Journal of Urban Archaeology 9 (2024)

A classic but underappreciated element of urban studies, the concept of ‘place-making’ provides a lens through which we can explore the very diverse, highly-complex, and interwoven layers of meaning invested in a form of settlement characterized by density and diversity — in other words, ‘the city’. In antiquity, urban space was a relatively scarce but nonetheless potent resource that was negotiated among stakeholders from across different social classes, each of whom had their own images and experiences of the city, their own points of navigation, and their own — often fluctuating — urban space. This special issue of the Journal of Urban Archaeology seeks to understand the dynamics of place-making in ancient contexts, and the many levels and locations of agency that were involved in tailoring urban space. The contributions examine varying strategies deployed in urban environments, ranging from the Hittite world to Phoenicia, Asia Minor, Rome, and Pompeii, with a close reading of sources that allow voices otherwise unheard to materialize in different ways. Taken together, these articles show the value of place-making as an analytical tool for archaeologists studying both the spatial and social dynamics of the ancient urban world.

List of Illustrations

Placing Space, Shaping Cities, and Making History in the Ancient Classical World
Rubina Raja and Søren M. Sindbæk

Making Place in the Ancient City
Asuman Lätzer-Lasar and Christina G. Williamson

Thick Places: Urban Place-Making in the Hittite Empire
Müge Durusu-Tanrıover

Inside the Phoenician City: The Spatial and Ideological Functions of Sanctuaries in the Process of Urban Place-Making – Three Case Studies
Giuseppe Garbati

Making Place with the Divine: Urban Place-Making in Sacred Landscapes in the Graeco-Roman World
Christina G. Williamson

The ‘Place’ of Urban Wineries and Oileries in the Greek and Roman World
Emlyn Dodd and Dimitri van Limbergen

United Professionally beyond Death: Community-Building and Social Cohesion through the Place-Making of Urban Tombs in Rome
Asuman Lätzer-Lasar

Control through Construction: Managing Opposition in the Roman Forum
Penelope J. E. Davies　

Place-Making and Sacred Springs in Ancient Rome
Alexandra Creola

Place-Making at Pompeii: Inscribing Practices and Spatial Strategies in an Ancient City
Peter Keegan