Ancient Urban Planning Research Papers (original) (raw)

This paper presents the results of a magnetic survey on the Hellenistic and Roman site of Doura-Europos in Syria. The interpretation of the magnetic data is based on an original approach by considering the use of space in a domestic unit. This type of study has been developed for sociological research but is adapted to the information carried within geophysical data. After a brief presentation of the role of geophysical methods for the study of city planning, the most important components of the 'space syntax' will be presented and applied to two blocks of Doura-Europos, one that has been excavated in the twentieth century by the Yale University and another surveyed using the magnetic method.

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- Classical Archaeology, Ancient Urban Planning, Ancient Near East, Archaeological Geophysics

Early Bronze Age urbanization and urbanism in the Levant have long been important themes in scholarly discussion, with both the nature of the process and its results being the subject of lively debate. We view Early Bronze II (EB II) south Levantine urbanism as a novel ideological construct grounded in heterarchical modes of social organization, rather than a direct development from earlier village-based lifestyles. In the current study we employ a phenomenological approach that enables us to identify an urban habitus and to discuss cognitive aspects of town life, rather than constraining the discussion to urban morphology. Tel Bet Yerah in northern Israel is a good place to approach these issues, as it presents a continuous, extensively excavated Early Bronze Age sequence. One of the most prominent elements of the EB II fortified city is a system of paved streets that constructed space in a clear geometric pattern. The investment in street planning and engineering, alongside other aspects of planning, no doubt played a key role in the inculcation of urban concepts at the site. As shared public spaces, the streets were experienced and modified through the everyday practices of the town’s inhabitants and visitors. It is the negotiation between planning, ideology and practice that makes the streets of Bet Yerah an exemplary case of the role of architecture in promoting and sustaining a new social order.

- by Sarit Paz and +1
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- Urban Planning, Urban Studies, Urbanism, Ancient Urban Planning
- by Emanuele Greco
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- Archaeology, Ancient Urban Planning, Ancient Greek Music, Ancient Greek History
- by Jamieson Donati
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- Ancient History, Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Classics

ever, attention has been directed in a piecemeal fashion towards the remains of these sites' major edifices. 3 The only attempt at reconstructing an urban plan on Cyprus was made by Jolanta M¬ynarczyk for Hellenistic Polis. 4 Ultimately, questions abound concerning the organization of urban space, the relationships between civic, religious, and domestic zones, the connection between urban and extramural space, the relationship between urban and rural space, and how these change during the transitions from the Hellenistic to Roman and Roman to Late Roman periods. The answers to these questions have farreaching consequences to how we perceive the culture, economy, religion, politics, and lifestyles of the residents of Cyprus during these periods.

- by Sylvie Duvernoy
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- Architecture, Ancient Urban Planning, Urban Design

A summary of the research has been published in "Archaeological evidence of cesspits, sewers and latrines from the sixth to the fourth century B.C.," in Jansen, G.C.M., Koloski-Ostrow, A.O., Moormann, E. (eds.). Roman Toilets. Their... more

- by Gabriel Zuchtriegel
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- Cultural History, Ancient Urban Planning
- by Michael E Smith
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- Urban Geography, Urban Planning, Ancient Urban Planning, Ancient Urbanism

La exploración del sistema de asentamientos de la ciudad maya antigua Cobá permite declarar con seguridad un carácter non-linear e inconstante del urbanismo tal como es en el área maya. Comparado por su tamaño y cantidad de población con Tikal, Cobá tenía un porcentaje de las estructuras residenciales hasta 95% de la cantidad 6595 estructuras en total (Manzanilla 1987: 26). Con independencia de la población de alrededores en Cobá vivían 11.000-13.000 personas en el período clásico tardío (600-850 d.c.), con sus alrededores -16.000-20.000. Al mismo tiempo a diferencia de la organización de asentamientos en Tikal donde los grupos residenciales elitistas eran dispersos por área amplia, en Cobá funcionó un modelo concéntrico general o un modelo de las zonas concéntricas. Este modelo presupone la existencia del temenos, ceñido por un anillo de las habitaciones elitistas, que a su vez está cercado por las áreas residenciales de comuneros rodeadas por un círculo convencional de los complejos secundarios de los alrededores. Además las observaciones recientes a propósito de la presencia de los mercados en algunos sitios en Peten Sureste, en Tikal, Calakmul, Chunchukmil permiten dar un nuevo vistazo a una estructura muy famosa de Cobála Estructura VII (Gran Plataforma) que basándose en los factores objetivos y subjetivos podría ser una plaza de mercado de Cobá clásica.

