부산대학교 도서관

The renewed interest, in recent years, of classical archaeology for urban roads in ancient cities, has led them to overcame their traditional role as a mere tool needed for the reconstruction of road network within urban studies. Now they are examined in greater depth looking at how this build up and space in under constant transformation was also to become the stage of social interaction and representation. Bearing in mind the impact of this trend, this present thesis aims to explore the construction and evolution of the network of roads of seven roman cities in the area of the conventus tarraconensis: Emporiae, Iesso, Iluro, Baetulo, Barino, Tarraco and Valentia, during the long diachronic period which begins with its foundation between the II BC and I BC, until well into the sixth century. From the many excavation campaigns and the old recorded evidence, begins a first descriptive section in which up to a total of 84 routes have been identified and defined and which have served as the basis for an individual analysis of the set of roads within each of these seven cities. In this more specific study, the focus was on general issues, such as: the width of roads, ritual practices related to the road network or to certain specific traits, such as the invasion of part of the network by buildings, can still be detected in roads. Above all, the principal issues examined are those linked to the technique and constructive aspects in the diachronic transformation of cities: the necessary techniques needed for the implementation of roads and reparation, the materials needed in their paving or the internal organization of routes. The different constructive aspects involved in road networks have also been examined; the ones lying underground (sewer and water distribution systems) as well as those on the surface (elements protecting and organizing the road). To conclude this section, the general common traits of the set of roads of each city have been assessed in relation to the urban-historical context at the time. Ultimately, the results of each city have been contrasted and compared themselves and in relation to other examples within the Roman Empire. This has led to certain conclusions, as for example how in all the cities their existed a hierarchy in the width of roads which depended on whether they were main or secondary roads. Another result is the discovery that although there existed a great variety of techniques used in the construction and transformation of roads, and often adapted to geographical characteristics in which each city was built, there were certain standardized processes, which often followed the principle of a constructive and resourceful economy. The urban dynamics of each period have a decisive impact in the urban infrastructure, sometimes coinciding with periods of prosperity there are moments of embellishment and of reconstruction, where as in times of recession, their maintenance is neglected. Furthermore, at times, the road was not only a road but also the stage for religious congregation of the community as well as a subject of a considerable number of rituals and finally a landmark that represented its inhabitants that often projected their status through euergetic donations (tiles, fountains, porticoes) or customizing the immediate surrounding areas to their properties, in order to illustrate their rank and affluence. In short, this study demonstrates how the careful archaeological approach of roads in ancient cities can greatly enrich knowledge on the cities themselves because, ultimately, they are an essential and inseparable part of the city: of its axis and one of the major stages of urban public life.