new book debunks roman shopping

[caesar novus]

Below find a review on Shopping in Ancient Rome: The Retail Trade in the Late Republic and the Principate by Claire Holleran Oxford, 304 pp,

[Maladict]

We definitely know less than we think, there's a lot of conjecture paraded as fact in popular histories. The case of Trajan's forum also illustrates the dangers of reconstruction, the 'markets' have been so well established as fact it's almost impossible to reverse it. It's not enough to just change the text on a sign when the buildings so obviously look like shops.

[DecimusCaesar]

Sounds like it blows apart some myths, but I think sometimes that attempts to deconstruct the past too much ends up creating a new set of myths in their place. I wonder what evidence she has to prove that Trajan's Market wasn't really a market at all. It'd be interesting to find out, although I doubt I have the cash to spare on this book. Anyone here at UNRV read it and could give us an opinion on Trajan's market?

[caesar novus]

The problem is if they have reconstructed it to artificially appear as a market, based on fancy and not evidence. Both that market and ostia antica have a lot of features that ring false to me... they dont have that slightly alien and thrilling ancient roman feel, and i asume that is due to overeager and ideological rather than archeological driven fascist era reconstruction. Well, that has been criticized, but here is a summary that puts that effort in some positive light... getting things done where moderns would delay and shrink from:

 

http://courses.umass.edu/latour/Italy/Mussolini/index.html

 

P.S. saw a good recent episode of 'unearthing ancient secrets' about roman engineering of colosseum, aquaducts, and the pantheon. I dont get why aquaducts were built sometimes half again too long in needless zig zags to maintain the gentle slope. They say to prevent wear from fast moving water, but why not save tremendous construction and ongoing maintence by having special water ladder drop downs like we do now for fish to climb? I'd suspect the builders were paid by the length, and like taxi drivers were padding the distance, but that seems too brazen.

Edited January 16, 2013 by caesar novus