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The Archaeological and Social Analysis of Insulae in Roman Ostia from the 1St to the Mid-4Th Century CE

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The Archaeological and Social Analysis of Insulae in Roman Ostia from the 1St to the Mid-4Th Century CE University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2017 Rental housing and urban property: The archaeological and social analysis of insulae in Roman Ostia from the 1st to the mid-4th century CE. Tipton, Katherine Tipton, K. (2017). Rental housing and urban property: The archaeological and social analysis of insulae in Roman Ostia from the 1st to the mid-4th century CE. (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27629 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3680 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Rental housing and urban property: The archaeological and social analysis of insulae in Roman Ostia from the 1st to the mid-4th century CE. by Katherine S Tipton A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN GREEK AND ROMAN STUDIES CALGARY, ALBERTA MARCH, 2017 © Katherine S Tipton 2017 Abstract Rental housing was abundant in the Roman city. Evidence for this form of housing is found in almost every structural type: horrea, terme, balnea, insulae, etc. It stands to reason that the evidence for the relationship between the owners or operators of the buildings and the tenants would be visible in the archaeological record. The insulae of Ostia Antica confirm this suggestion through the amenity of upper floor toilets. Repairs to these features and their late addition to structures substantiate how important they were to the buildings’ function. Furthermore, they establish that there was a binding contractual relationship between those who owned/operated the buildings and their tenants. The legal texts, mainly found in the Digest of Justinian, provide very little corroborating evidence regarding these features. However, they do clarify that the contracts were reciprocal, under obligatio, and unique to each tenant, most likely because the agreement was verbal. The jurists were often circuitous when considering the rental housing contract, most likely embracing the fact that the dominus dictated the terms. Within the ambiguity of the contracts, the physical evidence of the upper floor toilets and their maintenance is situated, demonstrating not all rentals were a run-down derelict mess and that the tenants had some ability to enforce their right to use and enjoy their home. The reaction from those who owned and operated the buildings was to place the upper floor toilets in a stairway or corridor, a space outside of the living quarters, but still accessible for tenants and maintenance. There were many purposes for owning and participating in the urban housing market. Many times this property would have been mortgaged to raise funds for further investments or to secure a political position and even as housing for clientele, which suggests that these buildings were kept in good working order for more reasons than for the tenant’s use, but for property value and assessment. The image of rental housing and ii urban property in Ostia Antica is one of integration among a diverse collection of structures, which demonstrates coordination, progress and a genuine interest from those who participated in it. iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank the committee members: Dr. Kelly Olson, Dr. Gerald Oetelaar, Dr. Lindsay Driediger-Murphy and Dr. John Humphrey for their time and effort. I would especially like to thank my supervisor Dr. Lisa A. Hughes for her endless support and encouragement. Also, Dr. Hanna Stöger for her kindness and generous advice. Finally, I would like to thank Christine Mains for her advice and for providing editorial clarity to the project. I would like to express my gratitude to the Soprintendenza Speciale per il Colosseo, il Museo Nazionale Romano e l’Area archeologica di Roma for providing the opportunity to survey and research in Ostia Antica. Thank you to Dott.ssa Paola Germoni, Dott.ssa Mariarosaria Barbera, Arch. Francesco Prosperetii, and Marco Sangriorgio. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Soprintendenza Speciale per Pompei, Ercolano e Stabia, Il Soprintendente Prof. Massimo Osanna and Direttrice Grete Stefani for the opportunity to survey in Herculaneum. It was only with the generosity of the Wigham Family Travel Scholarship and the Humphrey- McLeod Travel Scholarship that I was able to travel in order to fulfill my research requirement. iv Dedication My mother—she makes everything possible. v Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. ix List of Figures and Illustrations .................................................................................................. x Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................... xiii Chapter 1: Introduction to Insulae .............................................................................................. 1 1.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 Summary of Chapters ....................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 2: Literary Review ....................................................................................................... 10 1.0 Introduction to Past Scholarship on Insulae and Housing. ............................................. 10 1.1 Architectural and Archaeological Approaches ............................................................... 10 1.2 Art History ...................................................................................................................... 21 1.3 Roman Textual Approach to Insulae .............................................................................. 25 1.3.1 Legal Texts................................................................................................................... 29 1.3.2 Epigraphic Evidence .................................................................................................... 34 1.4 Economics and Demographics ........................................................................................ 37 2.0 Archaeological Surveys in 2014 and 2015 ..................................................................... 41 2.1 Purpose ............................................................................................................................ 42 2.2 Methods........................................................................................................................... 44 2.3 Evidence .......................................................................................................................... 46 2.4 Results: Interpreting the Evidence .................................................................................. 47 Chapter 3: The Context of Urban Rental Property ................................................................... 49 1.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 49 2.0 The Rental Market .......................................................................................................... 55 2.1 The Contract and the Tenant ........................................................................................... 59 2.2 Conductor and the Market .............................................................................................. 66 2.3 Abandonment, Legal Recourse and Ostia ....................................................................... 71 2.3.1 Damages to Tenant’s Property ..................................................................................... 74 2.4 Height and Insulae: Things Thrown from Upper Floors ................................................ 76 vi 2.5 Summary of Legal Perspective ....................................................................................... 79 3.0 Servitudes, Usufruct and Utility: How to control the urban environment. ..................... 81 3.1 Usufruct........................................................................................................................... 85 3.2 Utility: Census (recensus) and insulae ........................................................................... 89 4.0 Urban Property and Politics: praedes praediaque .......................................................... 92 5.0 Habitatio and Clientele ................................................................................................... 96 6.0 Summary ........................................................................................................................
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