N/A BONIAS
THE NETHERLANDS
Urbanization in the Early Roman History
This is one of the developments that came as a result of the influence of the Greek world in the early history of Italy. It is a long and phased process that took time to develop and it probably started at around the 9th to 8th centuries BC. During this period we start to observe the proto-urban phenomenon: settlements of small villages begin to merge into a large settlement. This process is well documented in southern Etruria where the process can be seen in detail. A good example is the settlement in Tarquinii where a number of small settlements each with an attendant cemetery, give way to a large settlement with a central necropolis. Caere and Veii are also examples of this process.
The process is less clear in Latium but it appears that here also, the same basic lines have been followed. Various independent settlements give way to a single united settlement. This seems to have happened in Rome, Gabii, Lavimium, Ardea and Antium.
These larger settlements were originally groupings of huts with no formal organization of space or formal planning. The city, as we can imagine it today, does not start to emerge until later in the 7th century when the aristoi under the influence of the Greek world begin to display their wealth and prestige by the construction of large and extravagant structures for burial and other purposes.
This can be considered to be the very first step towards the development of formal planning and monumental architecture that accelerated later in the second half of the 7th century.
A prime example of the urbanization process in early Roman History is Rome itself.
The first signs of change in the habitation zone itself can be seen around the second half of the 7th century when the huts of the Sacra Via and Equus Domitiani were demolished and a floor was laid to create the first Forum. The construction was renewed at around 625BC when it was expanded to take in the Comitium. This is the period when the first evidence of permanent housing can be seen; the construction is of stone and tiled roofs. Similar buildings can be found on the Palatine dating from the early 6th century. The earliest public building so far identified was the Regia, most probably part of a larger complex that served in all probability as the King's residence.
Around 600BC at the northern end of the Comitium the Curia Hostilia was erected. This edifice served as the first Senate House. Some years later (around 580BC) there was a rather radical redevelopment of the Comitium and a monumental sanctuary was added to its southern end. In the Forum Boarium earlier structures dating back to the 8th century were demolished around 600BC and a sanctuary established. In the second quarter of the 6th century a temple was constructed on this site. It was destroyed a generation later and was rebuilt with terracotta decoration and the statues of Athena and Hercules.
An important source of information for this period are votive deposits (offerings made by people during various religious ceremonies) such as in the case of the temple of the Vestals.
Through the available evidence we can sketch a picture of the development of Rome through the 7th and 6th centuries. The archeological evidence is in agreement with the literary sources available. Slowly, the original hut settlements began to give way to more sophisticated forms of architecture and to a more organized and more efficient use of the available space. The center of the city became its vocal point and it was graced with large and elegant public buildings, squares and sanctuaries. These buildings went through several construction stages through the 6th century and acquired their more permanent form at the beginning of the next century.
Around 500BC Rome was one of the most powerful cities in Central Italy, its position and physical appearance clearly emphasizing its status.