Les lois des bâtiments

Doctoral thesis defended in December 1991, Building laws deals with the law of urban construction in the Roman Empire and the way it developed, applied, transformed in Italy, the Roman East and North Africa from the imperial period in the reign of Emperor Justinian.Its author, Catherine Saliou, by succeeding in creating a dialogue between law and archeology, shows the way in which neighborhood relations or overall town planning decisions can influence the construction choices of the house and vice versa.The book chooses to analyze, focusing on significant examples, what problems concretely arose in the cities of the Roman Empire, and are now noticeable or not by archaeologists.The relationships that are woven at the very borders of the house, about the dividing walls, are the most immediately perceptible issues. The supply and formation of water reserves, the disposal of wastewater, can involve more complex relationships, including the formation of networks at the district and city level. Finally, the elevation of the house is also important because it concerns both the relations between neighbors and the overall appearance of the city.