“Piccole tegole”, ocra rossa e tracce di cantiere nell’edilizia in laterizio di Roma e Ostia in età imperiale

Studies over the last 20 years have helped to clarify the mechanisms and functioning of Roman construction, especially with reference to large Imperial building projects (1st-3rd C. AD). The more general aspects of the management of building sites are fairly well known, thanks to the few written sources available to us, and also to analyses devoted to important monuments and urban contexts. It remains of great interest to understand the economic, social, and cultural conditions that, in individual regions and territories, determined the adoption of specific techniques. In this perspective, this article discusses certain detailed aspects of the Imperial brick architecture of Rome and Ostia, demonstrating how lesser-known practices and habits of the workers can still be brought to light, which are useful for the more general historical reconstruction of ancient building sites, also with reference to the techniques and contexts traditionally most studied. In the first part of the article, a special kind of small roof tile ("small tiles") is examined, used for the construction of wall facings after being cut into a variable number of pieces. Secondly, the custom of marking brick facings in red ochre is considered: traces of building site practices, or an aesthetic finishing touch?. © 2023, All'Insegna del Giglio s.a.s.. All rights reserved.