FF:KLA_009 Roman architecture - Course Information

KLA_009 Roman Architecture and Urbanism from an Archaeological Perspective

Extent and Intensity

2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).

Teacher(s)

PhDr. Jan Jílek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Pavel Vavřín, Ph.D. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

PhDr. Jan Jílek, Ph.D.
Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Šibíčková
Supplier department: Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts

Prerequisites

KLA_001 Introduction to Class. Arch.
Basic knowledge of the Greek and Roman architecture in the extent of the course KLA_001 - Introduction to Classical Archaeology is obligated, accomplishment of the couse KLB_107 Greek architecture and urbanism is convenient.

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

there are 19 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

The main objective of the course is to provide the students with an overview of the development of the Roman architecture and settlements from its beginning till the late antiquity. Try to describe not only formal representative architecture of Rome, but also with selected architectonical monuments of the whole Italy and the Roman provinces, which represented the essential structure and formal display of Roman civilization. Another aim of the course is to present to the students principal construction technologies, methods, used materials and architectural orders. but also There are three basic chronological phases in the development: republican architecture, architecture of the Roman empire and of the late antiquity. The students will become familiar with the principal categories of Roman architecture and settlement structure. Last not least students will be able to understand characteristic features of the Roman citiy, its infrastructure and urbanism.

Learning outcomes

After successfull passing the course, students will be able to:
- Identify and summarize important features of the Roman architecture and urbanism
- Describe the Roman settlemnet and its architecture from an archaeological perspective
- Apply acquired knowledge about the architecture and urbanism of Roman settlements on the next study
- Analyze current scientific knowledge in the Archeology of the Roman settlement

Syllabus

• 1. An Introduction
• 2. Emergence and development of the cities in ancient Italy
• 3. Unification of the city under Romans and Roman conception of urbanisation
• 4. Basic construction technologies, used materials, building styles and architectual orders
• 5. Infrastructure of the Roman city on the basis of fundamental archaeological sites (Pompeii, Herculaneum, Ostia)
• 6.-7. Development of individual building types (eg. sacral architecture, theater and amphitheater, baths, living buildings, technical buildings etc.)
• 8.-9. Development of Roman settlement structures (rural, farming and economic)
• 10. Representative cities in Roman provinces and their distinctiveness
• 11. The city transformation between late antiquity and Middle Ages
• 12. Importance and significance of the Roman city phenomenon

Literature

recommended literature
• CORNELL, Tim. The beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC). London: Routledge, 1995.
• DEY, H. W. The Afterlife of the Roman City. Architecture and Ceremony in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
• MAC DONALD, W. L. The Architecture oft the Roman Empire. An Introduction Study I. New Haven, 1982. info
• VON HESBERG, Henner. Römische Baukunst. München: Beck, 2005. info
• LAURENCE, Ray, A. S. ESMONDE CLEARY and Gareth SEARS. The city in the Roman West, c. 250 BC - c. AD 250. 1st pub. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011, xiv, 355. ISBN 9780521701402. info
• Města, která utvářela starověký svět. Edited by John Julius Norwich, Translated by Jana Šimonová - Kateřina Zerzán. Vydání první. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2016, 240 stran. ISBN 9788074296949. info
• The city in late antiquity. Edited by John Rich. New York: Routledge, 1992, x, 204 p. ISBN 0415144310. info

Teaching methods

lectures with images (PPT) presentation, class discussion about actual topics

Assessment methods

active participation, written examination and consequent oral exam

Language of instruction

Czech

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: in blocks.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: 0.

• Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  
• Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/KLA_009