Lecturer to discuss Roman
building projects gone awry

One thinks of an awe-inspiring structure like the Roman Coliseum as an example of Roman architecture, but an expert in the subject will reveal, in an upcoming public lecture at Texas A&M, that in addition to such buildings ancient Rome had its share of incompetent architects, construction fraud and building disasters.
 
John Oleson, professor of Greek and Roman Studies at the University of Victoria, will lecture at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 24 in room C105 of the Langford Architecture Center.

Using Roman literary and legal texts as primary sources, he will discuss instances of fraudulent contractors, cost overruns, construction disasters, misjudged urban planning and a disregard for regulations that sometimes resulted in loss of life and property.

Oleson, whose areas of specialization include the Roman Near East, ancient and maritime technology, particularly ships, harbors, and water-supply systems, holds degrees in classics and classical archaeology from Harvard University.

The author of 11 books and more than 75 articles and chapters, Olseson directed the Humayma Excavation Project in Jordan, co-directed the Caesarea Ancient Harbour excavation in Israel and the Roman Maritime Concrete Study.

He is appearing as part of the Charles Eliot Norton Memorial Lectureship, established in 1907 to support distinguished archaeologists and named after the co-founder of the Archaeological Institute of America.

For more information, contact Nancy Klein, assistant professor of architecture, at nklein@tamu.edu or 979.458.1328.

- Posted: Feb. 2, 2010 -

Contact:   Phillip Rollfing, prollfing@archone.tamu.edu or 979.458.0442.