Reuse and Renovation in Roman Material Culture
Functions, Aesthetics, Interpretations

The reuse of architectural and sculptural materials (spoliation) was common centuries earlier than previously realized, during the Roman empire.

Diana Y. Ng (Edited by), Molly Swetnam-Burland (Edited by)

9781108461702, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 28 November 2019

291 pages, 77 b/w illus. 1 map
17.5 x 25.5 x 1.5 cm, 0.55 kg

'Throughout, the volume is impressively well illustrated. It is wide ranging, informative, challenging and thought provoking. It is one of the best edited volumes I have read for some time. While each paper has a specific aim, sight of the bigger picture and wider context is never lost. Moreover, the fact that the papers communicate with each other throughout the volume is indicative of both careful editing and collaborative participation by the contributors in the overall process. The success of this volume means that there is good scope to broaden the contributions to include extra-urban regions and more provinces in future endeavours.' Rebecca J. Sweetman, The Journal of Roman Studies

This book explores the spoliation of architectural and sculptural materials during the Roman empire. Examining a wide range of materials, including imperial portraits, statues associated with master craftsmen, architectural moldings and fixtures, tombs and sarcophagi, arches and gateways, it demonstrates that secondary intervention was common well before Late Antiquity, in fact, centuries earlier than has been previously acknowledged. The essays in this volume, written by a team of international experts, collectively argue that reuse was a natural feature of human manipulation of the physical environment, rather than a sign of social pressure. Reuse often reflected appreciation for the function, form, and design of the material culture of earlier eras. Political, social, religious, and economic factors also contributed to the practice. A comprehensive overview of spoliation and reuse, this volume examines the phenomenon in Rome and throughout the Mediterranean world.

Introduction. 'Reuse, renovation, reiteration' Diana Y. Ng and Molly Swetnam-Burland
1. 'The reuse and redisplay of honorific statues in Pompeii' Brenda Longfellow
2. 'The Vigiles, dynastic succession and symbolic reappropriation in the Caserma dei Vigili at Ostia' Margaret L. Laird
3. 'The epigraphy of appropriation: retrospective signatures of Greek sculptors in the Roman World' Catherine M. Keesling
4. 'Gateways to the past: the Hadrianic architecture of procession in Pisidian Antioch and Athens' Adrian J. Ossi
5. 'Visual literacy and reuse in the architecture of late Imperial Rome' Elisha Ann Dumser
6. 'Urban transformations at Aphrodisias in Late Antiquity: destruction or intentional preservation?' Esen Ogus
7. 'Acquiring the antique in Byzantine Rome: the economics of architectural reuse at Santa Maria Antiqua' Gregor Kalas
8. 'The afterlife of the amphitheater: cultural biography and social memory at Tarragona' Sheila Bond.

Subject Areas: Classical Greek & Roman archaeology [HDDK], Archaeology by period / region [HDD], Archaeological theory [HDA], Humanities [H], History of art: ancient & classical art,BCE to c 500 CE [ACG], The arts [A]