HERCULAPOLIS

A ROMAN CITY IN DACIA

The following is an assignment that I had to submit as part of my online free course on Roman Architecture. The topic was to propose and design the layout of a new Roman City in any part of the Empire.

Introduction

CE 107: It has been two years since Emperor Trajan won a fantastic victory over the Dacian king Decabalus and annexed the whole region into the empire. In gratitude of their bravery, the Roman legionnaires of Legio II Traiana Fortis who fought alongside the Emperor have been given land on the banks of the river Danube to settle. The soldiers want to construct a Roman City here and name it – Herculopolis in honor of the patron God of the legion – Hercules. The Emperor Trajan has agreed to fund the civic infrastructure of the city.

City Location

The location of this proposed city is close to the Trajan’s bridge, built by Appolodorus of Damascus during the Dacian campaign to facilitate the movement of troops and weaponry. Strategically, the location is right at the heart of the Balkans that links Rome to Greece, Asia Minor and the Near East. From Herculopolis, Rome can keep an eye on the troublesome barbarians in the North. The city can prove invaluable in maintaining peace and order in the Roman provinces of Dacia, Dalmatia, Moesia, Thracia, Macedonia and Greece. The proposed city is close to the gold and silver deposits in the Apuseni Mountains, making it commercially important.

At any point, post its completion, the city is expected to support a residential population of about 10000 with an additional 2000 people who are non-natives (i.e. traders, army men, tourists etc.).

City Layout - Overview

The layout will be largely be a square measuring 4 km X 4 km with the Forum at its heart which will be constructed at the intersection of the two major roads – the Cardo and the Decamanus. Considering that entertainment is an important aspect of Roman day-to-day life, Herculapolis will have its own entertainment district consisting of an Amphitheatre for staging gladiatorial contests, a Theater for performances and a Circus for chariot races. The residential section will consist of villas as well as mass apartment blocks. Other civic infrastructure includes wide streets, an efficient drainage system, space for tombs and a wall.

City Forum

The entrance to the Forum will be through a triple arched gateway fronted with marble and built in concrete. The arch will be dedicated to the Emperor Trajan and will have stucco depicting his victory over the Dacians. On entering the Forum, you will find the Senate on the left, followed by a library and a temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad. On the right side will be the Basilica, the Market Complex and a Bath divided into two for two genders. At the end of the Forum will be the main temple, discussed in detail in the next section.

Figure 1: City Forum

Temple of Hercules

The Temple of Hercules (Aedis Heracles) will be the center piece of the township. It will have its own walled enclosure at the end of the Forum with an arched gateway entrance with a statue of Hercules on the top of it. Within the enclosure, the temple will be pushed to the end, surrounded by a covered colonnade.

The temple will be 70-foot-high and placed on top of a 30-foot-high podium, making it the tallest building in the city. The podium will be constructed in concrete with opus incertum facing and have arches highlighted by stone.

The temple will be built in a mix of Etruscan and Greek architectural styles. It will have a façade orientation and a deep porch. The front will have a triangular pediment and sloping roofs. On climbing the stairs, there will be two rows of 6 columns each; these columns will be crowned with Doric capitals. In the center of the sanctorum will be a statue of Hercules, 20 feet high, cast in bronze, a replica of an earlier Greek artwork.

Figure 2: The Temple of Hercules

Entertainment District

The Entertainment district of the city will have a Theatre which will be built in concrete since there is no natural hill in the city limits that can be used for this purpose. To keep the look of this part of city uniform, we will stick with concrete for the Colosseum as well as the Circus.

Both the semi-circular Theatre and the circular Amphitheater will be three floors high, with arches at each level interrupted by columns built in stucco. The orders of these columns will be Doric, Ionic and Corinthian as we move from bottom to top. The cavea will be covered with marble imported from Greece. Both the structures will be provided with a velarium to protect the spectators from inclement weather. Next, we will construct a Circus Maximus for staging chariot races and other athletic events. It will have a capacity of 2000.

The entertainment area will have a gallery; on the lower floor, there will be shops selling souvenirs, where spectators can pick up memorabilia. On the upper floor will be a gallery displaying marble statues of famous playwrights, authors, actors, gladiators and athletes from the Roman world – both from the past and the present.

Residential Quarters

Hellenized Domus Villas: As mentioned, the city will have a planned layout consisting of 60 villas, built in Hellenized Domus style. Each villa will have a falcase which is flanked on either side by two cubicula. Alternatively, these cubicula can be converted into shops also. The falcase opens into an open to sky atrium that has a pool – the impluvium at the center surrounded by four columns. There are two more cubicula on each side, followed by the alcae for the family altars. Next comes the triclinium that overlooks the peristyle hortus offering some beautiful vistas for the owners. The garden will be bedecked with a floor mosaic. All rooms in the house will be decorated in the Second Style of Roman wall painting. The theme for the paintings and the mosaic can be customized as per the choice of the owners.

Figure 3: Villa Plan

The community will have 12 marble fountains to provide water for domestic purpose. The theme for these will be the twelve labors of Hercules, the patron God of the city.

Apartments: Considering that the city would be housing a large plebian population apart from a sizable trading community, the city of Herculapolis will have several six storied Insulae, built in concrete and lined with bricks to make them attractive. Besides, the windows will have impediments to make sure the façade does not look dull and boring. The ground floor will be used for commercial purposes and will be lined with shops. The six stories buildings will be equipped with a light well at the center to bring in natural light. Each apartment will consist of two small rooms and the buildings will accommodate up to a hundred people each. There will be separate baths and fountains provided for this section of the city.

Aqueducts: The water for domestic purpose will be drawn from the Danube via a two-tiered aqueduct built in stone with arches at each level. These will be built in concrete with opus incertum facing. The water will be supplied to the baths and fountains within the city.

Streets & Drainage: The streets will be cobbled and wide enough to allow two chariots to pass at once. The streets will be lined with sewers and the city will be provided with an efficient drainage system that takes all the waste out of city limits.

Tombs: Some open space will be provided close to the northern walls for the affluent to build their family tombs. For the no-so-well-to-do, we will construct two catacombs (underground tombs) and slots for these can be purchased by passing a nominal fee. Besides, people can build their own tombs outside the walled city, along the main roads that connect Hercualpolis to Rome (West), Athens (South), Asia (West) and Dacia (North).

City Walls

It has just been two years since we won the Dacian wars and you cannot rule out a revolt in this part of the Empire anytime soon. Moreover, since the Trajan’s bridge, the only crossing on the Danube is close to the township, any army that wants to cross over to the southern banks of the Danube would come in this direction. As such, we propose to build a defensive wall for the city on a priority.

The walls will be built in local stone arranged in ashlar masonry. The walls that will enclose the entire city will be 16 km long, 20-foot-high and 10-foot-thick. There will be a tower every 200 meters to serve not only as a watch tower but also to engage the enemy during attacks and invasion. There will be four arched gateways in four cardinal directions built in grey peperino imported from Italy.