- by Ivan Savchenko
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- Settlement Patterns, Ancient Urban Planning, Maya Archaeology, Maya History

One of the most frequently cited examples for ancient Egyptian urbanism, the town of Lahun 1 is located close to the southeast entrance of the Fayum lake depression. It has been the object of a long line of studies focusing primarily on the analysis of the architectural layout of the houses within this town. The strict grid pattern and the noticeable complexity of the internal organization of the larger houses have led to its being of significant interest for the understanding of the social organization and urban characteristics of its inhabitants. The primary function of this town has usually been linked to the funerary cult of Senwosret II — whose nearby pyramid complex has been understood as the main reason for its existence — housing administrators, as well as temple staff for the upkeep of his royal mortuary cult. More recently, the use of satellite images in conjunction with available archaeological and textual data has led to several new observations and results for this important Middle Kingdom settlement site, which not only question the function of this settlement but also provide a new perspective on its setting within the wider landscape of the Fayum region.

- by Nadine Moeller
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- Egyptian Archaeology, Ancient Urban Planning, Middle Kingdom, Town planning

The rapidly growing global population places cultural heritage at great risk, and the encroachment of modern settlement on archaeological sites means that valuable information about how past societies worked and interacted with the environment is lost. To manage and mitigate these risks, we require knowledge about what has been lost and what remains, so we can actively decide what should be investigated and what should be preserved for the future. Remote sensing provides archaeologists with some of the tools we need to do this. In this paper we explore the application of multitemporal, multisensor data to map features and chart the impacts of urban encroachment on the ancient city of Jerash (in modern Jordan) by combining archives of aerial photography dating back to 1917 with state-of-the-art airborne laser scanning. The combined results revealed details of the water distribution system and the ancient city plan. This demonstrates that by combining historical images with modern aerial and ground-based data we can successfully detect and contextualize these features and thus achieve a better understanding of life in a city in the past. These methods are essential, given that much of the ancient city has been lost to modern development and the historical imagery is often our only source of information.

- by Rubina Raja and +3
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- Urban Planning, LiDAR, Ancient Urban Planning, Aerial Photography

This thesis combines archaeological, literary, and cultural evidence to evoke a picture of the women who lived on and around Hadrian’s Wall, from the legionary legate’s wife to her Celtic counterparts. Through this analysis I hope to prove that these women, in their varied positions and roles, played an integral part in the complex web of connections that would eventually weave together the communities of the Roman army and the people of Britannia.

- by Lauren McCardel
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- Cultural History, Archaeology, Ancient Urban Planning, Roman Britain

This paper analyzes the factors that affected the urban development of the port city of Delos after 167 BCE, when the Romans put the island under Athenian dominion and turned it into a commercial base connecting the eastern and western Mediterranean. The result of this economic development was unprecedented demographic growth and, by consequence, accelerated urbanization. I argue that the growing commercial and manufacturing activities that were integrated into the urban fabric, and in particular in the domestic sphere, which developed alongside the operation of the entrepôt of Delos, affected the urban development of the port city. I adopt a bottom-up approach, examining the ways in which activities and developments in the micro-scale of the city shaped its macro-scale. Specifically, I focus on the Delian houses and analyze the gradual incorporation of economic activities in them. In doing so, my aim is to evaluate the ways in which uncontrolled factors, such as micro- and macro-scale economic and social developments, fit into our understanding of urbanism in antiquity – rather than analyze the urban planning of the city. Whereas this paper focuses on a specific case study of urban growth, its ultimate goal is to offer an alternative approach to the understanding of urbanism in classical antiquity.

