Ordinatio et dispositio : design and meaning in Pompeian private architecture
Krimpen-Winckel, L.M. van
Citation
Krimpen-Winckel, L. M. van. (2009, February 4). Ordinatio et dispositio : design and meaning in Pompeian private architecture. Retrieved from
https://hdl.handle.net/1887/13463
Version: Not Applicable (or Unknown)
License: Licence agreement concerning inclusion of doctoral thesis in the Institutional Repository of the University of Leiden
Downloaded from: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/13463
Note: To cite this publication please use the final published version (if applicable).
PROPOSITIONS
1. The evidence from the metrological analysis of eighteen Pompeian atrium houses, presented in this research, confirms that the layout of these houses was the result of a deliberate design that formed part of a longstanding Italic architectural tradition with its own sets of rules and schemes of measures and proportions.
See also Geertman, H. 1984a. Geometria e aritmetica in alcune case ad atrio pompeiane, in: BABesch 59, 31-52; Peterse, K. 1985. Notes on the design of the House of Pansa (VI 6, 1) in Pompeii, in:
Mededelingen Rome 46, 35-55; Peterse, K. 1991. Bauentwurf und Mass-systeme, in: Strocka, M. 1991.
Casa del Labirinto (VI 11, 8-10), Häuser in Pompeji 4, 71-85. Munich; Peterse, K. 1993. Bouwkundige studies van huizen in Pompeii: muurwerk, maatvoering en ontwerp. Nijmegen.
2. The idea that the geometric method of design, expressed in arithmetic
approximations, is based on ‘difficult mathematical principles’ and thus most likely not used in ancient private architecture is a modern misconception – caused by our own unfamiliarity with mathematical concepts such as the irrational - of ancient design practice.
Contra De Kind, R. 1998. Houses in Herculaneum: a new view on the town planning and the building of insulae III and IV. Amsterdam.
3. In ancient architectural practice, there was no clear distinction between arithmetic and geometry. This fact is confirmed by the evidence from the Pompeian atrium-peristyle houses.
This dissertation, see also Wilson-Jones, M. 2000. Principles of Roman architecture. New Haven.
4. Including the anthropological research of building traditions and practices in rural Sardinia in this dissertation is useful because it allows us an insight in processes that are impossible to reconstruct through archaeological research alone. It informs us on aspects such as the relationship between the client and the architect, the construction of houses following a standard design pattern and the introduction of architectural innovations.
This dissertation, see also Murru-Corriga, G. 1994. Saperi e pratiche produttive dell’architettura domestica tradizionale, in: Copez, R. (ed.), Architettura senza architetti, 41-68. Cagliari.
5. Recent stratigraphic research in a number of atrium houses in different areas of the city has produced convincing evidence that we can no longer take the traditional early construction date for the limestone framework houses seriously. The presence of an earlier layer of occupation underneath all presently standing structures has pushed the construction date for the atrium (-peristyle)houses present in the city layout of AD 79 up to anytime after 200 BC. It is therefore impossible to propose that specific design patterns in atrium houses are a reflection of a construction date in the fourth century BC.
This dissertation, see also Carafa, P. 2007. Recent work on early Pompeii, in: Dobbins, J.J. & P.W.
Foss (eds.). The world of Pompeii, 63-72. London; New York; D’Ambrosio, A. & S. De Caro 1989. Un contributo all’architettura e all’urbanistica di Pompei in età ellenistica. I saggi nella casa VII, 4. 62.
AION II, 173-215; Jones, R. & D. Robinson 2007. Intensification, heterogeneity and power in the development of insula VI 1, in: Dobbins, J.J. & P.W. Foss (eds.). The world of Pompeii, 389-406. London;
New York; Wallace-Hadrill, A. 2007. The development of the Campanian house, in: Dobbins, J.J. &
P.W. Foss (eds.). The world of Pompeii, 279-291. London; New York.
A different view is presented in: Peterse, K. & J. de Waele 2005. The standardized design of the Casa degli Scienziati (VI 14, 43) in Pompeii, in: Mols S. & E. Moormann (eds.). Omni Pede Stare: saggi architettonici e circumvesuviani in memoriam Jos de Waele, 197-219. Naples.
6. The use of Vitruvius’ De architectura as a source in the study of ancient architecture is justified and necessary.
7. In the current Dutch academic climate in archaeological studies, there is a tendency to focus on large scale and broad research, whereas detailed studies of specific topics are considered old fashioned. This trend will ultimately lead to the loss of specialized knowledge. A broad interest cannot be meaningful without individual in-depth studies, they are two separate and equally significant concepts that combine to create the bigger picture.
8. In the poor suburbs of Djakarta, Indonesia, local politicians pay citizens to write electoral propaganda on the fronts of their houses. A similar use of graffiti on the facades of houses is widely present in Pompeii, where perhaps a similar arrangement of compensation may have existed between politicians and property owners.
Source: Dutch television program ‘Spoorloos’ ( 3 February 2003).
9. The digitization of a doctoral dissertation as a replacement for a printed book is a bad idea, and does not do justice to the years of blood, sweat and tears suffered by PhD- students, who simply need tangible proof to explain their erratic behaviour to (the remaining) friends and family.
