Metropolis - Rome

Good morning, we will conclude our Metropolis series with a look at ancient Rome.  It would be interesting to see more ancient Metropolises of the ancient world.  The runtime is 52:29.

Ancient Rome held one million inhabitants at one point.  No one city was richer, more powerful, or more ruthless than Roman.  It was the center of the ancient world and had the buildings to prove it.  Like modern Rome, the city was noisy back then, so ox carts could not drive through the city during the day.  When the Roman Coliseum opened, a one-hundred-day celebration was held in honor of its opening.  What was it about Rome that made it the glory of the ancient world?

A group of archeologists is excavating a site.  The site contains the ordinary-buildings of ordinary Romans.  In the past, since they contained no marble statues or anything of wealth these sites were filled in once again.  Today, there is a growing interest in ordinary Roman life, so the sites are busy once again.  They hope to learn about the lives of these ordinary Romans.  Finds emerge from the sites and help put together these lives.  Ancient Roman lives were much like those living in modern cities. 

One particular area is of interest and it is a block of tenement apartments these apartments could be up to four or five stories high.  Living space in Rome was at a premium.  The people in these apartments lived day to day and were often laborers.  Poorer citizens lived a hand-to-mouth existence so they came to the city to have a chance at a better life.  These apartments were cramped, dark, and noisy.  Rents were high.  However, the buildings were cheaply and quickly constructed.  The walls were never repaired or painted leading to collapse.  Construction companies recycled building materials.

The capital of the Roman Empire was also the capital of crime.  The story of Drusus is examined during this episode.  Drusus is a soldier in charge of law and the city.  He goes into the Roman Underworld to catch a thief.  Drusus is the head of the police force in Rome.  This force is both respected and feared.  Drusus goes after criminals whether they are watering down the wine or cheating the emperor on taxes.  Punishments are brutal for the criminal.

The history of Rome is written in blood.  Its founding legend begins with a crime.  Two brothers fought to name a city and one brother murdered his brother and named the city for himself.  In reality, Rome began as an Etruscan village that grew to be the center of the Empire.  Where Roman soldiers went, the citizens followed.  They took inspiration from their ancestors in Rome.  Roman architecture set the style for the empire.  How did Rome finance their building project?

One particular hill shows how Romans founded their empire.  A million people left behind a lot of trash and these trash heaps became hills.  One particular hill is just a pile of the broken-up amphora.  These vessels would be filled up with what was needed to feed Roman citizens.  These chards tell the tale of Roman trade.  There were extensive trade networks throughout the empire.  Despite being in pieces the amphora tells historians and archeologists what was held in them.  Merchandise poured into Rome from all over the empire.  This amphora hill represented the might of Rome.  It was forbidden to remove the broken shards from the hill.

Rome built an extensive network of roads and had extensive sea networks too.  Everything that came into Rome was carefully documented by government officials.  Exact accounts were recorded and the taxman put their seal on every amphora.  The government would not be cheated out of their share of taxes. 

Roman ships sailed around the Mediterranean Sea.  It was the only way that large amounts of goods could be transported.  Many of these ships never made it to their destination.  One team in Pisa has discovered sunken ships and they are excavating these ships.  They were sung in the harbor during a storm.  These ships’ remains tell about the Roman trade network as well as what was on these ships.  To learn more about the history of Rome continue to watch this documentary.

This documentary is highly recommended for classroom viewing.