongoing fieldwork in the City and its environs, a return to Rome focused on current inclinations in archaeological theory is both warranted and needed. While Rome’s economy and demography remain fundamental for assessing growth, many avenues of debate on these polarizing yet integral topics have been explored and exhausted over the past decades. The goal of this session is then to give these debates fresh perspective by examining the growth of Rome chronologically, from a variety of perspectives. Key questions of the session will revolve around what types of economic, technological, political, and physical growth occurred at Rome (when and why?), and how this growth affected city, region, and Empire.

Matthew J. Mandich: mjm66@le.ac.uk
Saskia Stevens: s.stevens@uu.nl

Narratives of the urban and rural economies often focus on a single scale of analysis, trying to ... more Narratives of the urban and rural economies often focus on a single scale of analysis, trying to answer questions with either regional or site-specific data rather than a synthesis of the two. The divide in archaeological methods between the techniques of surface survey and those of settlement excavation, exacerbated by the administrative separation between many excavation and survey projects, has contributed to a disjunction between regional and site-specific histories in academic scholarship. The challenge of creating complementary narratives of economic development in the city and countryside is intensified by a temporal divide in the collection of the data: urban and rural datasets are rarely produced in unison. The integration of various legacy data, spanning the past century of field work, is often crucial when producing a holistic picture of ancient economic activity on multiple scales.
Constructing narratives about the modes and intensities of production, distribution, and consumption requires controlled methods of multiscalar comparison in order to successfully interpolate coherent conclusions about social and economic processes. The goal of this session is to bring new perspectives to studies of economic activity that place survey and excavation data in dialogue and suggest avenues for the further integration of multiscalar and legacy data into the study of the economic past.
The papers of this session will deploy novel methodologies that integrate multiple scales of data in analyses grounded in a holistic approach to regions and settlements. Rather than perpetuating the disciplinary divide between rural and urban economies through the continued separation of survey and excavation data, this session will propose new avenues for approaching economic questions that allow for the use of all available data: rural or urban, old or new, survey or excavation.

Conference Presentations by Matthew J. Mandich

In a recent critique on the correlation between urbanization and economic development in the Roma... more In a recent critique on the correlation between urbanization and economic development in the Roman world it was stressed that ‘we need a theory of (ancient) urbanization and of the nature of the processes that supported the development of urban centres before we can attempt to delineate and quantify the parameters of this development, let alone begin to discuss the implications of this for the economy’ (Morley 2011: 153). Yet this is no easy task, as urban planners, economists, geographers, sociologists, and land use analysts still struggle to quantitatively and qualitatively understand the growth and sustainability of modern cities and urban systems. That said, progressive work in the field of urban scaling (see Bettencourt 2013) has finally allowed for a more scientific approach to the evolution of cities by identifying a set of basic principles by which urban systems abide. While these confirmed scaling relations have been observed in thousands of modern cities worldwide, recent archaeological work in Pre-Hispanic Mexico suggests that ‘the fundamental processes behind contemporary urban scaling operated in the ancient world just as they do today’ (Ortman et al. 2014). This paper will then examine how the theoretical framework and principles of urban scaling may be applied to assess the growth and evolution of ancient Rome. By taking a diachronic approach, and examining specific phases of Rome’s urban growth (and the sustainability of such growth) we may achieve a better understanding of the underlying motivating factors behind the City’s expansion and ultimate decline. These conclusions may then be extrapolated in ways that arguably push us closer to a more acceptable theory on ancient urbanization and how it relates to the Roman economy.

