engleski

Living in the suburbs of the colony of Salona during Late Antiquity

The most prominent resident of the suburbs of the Roman colony of Salona was surely emperor Diocletian who built his palace five miles from the city walls, in the seaside settlement of Aspalathos. According to traditional historiography, the abdicated emperor chose this area for its healthy sulfur springs and pleasant countryside to spend his final years in peace. A thorough investigation of over 500 Roman villa localities in Central Dalmatia (today's Croatia) reveals that, from the moment the palace was built, its immediate surroundings, as well as the entire coastland stretching west and south-east from Salona, including nearby islands and the inland, transformed into a highly productive, operative landscape. Even monumental adaptations of earlier housing as well as the emergence of new residences during the 4th century and later could be related to the management and control of a highly functional network of state-run properties (with state-run mansiones, portoria, and ‘industrial’ facilities). After a brief overview of different types of the so-called villa-localities in the area of Dalmatia that has closely gravitated to Salona, the emphasis will be placed on a more elaborate analysis of the sites in its immediate suburbium. Previously interpreted as villae rusticae or isolated rural seaside settlements, these sites will be presented as part of a more complex system of vast production facilities and firmly connected administrative buildings. In this regard, we will gain a new perspective on the functional and structural changes of specific building complexes, as well as changes in production technologies and management, allowing us to better understand what Diocletian's reforms brought into practice and how they affected everyday life in the environment to which he himself immigrated, even after his death.

suburbs of Salona, 4th – 6th c., administrative and productive facilities

nije evidentirano