Fires in Rome: the Ancient City As a Fire Régime
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Fires in Rome: the ancient city as a fire régime by Margaret Desmond Volume 1 A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy University of Dublin Trinity College 2019 Declaration I declare that this thesis has not been submitted as an exercise for a degree at this or any other university and it is entirely my own work. I agree to deposit this thesis in the University’s open access institutional repository or allow the Library to do so on my behalf, subject to Irish Copyright Legislation and Trinity College Library conditions of use and acknowledgement. ------------- Margaret Desmond Summary The aim of this thesis is to explore the concept of fire as a process in ancient Rome using the model of the city as a ‘fire régime’, a model where systems of building and managing cities have developed in relation to specific patterns of fire engendered by local and environmental conditions. This approach presents a framework where fires are explored as a continuum or a process to which a general typology of urban fire is applied, and where Rome, like all cities, was a habitat for fire. Chapter 1 sets out the inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary methodological approach to the subject and the manner in which traditional material is looked at anew through the lens of modern fire science and sociological research. The thesis argues that much written by the ancient sources has been taken at face value by modern scholarship and needs to be re-evaluated. That re-evaluation begins in Chapter 2 with a close reading of the language and vocabulary used by the sources for each of the 88 recorded fires from the period 460 BC to AD 410. The focus and context of the record is examined while modern commentary is collated on each fire. Chapter 3 presents an analysis of the findings of the close reading and discusses whether the language used can throw any light on why certain fires are recorded in the first place. This chapter also looks at the chronology of the sources as well as presenting case studies to test their reliability. Chapter 4 explores the flammability of Rome and suggests that the individual elements which made Rome a flammable city did not in themselves constitute fire hazards; it was the combination of a number of factors such as topography, population, housing conditions, building materials, human behaviour, the inter-mingling of commercial and residential areas together with ubiquitous naked flame which conspired to make the danger of fire constant in Rome. By applying modern research on building materials, particularly wood, this chapter also investigates whether assumptions have been made by secondary sources about the nature of the flammability of Rome. Chapter 5 examines the Romans’ awareness of the danger, the constant efforts made to prevent, contain and control outbreaks of fire, and the manner in which this was interwoven with political, religious and ritual life of the city. Legislation, building materials, technology and design are all discussed and it is argued that fire prevention and management were part of the fabric of the city. While the ‘fire-brigade’ of Rome, the Vigiles, have been studied more than any other aspect of fires in Rome, there has been a lack of consensus about everything from their numbers, policing role, quarters, and methods of fighting fire. Chapter 6 looks in detail at the Vigiles, takes the same evidence that has been used by earlier commentators but, based on modern fire-fighting and technology, as well as consultation with fire experts, asks different questions of that evidence. Chapter 7 searches for what is not reported in the sources and argues that fire and fires were a continuum, a process, a lived experience, along with perennial urban problems such as floods and quakes. The silence which surrounds the immediate effects of fires on human experience in the sources presents considerable challenges which are addressed by applying the findings of comparative research into contemporary situations of disaster, and by careful scrutiny of descriptions in the ancient sources of human behaviour, especially in time of crisis. The Roman attitude to grief and loss is also discussed. As in any urban fire régime, fires played an important part in shaping the fabric and streetscape of the city. Chapter 8 examines how fires were part of a transformative process which destroyed and regenerated individual structures and whole areas of cities. This chapter concentrates on fires that gave scope to change the city or individual buildings in a way which proclaimed an ideology or political agenda as they gave leaders the scope to shape the city in their own image. It also looks at the manner in which fires could generate economic growth and employment. The final chapter discusses the findings of the dissertation and suggests further areas