The reign of Constantine brought both the Edict of Milan and the creation of an Eastern capital a... more The reign of Constantine brought both the Edict of Milan and the creation of an Eastern capital at Constantinople, sparking political and religious change in and around the city of Rome. The Praetorian Guard was disbanded, and Christian churches were strategically placed over long-standing imperial buildings and residences. This ideological shift and physical transformation have often been taken as a sign of wholesale change in the Urbs, yet a closer examination of the literature and archaeology from this period indicates a much less conspicuous transition. In particular, the ‘suburbium’, which features eight of the ten Constantinian basilicas of Rome, exhibits signs of strong continuity. Following Filippo Coarelli’s (1986) reading of the Liber Pontificalis (Life of Silvester 34), these newly established churches appear as mere ‘leopard spots’ in a rather densely populated, primarily residential suburb. My paper will then argue that while noticeable spatial changes did occur, these new religious constructions had less of an impact on pre-existing systems in and around the City than previously supposed. The location and the architecture of the churches themselves point to gradual, tentative change, as these programs maintain strong links to traditional Roman themes and follow pre-established trends. Furthermore, as the City as a whole edged towards a more residential character, the ‘Romans of Rome’ appear eager as ever to continue to display their wealth and status in traditional manners.

Studies on the suburbs of Rome (commonly referred to as the ‘suburbium’) have long been hind... more Studies on the suburbs of Rome (commonly referred to as the ‘suburbium’) have long been hindered by the ambiguity of the zone. Attempts to set boundaries on this realm have produced a wide range of results, as no specific demarcations for this space exist in ancient literature or epigraphy. In fact, the term suburbium only appears once in known classical sources (Cicero, Philippics 12.10.24). However, this situation is only partly to blame, as scholarly interpretations of the Roman suburbs often ignore the numerous and diverse aspects that constitute suburban space in order to achieve a manageable definition for a complex situation. Approaching the subject from a modern perspective then offers scope to reignite the debate: by examining Rome from an Ekistical standpoint, and as a dynamically expanding polis, or ‘Dynapolis’ (see Doxiadis 1968), new theoretical approaches may be employed to assess, track, and delineate its hinterland. Specifically, the use of isochrones and the employment of cost and accessibility maps can provide new ways by which to examine and delineate Rome’s ancient suburbs, in the process elucidating extra-urban zones with specific functional characteristics. From this it will become possible to model how these zones fluctuated across various periods as the city expanded, and how the functions of the sites within them (especially villas) were dictated by such changes.

The Ager Pontinus in southern Lazio features a long history of colonization and conquest, ... more The Ager Pontinus in southern Lazio features a long history of colonization and conquest, and the region’s natural resources and proximity to Rome made it an ideal target for early Roman expansion. However, charting that colonization on the ground beyond urban colonies has been problematic. Today, vestiges of enigmatic platform constructions dot the landscape, the majority of which feature heavy polygonal masonry (opus polygonalis). Such sites have been predominantly labeled as basis villae, and interpreted as part of an emergent extra-urban villa landscape, yet recently it has been suggested that several of these platforms may instead be related to cult sites, garrisons, or temples (see Becker 2012; De Haas et al. 2012). One such platform site known as the Villa ‘Le Grotte’, constructed in opus incertum and located in the immediate suburbs of Sezze (ancient Setia), marks an important transitional period in Italian architecture, when decidedly Roman building techniques began to sweep the peninsula during the late second and early first centuries BC. Although long a fixture in the Pontine landscape, this site has never been excavated and its interpretation as a villa, first proposed by Zaccheo and Pasquali in 1970, has never been challenged. Recent studies by scholars such as Bruckner (2003), and Quilici & Quilici-Gigli (1999; 2000; 2003) indicate that Setia and neighboring towns, such as Norba, had vibrant religious scenes, with Setia boasting at least seven extra-urban cult sites. The confirmed religious activity in the area, coupled with the striking architectural similarities between the Villa ‘Le Grotte’ and contemporary sanctuary constructions in the region (most notably at Terracina), suggest that this site may not be villa at all, but rather something else entirely. Therefore, a detailed reassessment of the site, especially concerning its architecture and function, has scope to shed new light on aspects of Roman Republican colonization of Latium, and the spread of Roman culture throughout the Italian peninsula.

