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The recycling and reuse of materials and objects were extensive in the past, but have rarely been embedded into models of the economy: this volume is the first to explore these practices in the Roman economy, drawing on a variety of methodological approaches and new scientific developments in a wide-ranging interdisciplinary study.
List of contents
- 1: Chloë N. Duckworth and Andrew Wilson: Introduction: Recycling and Reuse in the Roman Economy
- 2: J. Theodore Peña: Recycling in the Roman World: Concepts, Questions, Materials, and Organization
- Part I: Reusing Commodities, Transforming Meaning
- 3: John Peter Wild: The Reuse of Textiles in the Roman World
- 4: Erja Salmenkivi: Reuse and Recycling of Papyrus
- 5: Simon J. Barker: Reuse of Statuary and Spolia: An Economic Perspective
- 6: Tom Brughmans and Alessandra Pecci: An Inconvenient Truth: Evaluating the Impact of Amphora Reuse through Computational Simulation Modelling
- Part II: Chemical Data and Material Flows
- 7: Peter Bray: Modelling Roman Concepts of Copper-Alloy Recycling and Mutability: The Chemical Characterization Hypothesis and Roman Britain
- 8: Matthew J. Ponting: Recycling and Roman Silver Coinage
- 9: Patrick Degryse: Elements, Isotopes, and Glass Recycling
- 10: Chloë N. Duckworth: Seeking the Invisible: New Approaches to Roman Glass Recycling
- Part III: Site Formation, Visibility, and Temporality of Recycling
- 11: Alessandro Sebastiani and Thomas J. Derrick: A Regional Economy of Recycling over Four Centuries at Spolverino (Tuscany) and Environs
- 12: Beth Munro: The Organized Recycling of Roman Villa Sites
- 13: Robin Fleming: Old Buildings, Building Material, and the Death of Recycling in Post-Roman Britain
- 14: Ellen Swift: Reuse of Roman Artefacts in Late Antiquity and the Early Medieval West: A Case Study from Britain of Bracelets and Belt Fittings
- Part IV: Where Next?
- 15: Chloë N. Duckworth, Andrew Wilson, Astrid Van Oyen, Catherine Alexander, Jane Evans, Christopher Green, and David J. Mattingly: When the Statue is Both Marble, and Lime
About the author
Chloë N. Duckworth is a Lecturer in Archaeological Materials Science at Newcastle University. Her research focuses upon the chemical analysis of ancient and medieval glass, and upon the archaeology, science, and theory of technology and production. She directs archaeological fieldwork at two UNESCO World Heritage sites in Spain: the Alhambra (Granada) and Madinat al-Zahra (Cordoba). She is a keen advocate of public outreach and works to disseminate archaeological knowledge both in traditional media (television and radio) and online.
Andrew Wilson is Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empire at the University of Oxford and Fellow of All Souls College. His research focuses on the Roman economy and ancient technology, urbanism, and settlement, and he has conducted excavations in Italy, Libya, Tunisia, Syria, Cyprus, and Turkey. He is co-director (with Alan Bowman) of the Oxford Roman Economy Project (OxREP) and (with Chris Howgego) of the OxREP-Ashmolean Coin Hoards of the Roman Empire project; he is also Principal Investigator of the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa project (EAMENA).
Summary
The recycling and reuse of materials and objects were extensive in the past, but have rarely been embedded into models of the economy: this volume is the first to explore these practices in the Roman economy, drawing on a variety of methodological approaches and new scientific developments in a wide-ranging interdisciplinary study.
Additional text
...this is an excellent book. The ideas are valuable, and it is well written, thoroughly illustrated, and beautifully produced. It will provide a better understanding of the ancient world to both specialist and general readers, particularly those with interests in technology, economy, and the essential aspects of Roman life that remain undervalued and understudied...
