A common feature of classical civilisation is the birth and explosion of urban ways of life. Urban environments provided a context for increased social connectivity, division of labour, specialisation, production, and technological innovation. Although potentially advantageous, these characteristics often came at a cost, such as increased inequality, diminished quality of life and standards of living, and negative environmental impacts. New scientific analytical techniques provide possibilities for exploring the experiences of the individuals who inhabited those cities and their well-being. This course will address the more intimate aspects of city life in developing urban contexts, exploring where and how people lived, ate, travelled, worked and interacted. Examples will be drawn from the major cultures of classical civilisations including the Greeks, the Etruscans, and the Romans.
This course provides students with the tools to understand the problems of defining and theorising urban ways of life, and the methodologies and theories of the archaeology of ancient day-to-day activity, while also looking to current and future research directions on the subject.