- by Mariachiara Franceschini and +2
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- Urban Studies, Ancient Urban Planning, Etruscology, Italic Archaeology

The Quartier Magon in Carthage (Tunisia) is one of the most important archaeological complex in the pre-Roman Central-Western Mediterranean. However, the important economic, social, political implications deriving from its construction, including large dwellings and a seawall, have not yet been discussed, 30 years after their final publication, even not in recent historical syntheses. This paper explores some of these implications from a Carthaginian perspective

- by Iván Fumadó Ortega
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- Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Urban Studies, Ancient Urban Planning

Nell’ambito del convegno su Atene e la Magna Grecia (SAIA 2006) l’Autore ha presentato riflessioni sul Pireo, costruzione urbana che gioca un ruolo fondamentale nel processo identitario di Atene tra VI e V secolo a.C. dal momento che il suo impianto e le sue trasformazioni hanno segnato il destino della principale città dell'Attica. Nel contributo è posta attenzione alle fasi iniziali, quindi all’atto di nascita del porto la cui costruzione segna una vera e propria svolta nella politica militare e commerciale della città, e sono esaminati i dati archeologici più recenti al fine di proporre la restituzione di un impianto che le fonti attribuiscono ad Ippodamo di Mileto. L’Autore, infine, prende in considerazione anche la documentazione letteraria ed epigrafica per affrontare il problema della cronologia dell’intervento ippodameo nonché le caratteristiche e l’ubicazione della(e) agora(i) del Pireo.

- by Fausto Longo
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- Ancient Urban Planning, Piraeus, Ancient Greek and Roman Town, Archaology

Suite à la vente d'une parcelle comprenant le couvent des Soeurs de charité situé dans la partie sud du Beyrouth historique, l'Émir Maurice Chehab, alors directeur général des Antiquités. du Liban, décida d'entreprendre une fouille de sauvetage en ce lieu, avant la construction d'un centre commercial (Pl. XXXII). Ce chantier fut confié à M. Kalayan, ingénieur attaché au service des Antiquités et supervisé par Jean Lauffray, architecte de la Direction des Antiquités. La fouille se déroula de 1950 à 1952 et pendant quarante ans elle devait attendre sa publication 2. Les résultats se résumèrent en des plans, photos et brèves descriptions du matériel. Les structures mises au jour ont révélé une partie du Cardo Maximus, bordé de portiques, et d'un nymphée. Du côté occidental de la voie, ont été dégagées d'importantes fondations qui suggèrent la présence d'une structure monumentale; du côté oriental, au-delà des boutiques, un ensemble ayant probablement appartenu à un bâtiment privé. Plusieurs phases d'occupation ont pu être déterminées, dont la plus ancienne est d'époque hellénistique. Pendant la période romaine, on assiste à la mise en place de la voie et du nymphée, puis, suite au séisme de 551, l'ensemble du quartier a été rebâti et perdurera jusqu'à la fin de la période byzantine et une partie de l'époque arabe dont l'occupation est attestée. Trois secteurs se sont révélés riches en mosaïques: le Nymphée, le secteur ouest, et enfin le secteur est, de loin le plus important (Pl. XXXIII). Les pavements en opus sectile et en opus tessellatum, de même que les dallages en marbre se regroupent des deux. côtés de la voie romaine. Des pièces ornées de riches pavements de mosaïques à motifs géométriques prennent place dans des bâtiments dont le caractère et la fonction n'ont pas toujours été clairement identifiés. Privés de stratigraphie, notre datation doit se fonder sur la recherche stylistique et comparative, ce qui la rend très approximative. L'analyse des sculptures, des éléments du décor architectural et des inscriptions a servi notre enquête. En arrivant du centre de Berytus, et plus exactement de l'emplacement des colonnes dites des «Quarante Martyrs» par le Cardo Maximus, on longe, sur la droite, un nymphée

This study examines processes of urbanization, including elements of integration and disintegration, at the low-density/dispersed Classic Period (ca. 300-900 C.E.) Maya centre of Buenavista del Cayo in the Lower Mopan River Valley of west-central Belize. Through an examination of the "biographies" of specific non-elite group constituencies (households and communities -people), represented by their material remains (places and things), I examine their impact on the visibility and characterization of urbanization processes at Buenavista through a multi-temporal, materialistic, and nuanced lens known as "life history".

