The Topographical Evolution of the Palatine between the Second and Sixth Century AD
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The author resumes the conclusions drawn by A. Augenti on his study of the Palatine from the sixth to the thirteenth centuries. These conclusions led him to look for the origin of the situation as emphasized in the evolution of the monumental constructions of the Palatine from the second century AD onward, when the Imperial Palace took its final shape. Thus, in his survey, he adopts Augenti's conclusions on the occupation of the Palatine during the fifth and sixth centuries. He then studies the phenomenon of the presence of tombs at the periphery of the palace. Through the confrontation of the literary sources and archaeological data, he revises the definition of the Palatium and shows its multiple facets and the complexity involved in identifying its inner spaces. He comes to the conclusion that the second half of the sixth century AD partly inherits permanent features which emerge as early as the first century AD–topography, nearby environment, and periphery. The Palatium seems to be a real "block" whose size clearly appears in the survival of the main ancient ways in the Medieval period. The Palatium, a perfect symbolic object, draws its consistency from a specific function and the rites linked to it, and is consecrated by the divine nature of the sovereign. As long as this space embodies the imperial function, there is no real break with the primitive aspect of the monumental unit.
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