Spolia in fortifications and the common builder in late antiquity / / by Jon M. Frey.

• Superior document: Mnemosyne Supplements. History and Archaeology of Classical Antiquity, Volume 389
• VerfasserIn: Frey, Jon M.,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, Netherlands ;, Boston, [Massachusetts] : : Brill,, 2016.; ©2016
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Language: English
• Series: Mnemosyne, bibliotheca classica Batava. Supplementum. History and archaeology of classical antiquity ; Volume 389.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (234 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Through intensive surveys of three fortifications in late Roman Greece, Frey reveals the untapped potential of spolia in demonstrating the critical role played by non-elites in bringing about the architectural and social changes that mark the end of classical antiquity. As his analysis demonstrates, when studied less as displaced objects to be classified by type and more as evidence for the construction process itself, spolia offer a unique opportunity to examine the ways in which common builders met the challenge of using pre-existing building materials to meet their contemporary architectural needs. This “bottom-up” approach offers an alternative to the traditional view that attributes change and innovation only to the genius of prominent individuals known to us in historical sources.

Table of Contents

Front Matter -- Introduction -- Themes -- Reuse as Repair: The “Inscription Wall” at Aegina -- Reuse as Reinterpretation: Section R at Sparta -- Reuse as Rejection: The Fortress at Isthmia -- Spoliation as Process, Military Strategy, and Democratization -- Works Cited -- Index of Names and Subjects.