Le Céramique d’Athènes (Kerameikos), que les textes désignent souvent comme chôrion, est communément considéré comme le « Quartier des potiers » par excellence, une sorte de modèle universel pour ce genre de groupement d’artisans (les « quartiers spécialisés »), du moins tels que les antiquisants les envisagent d’habitude. Son existence réelle n’en pose pas moins de problèmes. Du point de vue historiographique, son existence est affirmée dès assez tôt, mais explicitement pendant la première moitié du XIXe siècle, alors qu’aucun vestige du chôrion n’ayant encore été mis au jour. Reposant sur une étymologie « évidente », la valeur démonstrative du toponyme a reçu un caractère axiomatique à tel point que la découverte des vestiges exhumés dans les limites du dème des Kerameis ont été dès le début interprétés d’après ce postulat.
Toutefois plusieurs éléments s’y opposent. L’étymologie du mot Kerameikos n’est pas nécessairement si évidente qu’il n’y paraît. Malgré les contextes d’ateliers de potiers que les fouilles y ont révélés, ce secteur est loin d’être le seul à avoir produit de la belle céramique attique peinte. Enfin, l’espace correspondant au dème du Céramique, qu’il soit intra ou extra muros ne corrobore aucunement la vision d’un espace spécialisé et encore moins d’un espace marginal. Au contraire, il accueille pendant de longues périodes des activités et des fonctions très variées dans un cadre de plus en plus monumentalisé.
Dans l’ensemble, le cas du Céramique d’Athènes, mis en perspective, ne permet pas d’expliquer les concentrations spatiales des activités céramiques, bien présentes dans tous les pays méditerranéens et au-delà. Encore moins, le concept de « quartier spécialisé » constitue un frein pour l’analyse constructive des vestiges artisanaux. À la place des modélisations peu fondées, la recherche archéologique devrait se pencher sur les concentrations artisanales suivant des approches circonstanciées, cas par cas, avant de proposer des modèles globaux.

- by Heather D Baker
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- Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Near Eastern Studies, Urban History

Résumé : Au sein de l'archéologie gréco-romaine, l'idée de l'organisation de la production artisanale par « quartiers spécialisés » ou même par « zones » est largement dominante. D'après cette approche, les activités artisanales auraient été regroupées dans des espaces spécifiques urbains, périurbains ou même extra-urbains, mais toujours dans les marges de l'espace civique. Au sein de ces approches d'origine fonctionnaliste, le Céramique d'Athènes, le Kerameikos, compris d'après une étymologie du toponyme et une certaine vision des vestiges archéologiques, serait donc le modèle du « quartier des potiers » et du « quartier d'artisans » en général. Des recherches et des approches récentes sur ce sujet incitent à réexaminer ces idées reçues. D'une part, le Céramique d'Athènes est un espace particulièrement complexe et, malgré tout, très peu marginal, qui ne peut pas être abordé comme un « quartier » ; d'autre part, les concentrations spatiales des activités artisanales, lorsqu'elles existent, ne semblent pas répondre à une action planificatrice de la communauté civique. Les réalités concrètes, telles que l'archéologie actuelle peut les mettre en exergue, montrent des situations spatiales et économiques plus complexes : leur approche à travers le concept de « quartier » s'avère insuffisante. Dès lors, les questions soulevées incitent à une approche plus large de la ville antique et de ses fonctionnements socio-économiques.

- by Giorgos M. Sanidas
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- Ancient History, Archaeology, Ancient Urban Planning, Greek Archaeology

The Heuneburg on the Upper Danube is one of the best-studied sites of the European Iron Age. Recent research has radically changed our traditional understanding of this central place, which in the 6th century BC covered an area of about 100 hectares. As we argue in the book, the settlement can be classified as the first city north of the Alps. This volume has two main, interconnected aims: to provide the first synthesis in English on the archaeology of the Heuneburg and its surroundings, including the rich burial evidence and the hillforts in the vicinity; and to set the development of this important Early Iron Age site into the broader context of the centralisation and urbanisation processes of the Late Hallstatt period. The fi nal chapter includes an overview of the main contemporaneous sites in Temperate Europe, from Bourges and Mont Lassois in France to Závist in the Czech Republic.

- by Manuel Fernández-Götz and +2
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- Ancient Urban Planning, Iron Age (Archaeology), Iron Age, Late Hallstatt - Early LT period transition

This paper examines the inception and development of the Ancient Greek Cities (AGC) research project (1963–77) of Constantinos A. Doxiadis and addresses the novelty of its methodological approach to the study of classical urbanism. With the AGC project, Doxiadis launched a comprehensive study of the ancient Greek built environment to provide an overview of the factors involved in its shaping. The project produced 24 published volumes — the first two laying out the historical and methodological parameters of the ensuing 22 monographs with case studies — as well as 12 unpublished manuscripts, and through international conferences initiated a wider dialogue on ancient cities beyond the classical Greek world. It was the first interdisciplinary study that attempted to tackle the environmental factors, together with the social and economic ones, underpinning the creation, development and operation of ancient Greek cities. Doxiadis’s innovative approach to the analysis of the ancient city was indebted to his practice as an architect and town planner and was informed by his theory of Ekistics. His purpose was to identify the urban planning principles of ancient Greek settlements in order to employ them in his projects. This paper examines the concept and methodology of the AGC project as well as the ways in which Doxiadis used the study of ancient cities in relation to his contemporary urban/architectural agendas, and explains this important moment in the historiography of ancient Greek urbanism.

