This work provides a synthesis of recent research on villas and villa landscapes in the northern provinces of the Roman world. Topics that will be discussed include the economic basis of landscapes dominated by villas, rural slavery, urban rural dynamics, the role of monumental tombs in villa landscapes, self-representation and the lifestyle of villa owners. The book offers an original, multi-dimensional perspective on the social, economic and cultural functions of villas in the Roman Empire.

Monografie over onderzoek naar Romeinse villa's en hun omgeving in de noordelijke provincies van het Romeinse Rijk.

This volume offers a comprehensive survey of Roman villas in Italy and the Mediterranean provinces of the Roman Empire, from their origins to the collapse of the Empire. The architecture of villas could be humble or grand, and sometimes luxurious. Villas were most often farms where wine, olive oil, cereals, and manufactured goods, among other products, were produced. They were also venues for hospitality, conversation, and thinking on pagan, and ultimately Christian, themes. Villas spread as the Empire grew. Like towns and cities, they became the means of power and assimilation, just as infrastructure, such as aqueducts and bridges, was transforming the Mediterranean into a Roman sea. The distinctive Roman/Italian villa type was transferred to the provinces, resulting in Mediterranean-wide culture of rural dwelling and work that further unified the Empire.

In Gardens of the Roman Empire, the pioneering archaeologist Wilhelmina F. Jashemski sets out to examine the role of ancient Roman gardens in daily life throughout the empire. This study, therefore, includes for the first time, archaeological, literary, and artistic evidence about ancient Roman gardens across the entire Roman Empire from Britain to Arabia. Through well-illustrated essays by leading scholars in the field, various types of gardens are examined, from how Romans actually created their gardens to the experience of gardens as revealed in literature and art. Demonstrating the central role and value of gardens in Roman civilization, Jashemski and a distinguished, international team of contributors have created a landmark reference work that will serve as the foundation for future scholarship on this topic. An accompanying digital catalogue will be made available at: www.gardensoftheromanempire.org.

This study presents a new regional history of the middle Tiber valley as a lens through which to view the emergence and transformation of the city of Rome from 1000 BC to AD 1000. Setting the ancient city within the context of its immediate territory, the authors reveal the diverse and enduring links between the metropolis and its hinterland.

The Roman villa at Lyde Green was excavated between mid-2012 and mid-2013 along with its surroundings and antecedent settlement. The results of the stratigraphic analysis are given here, along with specialist reports on the human remains, pottery (including thin sections), ceramic building material, small finds, coinage and iron-working waste.

This book explores the manner in which architectural settings and action contexts influenced the perception of decoration in the Roman world. Crucial to the relationship between ancient viewers and media was the concept of decor, a term employed by Vitruvius and other Roman authors to describe the appropriateness of particular decorative elements to the environment in which they were located. The papers in this volume examine a diverse range of decorated spaces, from press rooms to synagogues, through the lens of decor. In doing so, they shed new light on the decorative principles employed across Roman Italy and beyond.