of study. The dissertation is presented in two volumes. Volume 1 contains the text of the thesis and Volume 2 is made up of two Appendices: Appendix 1 contains translations of relevant primary sources for each of the recorded fires; Appendix 2 contains all figures and illustrations. Table of Contents Volume 1 Acknowledgements ii Abbreviations iii List of Figures iv Chapter 1 Methodology 1 Chapter 2 Reading Fire 19 Chapter 3 Analysis of Reading Fire 110 Chapter 4 Characteristics of Fires in Rome: an urban fire regime 137 Chapter 5 Counter Measures 167 Chapter 6 Counter Measures: Vigiles 183 Chapter 7 Effects of Fires: the human experience 203 Chapter 8 How fires shaped the city 230 Chapter 9 Discussion 262 Primary Sources 269 Bibliography 274 Websites 290 Volume 2 Appendix 1 Translations of Sources 2 Appendix 2 List of Figures 45 Figures 1 - 47. 48 i Acknowledgements First and foremost, I wish to thank my supervisor, Dr Hazel Dodge, whose unfailing erudition and encouragement has sustained me throughout. Dr Dodge is an outstanding supervisor who has been accessible and available to support me at all times. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work under her learned guidance. I wish to thank Department of Classics of TCD for the award of a Postgraduate Research Studentship. It indicated from the beginning a belief in the value of my work which helped to sustain me over the past four years. I wish to thank all members of the Department who have been unfailingly supportive and encouraging. I would especially like to mention Ms Winifred Ryan for her courtesy and help at all times. I also wish to thank the members of the annual review panel during the course of the project: Professor Brian McGing, Dr Martine Cuypers, and Dr Anne Dolan. They provided very useful feedback at each stage. The personnel of Dublin and Cork Fire Brigades have been most helpful in my research. I would like particularly to thank Third Officer Gerard Stanley for his insight and advice. A special word of thanks to Elaine Cullen, Robin Miller, and Colm Traynor. To my family and friends who have lifted my flagging energy when necessary and have believed in me from the outset – Thank You! Finally, to my daughter Jill, this is dedicated to you. ii Abbreviations AE L’Année Epigraphique AJA American Journal of Archaeology APA American Psychiatric Association Bull. Comm. Arch. Bullettino della Commissione Archeologica Comunale di Roma CAMWS Classical Association of the Middle West and South CIL Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum FUR Forma Urbis Romae Historia Historia: Zeitschrift für alte Geschichte IBC International Building Code JFA Journal of Field Archaeology JRS Journal of Roman Studies JSAH Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians KLIO Klio: Beiträge zur alten Geschichte Latomus Latomus: Revue d’études latines LSJ A Greek-English Lexicon compiled by H.G. Liddell and R.Scott (revised by H.S. Jones) 1996 MAAR Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome NSA Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità NTDAR New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome OCD Oxford Classical Dictionary (4th Edition 2012) OLD Oxford Latin Dictionary (2nd Edition, 2012) PBRS Papers of the British School at Rome PLoS Public Library of Science RIC Roman Imperial Coins iii List of Figures Figure 1: FUR fr.18e showing the Graecostadium. Cod. Vat. Lat. 3439. http://formaurbis.stanford.edu/; https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.lat. (Accessed 28/08/18) Figure 2: FUR fr.39ac showing the Hecatostylon. http://formaurbis.stanford.edu/fragment.php?slab=110&record=1 (Accessed 28/08/18) Figure 3: Frequency of Latin nouns for ‘fire’ in the primary sources. Figure 4: Frequency of Latin verbs for ‘burning’ used in the primary sources. Figure 5: Frequency of Greek nouns for ‘fire’ in the sources. Figure 6: Frequency of Greek verbs for ‘burning’ in the sources. Figure 7: Chronological chart of authors who report five or more fires. Figure 8: Temporal distribution of recorded fires. Figure 9: Percentage estimate of the focus of records of fires in the primary sources. Figure 10: Areas most prone to fire and the number of fires recorded in each area. Figure 11: Temples and Shrines impacted by fires as recorded in the primary sources. Figure 12: Fire of 213 BC Figure 13: Fire of 31 BC. Figure 14: The regions affected in the fire of AD 64. Figure 15: Early site of Rome showing topographical constraints. (Claridge 2010, Fig. A) Figure 16: FUR fr.10g showing part of the subura. http://formaurbis.stanford.edu/ (Accessed 3/4/18) Figure 17: The remains of the 2nd century Insula Ara Coeli. (Connolly and Dodge 1998, 143) Figure 18: Gismondi’s model of the Insula Ara Coeli. http://www.museociviltaromana.it/it/collezioni/percorsi_per_sale/plastico_di_r oma_imperiale (Accessed 18/08/18) iv Figure 19: Jettying on Casa di Nettuno ed Anfitrite in Herculaneum.