By Emily T.

Major cities were created throughout the empire through the Roman Imperial Age. They were mainly used to strengthen the provinces and the security of the empire and to produce trade centers. Military camps on the frontiers were often used as a base to build these cities. Buildings throughout a city were always being expanded within the walls and being rebuilt more lavishly as a city got larger.

Two-layered wall would surround the area known as the pomerium, which was the open space and the city within the walls. It represented the boundary that was protected by the gods. The city wouldn’t be expanded beyond the city wall, even when the city had reached the edges. Walls were also used as protection. There would be watchtowers pushed all around the city. There would be four entrances, all on the main roads going through the city. They were all vaulted and had three openings: two on either side of the sidewalk and the center for the road.

Cities' roads were constructed in a checkerboard like pattern. There were two main roads running through a city. One running North to South, and another running East to West. They would meet at the center of the city and were the main routes for transportation. The streets were made from stone that was hard to ride on in order to reduce the speed in which carts could move. There was a law in the Roman empire that prohibited any carts or chariots running through the city during the day, when there were many people out in the streets and a liking chance for accidents. Deliveries were made at night, which made it very noisy and dangerous to go out then. There were also many muggers, so no one decent went out at night. Many carts were not allowing at all because of the noise in residential areas. Sidewalks made the streets safer, at least. They were raised one and a half feet from the road and prevented accidents. There were also large stepping-stones several places connecting the sidewalks, used as a speed bump for vehicles and a crosswalk for pedestrians. On the sides of the streets, there is an affective sewer system, which kept the streets dry and clean by draining the water to nearby rivers.

Within the roads were square blocks called insulae. Each insula would be different and would be its own little neighborhood. An insula would have an assortment of apartments, houses, shops, and workplaces. To get through an insula, there would be back roads coming off the main ones and little alleyways. These back roads were very narrow, and sometimes so close that roofs touched each other.

If you were wealthy enough, you might have been able to buy a private home on an insula and set up a business. Sometimes certain blocks on streets were specialized in particular trades and families of the workers would move in, forming communities.

If you were poor, you would probably rent out an upper level of a shop or workplace. These apartments were usually cramped and had no private toilets or water system. Apartment renters had to use the public water fountain, which was found in a place on every insula. They would then have to carry it back to their apartment, up steep stairs and many levels. When they needed to use the toilet, they had to do the same, and the public toilets were not as common as the fountains. Some people didn’t even bother and used a chamber pot. They then clean the chamber pots by throwing the waste out the window. The people walking on the streets had to watch above and made those back streets filthy.

Shops and snack bars would be found on open house fronts or on the first floor of an apartment building. The person could buy all sorts of goods on the streets, but for some needs, they might have to go to the market. One of the most important goods was bread, so there were many bakeries. There were also bars, which ranged from stalls to sit-down places. Here they would sell snacks and hot and cold drinks. All these would be found on insulae, depending on each insula.

The forum was usually a paved area that took up about two blocks in the center of the city. This is probably the most important part of the city. Inside the forum, some of the most important buildings were located. There would be various temples to different gods on the sides of the forum Mostly the temples were made from limestone and tiled covered roofs. On the opposite side, there would be a rostrum, which was an elevated platform, where speeches were made, and documents were read. People would gather around it to hear the new of the city and empire, while others would hear the gossip from about the streets. Other buildings in the forum were used for politics. The Curia was the meeting place for the senators and government leaders. The Basilica was used as a court of law in the city. There were also small buildings in the forum that were used for shops on first floor and schools and businesses on the second floor. The forum was separated from regular blocks by rows of cylindrical stone pillars called colonnades, which surrounded the forum buildings, inside and out.

The main trading area of a Roman city would be the Central Market, which was usually located near to the Forum. The Central Market was an open square that took up about half of a block where merchants and farmers from out of the city would set up stands and sells their goods. People would come and buy goods, such as grain, other foods, clothing, fabrics, pans, jewelry, or books. The building structure itself looks much like the forum and was used by trading businesses. To get the goods to the market, warehouses were built nearby as that incoming goods into the city could be stored until they were sold. The warehouses ranged in size and would generally store some of the most perishable goods, such as grain, the most important good, oil, and wine.

Once the city grew to a certain size, one market place was not enough to get all the goods to the people. Smaller markets were made closer to the walls throughout the cities and sometimes would have certain use. One market might be only for grain, while another was used for fruits and vegetables, and a different one was used for fish. This might affect what your dinner was, if you could not make it to the Central Market.

There are many other public buildings that are located throughout through out a Roman city. There would be at least one thermae, which were the public baths that everyone would go to during the course of the week. The person would usually have to walk a fair distance to the baths, unless you had the luck of getting one near it. There were usually one or two in a city and was a place where people not only bathed, but where people socialized, exercise, gamble, and relax. To find out more, go to the baths section.

There was also an entertainment section of the city, where the main amphitheater and theater were located. They were usually located towards the outside of the city. At the amphitheater, gladiator fights were held and sometimes there naval battles. This was a great favorite of the common and rich people alike. The structure is much like the Colosseum but smaller. It was also equipped with public toilets and snack bars. The theater was a semicircular structure, with concrete tunnels and the elevated stage. There might be other small entertainments, but these were the big ones.

Aqueducts and a reservoir would also be spotted in the city. The aqueduct would make its way from the mountains with fresh water and cross over the city wall. Just inside the city wall was the reservoir, an enclosed concrete building that channeled the water off into lead pipes throughout the city.

Macaulay, David. City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston, 1974.