In this book, Nadine Moeller challenges prevailing views on Egypt's non-urban past and argues for Egypt as an early urban society. She traces the emergence of urban features during the Predynastic Period up to the disintegration of the powerful Middle Kingdom state (ca. 3500–1650 BC). This book offers a synthesis of the archaeological data that sheds light on the different facets of urbanism in ancient Egypt. Drawing on evidence from recent excavations as well as a vast body of archaeological data, this book explores the changing settlement patterns by contrasting periods of strong political control against those of decentralization. It also discusses households and the layout of domestic architecture, which are key elements for understanding how society functioned and evolved over time. Moeller reveals what settlement patterns can tell us about the formation of complex society and the role of the state in urban development in ancient Egypt.

- by Nadine Moeller
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- Egyptian Archaeology, Urban Studies, Urbanism, Ancient Urban Planning
- by Paolo Storchi
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- Ancient History, Classical Archaeology, Roman History, Landscape Archaeology
- by Felix Pirson
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- Ancient Urban Planning, Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor, Pergamon, Ancient Urbanism

Data from both recent excavation and survey work at the Minoan city of Galatas, which is located in the Pediada in central Crete, allow one to situate an early Neopalatial (ca. 1700–1600 BC) palace in both its urban and rural contexts. Through the employment of Michael Smith’s novel approach to analyzing city planning, and consideration of the associated meanings that may be attached to it, it becomes clear that certain elements of the city of Galatas were constructed with a view toward promoting group cohesion, while at the same time emphasizing, maintaining, and enforcing social differentiation. The fact that these were real concerns for those who constructed the city is highlighted by the various changes to the region’s sociopolitical and economic framework. The impetus for the construction of the city of Galatas remains little understood, but it is tentatively posited that it was owing to the expansion of Knossos in the early part of the Neopalatial period .

This doctoral dissertation presents a synthesis of research on streets and public courts in Crete during the Proto-and Neopalatial periods. Ten sites are considered: Knossos, Gournia, Malia, Mochlos, Myrtos-Pyrgos, Palaikastro, Petras, Pseira, Sissi and Zakros. In the first volume, we propose a definition of the different elements related to Minoan streets and courts, and present an exhaustive catalogue of the currently published remains. The second volume, the synthesis, is a thematic study of all aspects of Minoan street and court systems. Here materials and building techniques are first considered. Then a typology of the streets, courts and junctions is proposed. The next chapters consist of a study of the different equipments found in the streets and courts and an examination of the morphology and dimensions of these urban spaces. Next, traffic principles are analyzed, followed by a summary of the different functions of streets and courts. The appearance of these built public spaces is discussed in the larger context of the emergence of Minoan towns, before considering their continuation following the destructions at the end of the Neopalatial period. The last chapter contextualizes the role of streets and courts in Minoan society. More specifically, it considers the different clues revealed by these spaces for a more comprehensive understanding of social organization during the Proto-and Neopalatial periods.

- by Thibaut Gomrée
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- Ancient History, Archaeology, Social Sciences, Architecture

The Kastro Kallithea Archaeological Project (KKAP) was initiated by the Ephorate of Antiquities in Larissa and the University of Alberta in 2004. The focus of this project is the fortified Classical and Hellenistic city at Kallithea and its environmental and political setting in relation to the ancient ethnos of Achaia Phthiotis in Thessaly, Greece. A major reason the site is suitable for archaeological research is its exceptional preservation. Over the years, the research team studied the city’s plan, its private and public architecture, its economic context and its occupation history. The project’s wider aim is to research social and economic change in the region by exploring the interactions between household, city, surrounding landscape and other cities in the area over time.
This archaeological guide provides a summary of research performed from 2004-2013.

- by Margriet J . Haagsma and +1
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- Ancient Urban Planning, Greek Archaeology, Ancient Greek History, Ancient Greece