Introductory description

How do you reconstruct an economy without hard data?
Nothing is more likely to provoke furious debate among Roman archaeologists and historians than ideas about the nature of the Roman economy. Did the Roman empire experience economic growth? Did slavery contribute to increased productivity, or did it stifle innovation? Did the empire witness technological advances that had economic consequences? Did the empire run out of gold and silver? Why was there long distance trade in the Mediterranean, and beyond the boundaries of the empire? Was there a market economy, and was there an important merchant class in the Roman world? To these simple questions there are no easy answers, as we will discover through an examination of the textual and archaeological evidence.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

How do you reconstruct an economy without hard data? Nothing is more likely to provoke furious debate among Roman archaeologists and historians than ideas about the nature of the Roman economy. Did the Roman empire experience economic growth? Did slavery contribute to increased productivity, or did it stifle innovation? Did the empire witness technological advances that had economic consequences? Did the empire run out of gold and silver? Why was there long distance trade in the Mediterranean, and beyond the boundaries of the empire? Was there a market economy, and was there an important merchant class in the Roman world? To these simple questions there are no easy answers, as we will discover through an examination of the textual and archaeological evidence.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Have enhanced their research, writing and communication skills
• Have gained an understanding of the availability, uses & limits of different types of primary source material
• Appreciate the contribution of theories and models to our understanding of the Roman economy

Indicative reading list

Duncan-Jones, R P 1982 The Economy of the Roman Empire: Quantitative Studies, Cambridge.
Finley M I 1999, The Ancient Economy, University of California Press.
Greene, K 1992 The Archaeology of the Roman Economy, University of California Press
Mattingly, D J and Salmon J (eds.) 2001 Economies Beyond Agriculture in the Classical World, London
Scheidel, W, Morris, I and Saller, R (eds.) 2007 The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World, Cambridge

Subject specific skills

• By the end if this module, students should:
• Have enhanced their research, writing and communication skills
• Have gained an understanding of the availability, uses & limits of different types of primary source material
• Appreciate the contribution of theories and models to our understanding of the Roman economy .
  In addition, finalists will:
• have acquired the ability to set their findings into a wider comparative context, drawing in other aspects of the study of the ancient world
• Have acquired the ability to seek out appropriate secondary literature and show discernment in the types of primary evidence addressed.

Transferable skills

• critical thinking
• problem solving
• active lifelong learning
• communication
• information literacy
• professionalism