Prompt Cast
The Archaeology of Ancient Rome: Uncovering the City's History
TLDR Dr. Andrea Brock's archaeological work in Rome has provided valuable insights into the early history of the city, revealing changes in the landscape and the Romans' response to environmental challenges such as flooding and sedimentation. Her coring projects have reconstructed the ancient landscape and highlighted the importance of environmental history in addressing modern challenges and promoting sustainability.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Dr. Andrea Brock is an expert on the archaeology of archaic Rome and discusses her interest in archaeology and the early history of Rome.
05:03
Rome is a challenging place for archaeological excavation due to its dense and intense human activity over 2,500 years, deep valleys filled with sediment and archaeological layers, and the need for expensive infrastructure to access trenches that are five to six meters deep.
11:14
Excavations in Rome have revealed artifacts from different periods of the city's history, leading to a fascination with their own past among the ancient Romans and a strong awareness of the depth of their history.
16:00
In the last 30 years, there has been renewed and improved archaeological work in Rome, resulting in a greater certainty and reliability in understanding the early city, although the destructive nature of archaeology means that valuable data from previous excavations is lost.
20:51
Dr. Andrea Brock conducts large-scale coring projects in Rome using powerful machinery to drill deep into the ground and collect sediment cores, allowing her to analyze the stratigraphy and reconstruct the landscape of the area.
26:09
Dr. Andrea Brock's coring projects in Rome have provided a comprehensive cross section of the city's history, allowing for a reconstruction of the landscape and revealing that Rome's river valley was well-suited for early settlement activity.
31:11
The coring survey has shown that early Rome did not have a marsh, but rather a seasonally inundated floodplain that was suitable for various activities, such as transportation and markets; however, as Rome urbanized in the 6th century BCE, the river valley changed dramatically, becoming more flood-prone and silted up, and the cause of these changes is still uncertain.
36:43
The urbanization of Rome in the 6th century BCE led to deforestation along the river valley, resulting in increased sedimentation and changes in the landscape, although this is a conjecture due to the lack of pollen data for that period.
42:01
In response to the changing landscape and increased flooding, the Romans adapted their cult space by building a platform five meters high and placing two new temples on top of it, demonstrating their active response to environmental conditions and their desire to maintain their presence in the floodplain.
46:44
The environmental challenges faced by ancient Rome, such as flooding and sedimentation, required a communal response and investment from multiple levels of society, which likely influenced the founding of the Republican system of governance and the development of popular institutions in Rome.
51:33
Dr. Andrea Brock plans to continue her work in Rome, conducting more cores and testing established theories, while also emphasizing the importance of environmental history in addressing modern challenges and promoting sustainability.
Categories:
History
Society & Culture
