Archaeology

PAOLO CARAFA
PAOLO CARAFA

In consistency with the educational purposes of the whole teaching course, aim of the teaching unit is to give students knowledge and comprehension skills in the field of GREEK AND ROMAN ARCHEOLOGY I A, that complete and/or reinforce those acquired in the first grade of studies. Moreover, it will make the students able to approach orginal themes in a research context, making more complex judgments, communicating knowledge and its process, and studying the subject in an independent and self-educational way.

Widening of monuments, materials and contest of the Roman world starting from concrete cases of study in the context of the ritual habits, of the architecture and the urbanism, of the artistic and material culture. Learning of the systems of classification and philological analysis; methodological problems: quantitative and qualitative analyses. Reconstruction of the cultural phenomenon on the basis of the specific archaeological indicators; comparison with the other knowledge systems. Practical laboratories.

In consistency with the educational purposes of the whole teaching course, aim of the teaching unit is to give students a basic knowledge and comprehension skills in the field of Greek and Roman Archaeology with the help of advanced textbooks. Moreover, it will make the student able to apply the acquired knowledge in an expert and reflective way, making autonomous judgments, communicating ideas, problems and reflections in a clear and correct way, and developing the knowledge required to go further in the studies.
The module provides a critical analysis of the modern debates and knowledge in Roman and Greek culture, art, and archaeology from the Bronze Age to the imperial periods. The display of the major documents related to Roman and Greek civilization (Including art, architecture and town planning) will encompass major works and major monuments of Ancient Latium of political power through centuries to which these cultural expressions were structurally related. We will consider the character of the functional components of the ancient city, by discussing forms, functions and meanings of various types of documents, buildings and monuments of the public and private sphere; we will analyze themes, messages, and the figurative language of the various artistic expressions. The analysis will include the analysis of the ideological, cultural and social contents expressed by the Roman and Greek civilization from its "origin" to its "dissolution".

No previous experience/classes needed.

Urban and extra-urban landscapes and architecture of Ancient Latium. The course aims to addressing the urban and extra-urban landscapes of Ancient Latium, with reference to archaeological data, history of research and methodological issues. We will proceed to in-depth analysis of monuments, materials and contexts of Latium Vetus and Adiectum starting from concrete case studies in the context of ritual manifestations, architecture and urbanism, artistic and material culture. Classification and philological analysis systems will be considered as well as methodological issues, quantitative and qualitative analysis. In particular, the course will examine the sequence of the most important and/or well documented town from Latium Vetus and Adiectum and their territories, deepening the knowledge of artefacts, works of art and architecture from the VIIIth century BC to the end of the imperial age. A part of the lessons will also be dedicated to the knowledge and use of computer systems for classification and analysis, to the philological analysis of the testimonies and to the consideration of methodological problems. First week. The general characteristics of the landscape of Latium, the geomorphology of its sectors and its articulations (cities and territories) will be presented in a diachronic perspective; the methodology needed to define the territorial patterns of the centres, their extension and their boundaries will be illustrated, and an overall picture of the monumental contexts present in them will be defined. The methodologies for the analysis and recomposition of ancient urban and extra-urban landscapes will then be illustrated, starting from the classification systems and philological analysis of the evidence relating to the architectural and topographical contexts and their integration within an information system. Second week. Through the examination of literary sources and the analysis of archaeological data, the history of some cities between the VIIIth and VIth centuries BC will be reconstructed. The settlement and socio-cultural patterns of some specific Latial communities will be examined in depth, as well as any documented transformations in them during the considered chronological period, through the examination of different types of contexts and monuments (places of worship, necropolises, residential and productive buildings, etc.). For each of these contexts the available information dossier will be presented: literary, archaeological and iconographic evidence. Third week. The narration of the history of the urban landscapes of Latium will continue facing the chronological phase between the end of the VIth and the Ith century BC. The analytical approach of archaeological data as well as literary sources will be the same applied in previous lessons. After a general introduction to the historical period, the information sources relating to single monuments and complexes will be analyzed to provide a proposal for the reconstruction of the architectures and contexts in which they were inserted. Fourth week. We will continue the narration of the evolution of the urban landscapes of Latium Vetus and Adiectum. From the end of the late republican age it will reach the age of the Antonines emperors. The analytical approach of archaeological data as well as literary sources will be the same applied in previous lessons. After a general introduction to the historical period, the information sources relating to single monuments and complexes will be analyzed to provide a proposal for the reconstruction of the architectures and contexts in which they were inserted. Fifth week. The story of the landscape's history of Latium Vetus and Adiectum will continue until it ends with the Constantinian age and the late-antique era. The analytical approach of archaeological data as well as literary sources will be the same used in previous lessons. After a general introduction to the historical period, the corpora documentaries relating to individual monuments and complexes will be analyzed to provide a proposal for the reconstruction of the architectures and contexts in which they were inserted. Sixth week. Specific contexts from Latium Vetus and Adiectum will be considered in detail, in particular by analyzing the methodological approaches for reconstructing monuments and sectors of ancient urban and rural landscape. The nature and the informative value of the literary sources about the considered areas and the related interpretative problems will be evaluated. The archaeological evidences related to specific contexts will be examined, also in light of their edition, and the further evidence useful for the integration of the architectures and the better knowledge of cultural, political as well as social features related to them. Seventh week. The course will end with two guided tours lasting about 5 hours each in which the students will be guided through two archaeological sites of Latium considered during the lectures.

No Bibliography required.

The lessons will be conducted in-person, following a traditional teaching approach. Presentations will be delivered using PowerPoint and projected on a digital screen.

Frontal lessons

Students evaluation will be based on the following parameters: knowledge, active involvement in classes, reasoning, learning.

Description of different phases, cities and monuments of Ancient Latium

• Introduction


• From Context to Landscape


• Operational Tools of Classical Archaeology: Typology, Stratigraphy, and Topography


• The Ancient Latium Project


• What is Ancient Latium: Sources and Traditions


• Middle-Republican Latium


• Late-Republican Latium


• Latium in the Roman Imperial period