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Claudius and the Water Supply of Rome Monumentalizing Infrastructure: Claudius and the City and People of Rome by Melissa Huber Department of Classical Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Mary T. Boatwright, Supervisor ___________________________ Jed Atkins ___________________________ Sheila Dillon ___________________________ Maurizio Forte ___________________________ Richard J. Talbert Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Classical Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2019 i v Monumentalizing Infrastructure: Claudius and the City and People of Rome by Melissa Huber Department of Classical Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Mary T. Boatwright, Supervisor ___________________________ Jed Atkins ___________________________ Sheila Dillon ___________________________ Maurizio Forte ___________________________ Richard J. Talbert An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Classical Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2019 i v Copyright by Melissa Huber 2019 Abstract “Monumentalizing Infrastructure: Claudius and the City and People of Rome” is a comprehensive study of public infrastructure in Rome under the emperor Claudius (41-54 CE). Recent scholarship has targeted Claudius’ reign as an important moment in the development of the Roman Principate. Overshadowed in the scholarship by Augustus’ transformation of Rome from a city of brick to marble, Claudius’ projects centered on providing protection from floods, fires, and diseases, and assuring the availability of enough clean water, food, and means of transportation. Building a large marble temple certainly made a symbolic and aesthetic impact, but nearly doubling Rome’s water supply must have meant more to the common person living day-to-day in the city. By focusing on Claudian infrastructure initiatives and using GIS to map and contextualize this work, this dissertation interrogates traditional scholarly approaches to Roman imperial building and ancient urban planning. Following a survey of the ancient sources for Claudian building in Rome in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 examines the practical measures put in place to secure and advertise the steady supply of affordable grain to the city. Many have explored the convoluted history of the grain supply in Rome. I do not replicate such studies, whose findings have not been changed by any significant new discoveries, but instead I focus iv on how the labors put in to improve and advertise such improvements to the food supply of Rome under Claudius changed and shaped the urban landscape. Chapter 3 centers on water and its distribution in the city. I use archaeological, epigraphic, and literary evidence to assess Claudius’ effects on Rome’s water supply. Visualizing these changes lets us consider building as a process, and see what disruption, repair, and construction of aqueduct lines did to water distribution to particular regions of the city. The maps suggest that Claudius improved the potable water supply in areas where the poorer population of Rome lived. Chapter 4 addresses boundary marking and road building—the visual and practical changes made to the organization of and movement in the city. Organizing the boundaries into and out of the city facilitated the urban development of areas along the banks of the Tiber river. The visualization in this and other chapters allow us to see much more clearly than before, and emperor’s impact upon the general populace and obtain a clearer picture of the city’s urban history. My compilation and analysis of the evidence reveals a thorough revision of Rome’s infrastructure under Claudius, despite his common denigration as an ineffectual buffoon or a puppet of his wives and freedmen. This dissertation provides a new framework for examining imperial building in Rome. The infrastructure projects that made all other construction possible are at the forefront. The negative aspects of v Claudius’ character portrayed in the literary sources are counterbalanced or at least nuanced when a focus on infrastructure and care for the people provides a different viewpoint. An emperor’s popularity and legacy among the people would not be measured by jealous quarrels among the aristocracy. The imperial government was not merely reacting to crises, rather it was proactively seeking long-term solutions. vi Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to my husband John, who has been an endless source of support through this entire process. vii Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iv Dedication ................................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. xi List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. xii List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. xv 1. Introduction: Constructing Claudian Rome ......................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Claudius the Builder: The Sources ............................................................................... 18 1.2.1 Literary Evidence ...................................................................................................... 19 1.2.3 Numismatic Evidence ............................................................................................... 38 1.2.4 Epigraphic Evidence ................................................................................................. 42 1.2.5 Archaeological Evidence .......................................................................................... 43 1.3 The City of Rome in 41 .................................................................................................. 45 1.3.1 Population and Demographics ................................................................................ 45 1.3.2 Building and Monumentality .................................................................................. 47 2. A shortage of Grain: Claudius and the Food Supply ........................................................ 53 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 53 2.2 The Grain Supply in Rome: A Brief History .............................................................. 57 2.3 Sources for the Food Supply in Rome under Claudius ............................................. 61 2.3.1 Literary Evidence ...................................................................................................... 61 viii 2.3.2 Numismatic Evidence ............................................................................................... 62 2.3.3 Other Ancient Evidence............................................................................................ 69 2.4 Practical Impact and Visual Commemoration of Food Supply Improvements .... 70 2.4.1 Farming: Fucine Lake Draining Attempt .............................................................. 71 2.4.2 Shipping: Portus and River Infrastructure ........................................................... 78 2.4.3 Distribution: The Porticus Minucia Frumentaria and Warehouses .................. 87 2.4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 113 3. Water for the Masses: Claudius and the Water Supply of Rome .................................. 116 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 116 3.2 Sources for the Water Supply in Rome...................................................................... 118 3.2.1 Literary Sources ....................................................................................................... 119 3.2.2 Regionary Catalogues ............................................................................................. 126 3.2.3 Archaeological and Epigraphic ............................................................................. 127 3.3 Monumental Advertisement of Water Supply Improvements .............................. 129 3.4 Practical Assessment of Water Supply Improvements under Claudius .............. 143 3.5 Improvements in Water Quantity Reaching Rome under Claudius ..................... 160 3.6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 166 4. Organizing the City: Claudius and the Boundaries and Roads of Rome .................... 170 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 170 4.2 Claudius the Censor: 47-48 CE ................................................................................... 172 4.3 Boundaries ....................................................................................................................
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