Ohio University

Faculty Member, Classics and World Religions

Associate Professor

Arts&Sciences

About

My current project is a book-length study of the most innovative vaulting techniques employed in the Roman provinces from the late 1st century BC to the 6th century AD. The period ranges from the beginning of the empire under Augustus to the reign of Justinian when the Hagia Sophia was built. It focuses on a defined set of particularly innovative vaulting techniques and explores why they appear where they do, how they spread, and how they change over time. One goal is to examine the factors that affect innovation and to place the phenomenon of technological transference into a broader context. Topics covered include the use of lightweight rocks in concrete vaults, "pitched" brick vaulting, terracotta vaulting tubes (tubi fittili), hollow terracotta voussoirs, and "armchair" voussoirs. The study employs a variety of different methodologies including structural analysis for determining the efficacy of certain vaulting techniques as well as mineralogical and chemical analysis for determining the provenance of building materials. It also looks at factors, such as geology, agricultural production, modes of transport, patterns of funding and patronage, role of the military, and religious and social events in urban life, all of which affected the choice of building methods and materials in particular areas.

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