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Volume 106 No. 3
July 2002
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Abstract |
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Regionaries-Type Insulae 2: Architectural/Residential Units at Rome
Glenn R. Storey
The architectural/residential unit (ARU) concept previously defined and elaborated for Ostia is here considered in light of the Roman evidence. I conclude that the ARU is the best candidate to be the archaeological correlate of the term insula in the Regionaries. This conclusion is drawn in light of (1) the weight of evidence from review of the documentary sources that points to or is compatible with the concept of the ARU; (2) statistical analysis of the figures given in the Regionaries that establishes that the catalogues probably report statistics that may echo reasonably reliable statistics and are not made up fantasies; (3) the results of geographic information systems (GIS) analysis of the space utilization implications of the Regionaries statistics in Region 12 of ancient Rome; and (4) consideration of the probable number of separate structures in ancient Rome compared with more recent preindustrial urban centers. Finally, the polysemic nature of residential terms in different languages may explain why there has been understandable controversy over the interpretation of the term insula as it occurs in the Regionaries. Work for the future suggested by this analysis includes investigating whether ARUs were commonly defined in association with staircases to upper floors, and how the nature of the urban fabric of ancient Rome may have differed from that of later Italian towns, which appear to show greater preponderance of residential configurations based on the row house.
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