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Fire and Its Consequences in the City of Rome in Antiquity, 390 BC - AD 410

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Fire and Its Consequences in the City of Rome in Antiquity, 390 BC - AD 410 _________________________________________________________________________Swansea University E-Theses Fire and its consequences in the City of Rome in antiquity, 390 BC - AD 410. Byles, Richard How to cite: _________________________________________________________________________ Byles, Richard (2013) Fire and its consequences in the City of Rome in antiquity, 390 BC - AD 410.. thesis, Swansea University. http://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa42629 Use policy: _________________________________________________________________________ This item is brought to you by Swansea University. Any person downloading material is agreeing to abide by the terms of the repository licence: copies of full text items may be used or reproduced in any format or medium, without prior permission for personal research or study, educational or non-commercial purposes only. 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Please link to the metadata record in the Swansea University repository, Cronfa (link given in the citation reference above.) http://www.swansea.ac.uk/library/researchsupport/ris-support/ Fire and its consequences in the cf of Rome in antiquity, 390 BC-AD 410 Volume I: The Text Richard Byles 8/7/2013 SWANSEA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY NOT TO BE REMOVED FROM THE LIBRARY Submitted to the University of Wales in fulfillment of the requirements for the D< of Master of Philosophy f<tr V\ [ l i b r a r y | X k -d & ProQuest Number: 10805387 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10805387 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 DECLARATION This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. Signed...........................................................................(candidate) D ate ............................................................................ STATEMENT 1 This thesis is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. Where correction services have been used, the extent and nature of the correction is clearly marked in a footnote(s). Other sources are acknowledged by footnotes giving explicit references. A bibliography is appended. Signed...........................................................................(candidate) D ate ............................................................................. STATEMENT 2 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed...........................................................................(candidate) D ate ............................................................................. 2 Abstract This thesis is a systematic examination of fire in the city of Rome in the period 390 BC- AD 410. The principal aims of the work are; to show the reasons behind the outbreaks of fire in antiquity; the uses of fire in the city, as well as how fires started and spread both within a structure and within the city generally; the damage fires could cause, both physically (to the city and its inhabitants) and mentally; the aftermath of a fire and how Rome recovered; and, finally, the equipment of the vigiles and how they used this to fight fires in the capital. This research is, perhaps inevitably, interdisciplinary, drawing on evidence from literature, inscriptions, and archaeology. All three sources of information reveal different aspects about fire and, taken together, they enable us to construct a much more complete picture of the phenomenon. Other sources of information are needed to complement the ancient evidence. As such, this study draws on both comparative historical material and modem theoretical studies of various aspects, most importantly the study of fire dynamics. Ultimately this research aims to take a broad overview of the issue of fire in the city of Rome in antiquity, and place it in the emerging field of social history, by bringing the reality of the impact of this problem of urban living on the ordinary inhabitants of the city to the fore. 3 Contents Abstract 3 Preface 7 INTRODUCTION 8 Aims 8 Evidence 10 Literature 10 Inscriptions 14 Archaeology 15 Modern scholarship 17 W hat is fire? 20 Smoke 24 CHAPTER 1: WHY DO FIRES START? 26 Accident 27 Arson 32 W arfare 37 Unknown causes 39 Conclusion 43 CHAPTER 2: USES, FIRE STARTING AND SPREADING 45 Uses of fire 46 Heating 46 Cooking 53 Illumination 57 The work of artisans and craftsmen 60 Fire starting 62 Fire spreading 67 Factors assisting fire spread 71 Factors preventing fire spread 75 The fire of AD 64: A case study in fire spread 78 Conclusion 82 4 CHAPTER 3: FIRE DAMAGE 84 Damage to structures following a fire 84 Death and injury to people caused by a fire 91 Death and injury caused by flames 93 Death and injury caused by smoke 95 Death and injury caused by falling debris 96 Psychological damage 96 Psychological damage to survivors 98 Psychological damage to thevigiles 99 Conclusion 100 CHAPTER 4: THE AFTERMATH OF A FIRE 102 Relief 102 Clean-up and rebuilding 108 Disruption 116 Compensation 121 Conclusion 125 CHAPTER 5: FIGHTING FIRES 126 Fire personnel at Rome 126 Fire fighting technology 130 Am ae 131 Scalae 132 Perticae 133 Centones 134 Scopae 134 Acetum 135 Spongiae 137 Sifones 137 Ballista 138 Conclusion 143 The w ater supply of Rome 144 How were fires fought? 147 Conclusion 150 CONCLUSION 152 5 F ig u r e 1: S im pl ifie d v e r s io n o f t h e F ire T e t r a h e d r o n (a d a p t e d f r o m o r ig in a l d ia g r a m a t w w w .f ir e - fightingind .b l o g s p o t .c o m ) ..........................................................................................................................21 F ig u r e 2: T h e F ire T r ia n g l e ( w w w .forestencyclopedia .n e t / p/p 140/v ie w ) ...................................................22 F ig u r e 3: C h a r t s h o w in g t h e c a u s e s o f f i r e .......................................................................................................................27 F ig u r e 4: Map of Rome showing key features of the fire ofAD 64 (adapted from Hammond 1981: Map 19b) ................................................................................................................................................................................79 6 Preface One of the principal themes of this study, and the one that I am most interested in, is the impact of fire on the inhabitants of an urban settlement. I should make clear at the outset that I have never been the victim of a fire. However, people I know have been (including my maternal grandparents) and seeing or hearing of their reactions to a certain extent inspired aspects of this work. To itemise every inspiration behind this study would be a meaningless exercise, but suffice to say they are numerous and varied. The work itself is the result of three years of research at Swansea University. I am indebted to a number of people for all their hard work and support (as well as putting up with me for all that time!). I am most indebted to my supervisor, Dr Nigel Pollard who has guided me through the perils and turbulent waters of my research and kept me focussed on the task at hand. I would also like to thank Prof. John Morgan for facilitating my learning the Greek language by making his classes constantly entertaining and Prof. Ceri Davies for giving me a deeper understanding of Latin. Special mention and thanks must go to Mrs Lee Poole, departmental secretary, who has been supportive in far too many ways to enumerate them all here. I am indebted to a number of other people for more personal reasons. Miss Jacqui Walsh and Mrs Lynda Horgan deserve special thanks both for employing me as an exam invigilator (thereby providing me with the financial resources to keep my research going) but also for being there to listen to me rant when things were not going well. Also, everyone on the Menswear department at Debenhams, Swansea, who have all had to put up with me talking about this for the last couple of years! My two best friends Rich Hughes and Ieuan Evans: their support has been priceless. My long- suffering wife Tanith, without whom this would never have been finished. To my parents and my Nan: their love and support has been essential, and they have provided much needed food parcels when I have been going hungry or running low on coffee! And, finally, to my grandfather Fred Wiltshire, someone who inspired so much in my life and who I never had the chance to thank for everything. Richard Byles Swansea 22 August 2012 7 Introduction “Therefore, because of the discovery of fire, there arose at the beginning, concourse among men, deliberation and a life in common. Many came together into one place, having from nature this boon beyond other animals, that they should walk, not with head down, but upright, and should look upon the magnificence of the world and of the stars.” Vitruvius 2.1.2.
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