Talks by Matthew J. Mandich

Conference Announcements by Matthew J. Mandich

We are pleased to announce that registration for the 25th Annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Co... more We are pleased to announce that registration for the 25th Annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference is now live. Please go to http://shop.le.ac.uk/ and search the site for TRAC to fi nd all pertinent details, or go to bit.ly/trac25. 'Early bird' reduced rates are available for bookings made before 1st January 2015. Conference events this year will include trips to the Harborough Museum and the excavations at Burrough Hill. Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Andrew Gardner, and a wine reception will be held at the Jewry Wall Museum following the opening proceedings. Additional events will include a conference dinner and the traditional TRAC party. A limited number of bursaries are available to attend the conference. To apply for a bursary please send an email with supporting information to trac25@trac.org.uk. Bursaries will normally be limited to a maximum of £35, and preference will be given to students enrolled on post-graduate degree courses in the UK and abroad.

Oxbow Books: Oxford and Philadelphia, 2016. This volume features a selection of 14 papers prese... more Oxbow Books: Oxford and Philadelphia, 2016.

FOLD&R Fasti On Line Documents & Research, 472, 2020

Archaeology and Economy in the Ancient World (52) Panel 12.10 , 2020

In the summer of 2017 and 2018, the archaeological excavation in the Horrea Agrippiana planned by... more In the summer of 2017 and 2018, the archaeological excavation in the Horrea Agrippiana planned by the Signum Vortumni project continued. The findings emerging from the new excavations allowed us to better understand the stratigraphic sequence already identified in the 2016 campaign. The late Republican domus, with walls in opus incertum masonry, has returned traces of the floors, II style wall decorations and some furnishings. It is confirmed as a high-level aristocratic domus, developed along the terraces of the western slopes of the Palatine. A significant new discovery concerns the construction phase of the Horrea Agrippiana. In the 2016 campaign, the remains of a structure interpretable as a warehouse had been found. It is characterized, at least on the northern side, by a series of parallel chambers, 4 meters wide, open to the south, finished in travertine block endpieces opening onto an area that was probably open-air. The new stratigraphic data could indicate that it is not an older phase of the Horrea, but its first project phase. This would have been interrupted by a fire (12 BC?) and then replaced by the new Horrea Agrippiana project in opus quadratum, still visible on the site. Regarding the construction of the Horrea, the pottery from the new layers confirm the dating to the Augustan period. Finally, much interesting new evidence concerns the Late Antique phases of the warehouse. Some contexts testify to productive activities dating to the 5th-6th century AD, while a group of new burials, probably from the 7th century AD, seem to be connected to the life of the nearby diaconia of San Teodoro.

Frontiers in Digital Humanities , 2019

Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal , 2019

TRAC 2015: Proceedings of the Twenty-Fifth Annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference, Mar 2016

TRAC 2014. Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference , 2015

Journal of Roman Archaeology, 2021

Journal of Roman Studies , Nov 2014

Matthew J. Mandich: mjm66@le.ac.uk
Saskia Stevens: s.stevens@uu.nl

In a recent critique on the correlation between urbanization and economic development in the Roma... more In a recent critique on the correlation between urbanization and economic development in the Roman world it was stressed that ‘we need a theory of (ancient) urbanization and of the nature of the processes that supported the development of urban centres before we can attempt to delineate and quantify the parameters of this development, let alone begin to discuss the implications of this for the economy’ (Morley 2011: 153). Yet this is no easy task, as urban planners, economists, geographers, sociologists, and land use analysts still struggle to quantitatively and qualitatively understand the growth and sustainability of modern cities and urban systems. That said, progressive work in the field of urban scaling (see Bettencourt 2013) has finally allowed for a more scientific approach to the evolution of cities by identifying a set of basic principles by which urban systems abide. While these confirmed scaling relations have been observed in thousands of modern cities worldwide, recent archaeological work in Pre-Hispanic Mexico suggests that ‘the fundamental processes behind contemporary urban scaling operated in the ancient world just as they do today’ (Ortman et al. 2014). This paper will then examine how the theoretical framework and principles of urban scaling may be applied to assess the growth and evolution of ancient Rome. By taking a diachronic approach, and examining specific phases of Rome’s urban growth (and the sustainability of such growth) we may achieve a better understanding of the underlying motivating factors behind the City’s expansion and ultimate decline. These conclusions may then be extrapolated in ways that arguably push us closer to a more acceptable theory on ancient urbanization and how it relates to the Roman economy.