Traffic, Space and Legal Change around the Casa del Marinaio at Pompeii (VII 15.1-2) more

(This paper won the BABesch-Byvanck Award)
The Casa del Marinaio at Pompeii was a large and  distinguished property framed by three streets west of the forum - streets noted for their ‘oddities’. This article explains these oddities by reference to patterns of urban traffic over the first centuries BC and AD. Changes made elsewhere in Regio VII diverted wheeled traffic around insula VII 15, forcing the owners of the Casa del Marinaio to make several modifications outside of their property. The legal frameworks that regulated changes to roads and pavements may suggest that the owner(s) of the Casa del Marinaio were actively involved in Pompeii’s magistracy. (Available to download from journal website. Offprints available from me)