A Study of the Development of Ostia's Forum and Urban Street Network Using Space Syntax Methodologies

Rome’s first colony, the port city of Ostia, has long been of interest to academics concerned with the Roman urban environment. The streetscape of Ostia has been the subject of a number of studies, including some which utilise space syntax methodologies. Space syntax theory is a theory of spatial relationships which seeks to resolve the contradictions between the academic treatment of buildings as artefacts, and the reality that the primary function of the built environment is to create systems of spaces. Unlike previous studies which have utilised space syntax methodologies, the subject of this thesis is not an analysis of a static snapshot of Ostia’s street network. Instead, I analyse and compare the city’s urban street network as it was at several key stages of development.

This thesis therefore has two primary goals. The first goal is to generate insights into the movement economy of Ostia’s urban street network, with a particular focus on the ways that movement was affected by the development of the city’s forum from the time of Augustus to the reign of Hadrian. The second goal is to test the usefulness of space syntax methodologies in undertaking such an analysis in order to provide conclusions for future studies. In relation to the first goal, the results of this study indicate that the developments in Ostia’s forum both reacted to, and reinforced, the preeminent role of the Decumanus Maximus within the city’s street network. In relation to the second, I concluded that space syntax analysis is a useful tool in the study of ancient sites, but that investigations which seek to compare periods of development across a single site face unique challenges which can undermine the validity of generated datasets. In particular, the size and complexity of large sites, like whole urban street networks, can make it almost impossible to establish a comprehensive timeline of development with the level of granularity required to generate sound datasets. As a result, this thesis concludes that in the study of ancient sites, comparative space syntax analysis is best directed at mid-sized spatial networks like defined neighbourhoods or forum, temple, and bath complexes.