Waste Management (Roman cities)

Ein erster Überblick zu archäologischen Hinweisen auf eine Wiederverwertung von Glas in Deutschland belegt ein Recycling bereits in den ersten Jahrhunderten n. Chr., das sich allerdings zunächst nicht signifikant in der Glaszusammensetzung niederschlug. Das Sammeln von Altglas ist vor allem durch archäologische Befunde aus dem militärischen und urbanen Umfeld bekannt und dort auch plausibel. Eine differenzierte archäologische Aufarbeitung, im Besonderen von Glaswerkstätten und ihren Überresten – wie beim Fundplatz Hambach 132 erfolgt –, steht für weite Teile Deutschlands noch aus und ist erforderlich, um die hier geäußerten Thesen zum Glasrecycling zu überprüfen. Die chemische Zusammensetzung der Gläser aus eng datierten Mayener Grabkontexten erlaubt Rückschlüsse auf eine Zunahme von Recycling in Krisenzeiten, so z. B. nach 260 n. Chr. sowie in den letzten beiden Dritteln des 5. und zu Beginn des 6. Jhs. Dies untermauern auch andere Analysereihen von römischem Gefäßglas in Deutschland, wobei eine ebenso systematische wie abschließende Bewertung nur auf Basis einer zukünftig noch erweiterten Menge von Proben und einer umfassenderen Diskussion der Mayener Daten möglich ist.

Ellis, Steven James Ross. 2017. "Reevaluating Pompeii’s Coin-Finds: Monetary transactions and urban waste in the retail economy of an ancient city." In The Economy of Pompeii, edited by Miko Flohr and Andrew Wilson, 293-338. Oxford.

This chapter by Steven J. R. Ellis explores the analytical possibilities of the coin evidence gathered in his excavation of the two house blocks surrounding the lowest stretch of the Via Stabiana, close to the main city gate on the south side of Pompeii. Ellis observes that his coins, even though many come from shops, were mostly found in construction layers, not in deposits suggesting coin loss; as a consequence, he argues that, rather than as a proxy for retail activities, coin finds should, in the first place, be associated with building activity. Thus, in the Porta Stabia area, coin finds can be used to highlight a commercial ‘boom’ in the Augustan period. At the same time, coin finds may reveal a story about coin circulation in earlier periods, such as, in this case, a massive increase in monetary exchange in the decades preceding the Augustan period.

Entre las múltiples transformaciones resultantes del tránsito de la civitas clásica a la ciudad tardoantigua, destacan los cambios en la gestión de los residuos sólidos urbanos. Las investigaciones llevadas a cabo han atestiguado la proliferación de desechos en el espacio intramuros en forma de vertederos, o bien, de labores de nivelación y de aterrazamiento. Aun cuando dicho proceso ha empezado a ser abordado en algunas ciudades de Baetica, el necesario estudio conjunto de la creciente documentación nos ha movido a realizar una primera aproximación en la que hemos mostrado especial atención por el caput provinciae (Corduba). Gracias a las fuentes arqueológicas disponibles hemos podido establecer una serie de tendencias que han sido contextualizadas en el marco de la península ibérica.



Among the many transformations due to the transition of the classical civitas to cities in Late Antiquity, we can highlight the changes in the treatment of solid urban waste. Several studies have shown the proliferation of waste dumped in the space inside walls, where they appear both as part of dumping sites or as leveling and terracing material. Though this process has been studied in some cities in Baetica, the need to analyse the increasing amount of information has led us to start our research focusing on the caput provinciae (Corduba). Thanks to the available archaeological sources, we have identified some trends that have been analyzed in the context of the Iberian Peninsula.

This article presents the analysis of the structures related to the water supply of the Roman city of Gerunda from its foundation, and their evolution over time. Given the lack of archaeological evidence for the Roman times, the study has focused on the analysis of the better documented medieval supply structures, and its extrapolation to the founding period of the city. The study of the urban planning, the walled enclosure, and the disposable archaeological evidence corresponding to the Roman period have provided enough information to approach the water needs of the city, in terms of supply, storage, and healthy habits. Likewise, both the influence of the rivers and the topography of the city
have been determining factors when considering the study of the water supply of Roman Gerona

Ingolstadt/Conference: XXIII. Limes Congress 2015

The unexpected find of a 2nd century AD wooden amphitheatre in Künzing / Quintana (near Passau at the Danube ripa) in 2003 held an even more unexpected filling. The single-phase arena had been in use for only a short time and was then filled up completely with rubbish. This very profane re-use of a prestigious building in a rural region offers a singular opportunity for detailed research on the disposal of waste in roman Quintana and the taphonomy of a big waste pit in a military context.

While the seemingly homogeneous filling does only allow vague conclusions on the dumping process, pits in the arena bottom establish the systematic nature of the waste disposal. The finds of articulated animal bones, pottery and building rubble with traces of secondary burns within the filling may indicate the background of the filling-up.

The paper focuses on the identity of the users of the arena rubbish ‘pit’, the process of its filling and the nature of the rubbish disposed of. The possible movement of rubbish after its deposition in the pit either by humans to search for materials to recycle or by animals looking for food is another focus. The case study of the Künzing arena is used to demonstrate that the amount of information contained in such an ‘all-knowing trash heap’ transcends the simple dating of the finds and illuminates its roman period users.

In this poster we project to make a presentation of Roman urban ‘neighbourhoods’ into one of its particular aspect: the habitant capacity to organize and manage the wastewater collection system, the waste treatment, the collection of household waste and also the waste occurring of artisanal activities. We can find all these characters also in some smaller settlements with an economic and artisanal vocation, where the waste’s management should be a marker of full urbanisation and introduction of roman standard’s life also in roman provinces.
In this purpose, the roman vicus of Bliesbruck in Gallia Belgica (Moselle – France) seems to be an excellent example. Indeed, in Bliesbruck the two artisanal areas, wich are composed of houses with a commercial zone and a private one, present the archaeological finds of this waste’s management. At first, we will study these archaeological records in a spatial organisation point of view. Secondly, we will try to explain how this waste treatment can have some influences on social relationships inside the neighbourhoods of the settlement, and if we may suppose the presence of a local authority (magister vici) charged to manage it. Moreover, the waste evacuation seems to play an important role in regard to the creation and existence of social boundaries. Finally, this archaeological finds can also be related to architectural remains in order to identify the presence and the relation between the different social groups.