My name is Laura Harvey. I am an Exhibits Coordinator at the Smithsonian Institution. I have a B.A. in History from Virginia Commonwealth University and an M.A. in Art History from George Mason University. I study modern perceptions of the past and neo-colonialism. This site was created as a project during my graduate studies for HIST 696: Cliometrics/Digital Humanities and is based on research from my ARTH 599: Roman Topography course.
The purpose of this site is to conceptualize what the city of Rome looked like in regards to housing and community development. By synthesizing primary source documents, archaeological evidence, and scholarship I hope to provide a comprehensive examination of insulae and ultimately assist in the visual reconstruction of the city. There are two issues that will be addressed throughout this site; firstly, the definition of the term insula. By examining the traditional definition of the term insula along with contradictions and controversies in scholarship about various interpretations of the word, I hope to provide a comprehensive definition of what an insula is. The second topic I will address is the topographical locations of insulae in Imperial Rome. By mapping approximate locations of insulae based on textual and physical evidence and graphing the results of the Regionary Catalogs from the 4th century, I can then locate housing clusters and population dense areas within the fourteen regions of Rome.
The purpose of this site is to conceptualize what the city of Rome looked like in regards to housing and community development. By synthesizing primary source documents, archaeological evidence, and scholarship I hope to provide a comprehensive examination of insulae and ultimately assist in the visual reconstruction of the city. There are two issues that will be addressed throughout this site; firstly, the definition of the term insula. By examining the traditional definition of the term insula along with contradictions and controversies in scholarship about various interpretations of the word, I hope to provide a comprehensive definition of what an insula is. The second topic I will address is the topographical locations of insulae in Imperial Rome. By mapping approximate locations of insulae based on textual and physical evidence and graphing the results of the Regionary Catalogs from the 4th century, I can then locate housing clusters and population dense areas within the fourteen regions of Rome.