Roman Theatres: An Architectural Study (Oxford Monographs on Classical Archaeology)

609 Pages·2006·27.11 MB·English

by  Frank Sear

OXFORD MONOGRAPHS ON
CLASSICAL ARCHAEOLOGY
Edited by
JOHN BENNET
JOHN BOARDMAN
J. J. COULTON
DONNA KURTZ
R. R. R. SMITH
MARGARETA STEINBY
OXFORD MONOGRAPHS ON CLASSICAL ARCHAEOLOGY
The series includes self-contained interpretative studies of the art and archaeology of the
ancient Mediterranean world. Authoritative volumes cover subjects from the Bronze Age
to late antiquity, with concentration on the central periods, areas, and material categories of
the classical Greek and Roman world.
R O M A N
T H E AT R E S
An Architectural Study
Frank Sear
1
3
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox26dp
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© F. Sear 2006
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To JANE and ALEXANDER
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PREFACE
My interest in Roman theatres goes back to 1984 when Professor John Jory asked me to
contribute a chapter to a volume on the subject. That volume has so far not appeared, but it
sparked off an enduring interest in Roman-theatre architecture. In fact I began the research
which led to the present book during a stay at the British School at Rome in the same year. The
more I read about Roman theatres the more I realized that there was no adequate catalogue
of the available material and that many archaeologists and theatre historians were basing
their judgements on limited information. It seemed to me that what was needed was a more
comprehensive compilation and analysis of the evidence. My tenure of a Visiting Fellowship
at Corpus Christi College, Oxford in 1987–8 provided me with the ideal opportunity to
advance my research. During my stay I enjoyed the support and hospitality of my colleague,
Ewen Bowie, the facilities of Corpus Christi college, and the excellent resources of what is
now the Sackler Library. I began compiling a catalogue of all the published theatres in Italy
that I could find, and soon that catalogue expanded to include the whole Roman world. As
my net widened I also realized that it would be useful to include not only facts and figures
about each theatre and, of course, a plan, if available, but also a list of relevant inscriptions
and literary references, and as up to date a bibliography as possible.
In1990the Pompeii project, which my colleague, Professor Jean-Paul Descôeudres and
I had been conducting since 1978, was coming to an end and I had just been awarded a grant
by the Australian Research Council for a new project on Roman theatres. The architects who
had worked with me in Pompeii were by then extremely experienced and I decided to use
their expertise for the new project. Over the following eight years we conducted surveys on
a number of Roman theatres, including those at Gubbio, Volterra, Pompeii, Cales, Taormina,
Benevento, Jerash, and Orange. Many of the findings from those surveys were incorporated
into the catalogue and the text of this book.
By1992the catalogue was essentially complete and while I was in Rome during that year
I became aware that a team led by P. Ciancio Rossetto and G. Pisani Sartorio was engaged in
a similar project. I made a small contribution to their project which was published in 1994
under the title, Teatri greci e romani alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato. I was however
unwilling to abandon my own work, which at that stage contained a fuller treatment of
the material. Therefore, during my tenure of the Hugh Last Fellowship at the British School
at Rome in 1995, I turned to writing the text and then to preparing the enormous quantity
of visual material, much of which I had to redraw. By the time that process was completed
it became clear that the catalogue already required updating. I made every effort to keep up
with new material as it came to my attention, but decided it was impossible to begin an entire
revision of the catalogue at this stage. It did seem however that by international scholarly
co-operation the catalogue might in future be kept up to date.
My main purpose has been to write a book which is as comprehensive as possible, so that
scholars can more easily place a particular theatre within its wider context. Another import-
ant component of the book is a lengthy discussion of the architecture of the Roman theatre:
how theatres were financed, designed, and constructed; how the semicircular shape of the
theatre was adapted for other purposes; how theatre design varied in different parts of
the Empire. My focus has been solely architectural, to the exclusion of performance and
staging, which would have made the book too unwieldy. The topics of research I would have
viii preface
liked to pursue further were tantalizingly many, but it seemed better to put them aside for
the future or for others to pursue.
The book could not have been written without the help and support of many colleagues.
At the risk of omitting some of the many who have advised and helped me I would like
to record my debt to the following: G. Bacci, R. Beacham, G. Bisheh, the late L. Bernabò
Brea, R. Coles, A. Cooley, L. Cozza, D. De Bernardo Ferrero, S. De Caro, F. Dumasy,
E. Feruglio. J. R. Green, P. Gros, A. Hutson, S. Keay, I. Kehrberg, F. Landuy, W. Liebeschutz,
M.-P. Malvezzi, D. Manconi, D. Mertens, D. Michaelides, J. Packer, A. Poulter, P. Pensabene,
the late E. Rawson, A. Sagona, F. Sirano, A. Small, W. Trillmich, A. Wallace-Hadrill, J. Wilkes,
R. Wilson, M. Wilson Jones and M. Woehl. I am particularly grateful to J. J. Coulton who
read the whole manuscript and made innumerable valuable suggestions. I must also pay
tribute to the editorial staff of the Oxford University Press whose meticulous work has so
greatly improved the book. The mistakes which remain are of course mine. I would also like
to make special mention of Valerie Scott and her colleagues in the library of the British
School at Rome who, on my frequent visits to Rome, provided a perfect working environ-
ment for me. Finally I am grateful to the Australian Research Council who financed the
surveys of a number of Roman theatres, to the School of Art History, Cinema and Classics
and Archaeology for providing the facilities to carry out my work, and to the University of
Melbourne which generously supported the publication of this book.
Frank Sear
Melbourne 2005
CONTENTS
List of Tables xii
List of Plans xiii
List of Figures xxvii
List of Plates xxviii
List of Maps xxxiv
Abbreviations xxxv
1. Theatre and Audience 1
2. Finance and Building 11
3. Roman Theatre Design 24
4. Theatres and Related Buildings 37
5 Republican Theatres in Italy 48
6. The Theatres of Rome 54
7. The Cavea and Orchestra 68
8. The Scene Building 83
9. Provincial Theatres 96
CATALOGUE
A Note on the Catalogue 118
ITALY 119
Regio1 119
Regio2 143
Regio3 145
Regio4 149
Regio5 155
Regio6 159
Regio7 164
Regio8 171
Regio9 173
Regio10 174
Regio11 182
Sicilia 185
Sardinia 195