Reimagining urban success: rhythms of activity at Gabii, 800 BC–AD 600. (February 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Samuels, J. Troy; Cohen, Sheira; Johnson, Tyler; Moses, Victoria; Naglak, Matthew; Opitz, Rachel; Banducci, Laura; D'Acri, Mattia; Motta, Laura; Rittershaus, Alison; Stewart, Eddie
• Is Part Of: Antiquity. Volume 96:Number 385(2022)
• Page Start: 103
• Page End: 122
• Publication Date: 2022-02
• Subjects: Italy -- Latium -- ancient Rome -- Mediterranean -- urbanisation -- urban rhythms; Archaeology -- Periodicals; Antiquities -- Periodicals; 930.05
• DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2021.154
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0003-598X

Abstract

Abstract: Abstract : The ancient city of Gabii—an Italian polity of the first millennium BC and a peer to early Rome—has often been presented as an example of urban decline, a counterpoint to Rome's rise from a collection of hilltop huts to a Mediterranean hegemon. Here the authors draw on the results from recent excavations at Gabii that challenge such simplistic models of urban history. Diachronic evidence documenting activity at the site over the course of 1400 years highlights shifting values and rhythms materialised in the maintenance, transformation and abandonment of different urban components. This complex picture of adaptation and resilience provides a model of ancient urbanism that calls into question outdated narratives of urban success and failure.