this issue
previous article in this issuenext article in this issue

Document Details :

Title: Public Architecture and Urban Living in the Roman City
Subtitle: The Example of the Forum of Timgad
Author(s): TRIFILÒ, Francesco
Journal: BABESCH
Volume: 86    Date: 2011   
Pages: 125-136
DOI: 10.2143/BAB.86.0.2128095

Abstract :
The Roman imperial forum is a potent symbol of imperial authority and a key setting for the study of elite funded building-work. However, its interpretation as a monument at the centre of dynamics of elite social competition does not offer a comprehensive understanding of its surviving remains. This article proposes to enrich our view of this space by introducing the space-shaping role of urban-living. This is demonstrated through a re-interpretation of the forum of Timgad, in which a data-review will describe key processes that contributed to its present appearance. The re-interpretation of the genesis of this forum will show it to be ‘fragmented’ by urban-living and offer a new reading of the remains of fora in Roman Africa and in the empire at large.

Download article