The Evolution of the Vitruvian Recipes over 500 Years of Floor‐Making Techniques: The Case Studies of the Domus delle Bestie Ferite and the Domus di Tito Macro (Aquileia,Italy)

The paper reports the results of a research project aimed at the characterization of the floor bedding mortars of two Roman houses in Aquileia (north‐eastern Italy), the Domus delle Bestie Ferite and the Domus di Tito Macro. Seventy floor bedding mortars of the two domus were selected and almost half were fully minero‐petrographically characterized by means of optical microscopy operated in transmitted light (OM‐TL), X‐ray powder diffraction analyses coupled with quantitative phase analysis by means of the Rietveld method (XRPD‐QPA) and scanning electron microscopy with EDS microanalysis (SEM–EDS). The results indicate an evolution of the mortar preparation techniques over time in the mosaic of both houses. The materials are compared to the traditional Roman recipes for specific construction techniques.     

Mapping Past and Present: Leonardo Bufalini's Plan of Rome (1551)

Leonardo Bufalini's plan of Rome (1551) was the first printed map of the Eternal City and a landmark in the history of city plans. This article fills several lacunae in the scholarship on the map by reconsidering its intended function and audience and by situating it at the intersection of technical and antiquarian endeavour in sixteenth‐century Rome. At issue are Bufalini's methods for making the map, along with the distinctive combination of practical and scholarly interests that motivated him. The anomalous status of Bufalini's plan in the realm of popular printed imagery of the city signals, moreover, that the Renaissance audience had a marked preference for pictorial city views over maps.     

The Enigma of the Great Thapsus Harbour Mole

On the East coast of Tunisia, between Sousse and Sfax, lie the scant remains of the ancient city of Thapsus, notable mainly for a battle fought in the civil war in 46 BC. Visits by the authors resulted in the discovery of one of the longest‐known harbour moles in the entire Roman Empire. No ancient sources make reference to any work of such magnitude and the paper suggests that the harbour was never completed, but might have been started by the local emperors Gordianus, none of whom survived long enough to have executed such a project.     

The ROMACONS Project: a Contribution to the Historical and Engineering Analysis of Hydraulic Concrete in Roman Maritime Structures

Since all long-distance trade in the Roman world travelled by water, Roman harbour design and construction have special importance. Harbour excavation must be supplemented by analysis of the components of the hydraulic concrete, structural analysis of the cementing materials, and consideration of the design of the wooden formwork. The authors have begun collecting large cores from concrete blocks at Roman harbours and other maritime structures, analysing the materials used, the method of placement, and the structural characteristics of the resulting concrete. These data have provided new information on the engineering properties of Roman concrete, the process of funding and execution, and the trade in the volcanic ash which was the crucial component of hydraulic concrete.
© 2004 The Nautical Archaeology Society