URBAN ARMATURE IN THE CONTEXT OF LATE ANTIQUE ELITE HOUSES: APHRODISIAS, EPHESOS, SAGALASSOS

Date

2025-8

Author

Bilge, Elif

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The 'armature', introduced by William MacDonald, was a flexible and adaptable spatial system that permeated urban neighborhoods in different ways, changing its form and content, creating unique urban identities across the Roman Empire from the Imperial period to Late Antiquity. It was a web of such connected urban movement arteries as colonnaded and/or non-colonnaded avenues, terraces, ramps, staircases, arcades, alleys, recesses, gates and plazas, fluidly connected and ran throughout the city, integrating buildings, landmarks and monuments. A key innovation in MacDonald's armature approach to analyzing Roman urban morphology is the inclusion of domestic context as part of and an extension of the armature system. This thesis uses the concept of the 'urban armature' to argue for the commonalities, differences, and continuities in the spatial structure of elite houses and the city during Late Antiquity, using Aphrodisias, Ephesos, and Sagalassos as examples. It focuses on the 5th and 6th century phases of houses distinguished with complex plans, generous decoration and distinct locations, to place them within the context of cities' armatures. Drawing on complementary concepts, such as 'urban artifacts,' 'levels of meanings', 'repository of cultural meaning,' and 'urban processes' introduced by Aldo Rossi, Amos Rapoport and Spiro Kostof, the study argues that elite residences in Late Antiquity were pivotal nodes of urban armatures, representing a condensed summary and continuation of the built environment in terms of the network of spatial relationships, place-making principles, decorative programs and visual narratives that gave form and identity to the built environment.

Subject Keywords

Urban Armature, Late Antique elite residence, Aphrodisias, Ephesos, Sagalassos

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/115482

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis