| Domain | Cultural Common Ground in the Roman Empire (31 BCE-200 CE) |
| Researcher(s) | James Dodd |
| University | Radboud University |
| Degree | PD |
| Date Range | October 2024 - Present |
The 3rd century had an enormous impact on the socio-political and economic functionality of the northwestern provinces of the Roman Empire. Generally couched in terms of a ‘crisis’ in which economic inflation, raiding barbarians and civil unrest plagued the region, it sits uncomfortably between the Early Empire and Late Antiquity. This project examines the effect that this period had on rural settlements in the northwestern provinces and the innovative architectural and material culture shifts that allowed the rural populations of southern Britannia, Gallia Belgica and Germania Inferior to cope, or not cope, with socio-economic stresses.
Instead of approaching the 3rd
century as a period of innovation, scholarship has promoted a colonialist view of ‘crisis’, focusing on Early Roman technological development, buildings and industry. We have a limited picture of innovation after the 1st
century. In the 3rd
century, new architectural innovations, including construction in wood, new housing styles and spatial organisation have undergone limited study. Data integration across different settlement types is poor and consequently, scholarship has uncritically relied on negative views of ‘crisis architecture’. By building on reframed conceptualisations of crisis and decline, this project will answer the research question: How did ‘crisis’ define architectural innovation in the countryside of 3rd century Gaul and Lower Germany?
This project assesses ‘crisis’ through the lens of architectural innovation at rural settlements, moving beyond simplistic notions of ‘crisis architecture’. Using material culture and architectural changes, it will examine 3rd century settlements as part of unique multi-stage processes of architectural and socio-economic adoption, distinct from kneejerk reactions to capitalistic notions of ‘crisis’. This seeks to help change the wider perception of the period as one of ‘squatter occupation’ and ‘destruction/demolition’ to assess radically different styles and archaeological phenomena. Innovation is grounded in new practical ways of dealing with change; traditionally seen as ‘crisis architecture’ and this work examines both the development of these new architectural styles and activities as well as their anchoring to the older settlement pattern. These changes tied into the much wider innovation and reorganisation of socio-economic and political life at the beginning of Late Antiquity in the northwestern provinces.
