Why no grand Roman buildings north of the mediterrean?

[Captain Grimes]

In southern spain, france and italy you have great aquadecuts, theatres, ampitheatres etc but in northern france and in britain you have none of these things despite being Roman provinces for 400 years aprx, why is this?

[SigniferOne]

Oh there ARE large buildings, it's just that they were destroyed. Just take a look at all the theaters and buildings found in Britain alone.

[Miroslav Klose]

Porta Nigra in Trier for example, there are some remains in Xanten as well.

It's true the Romans build more in the Mediterrenean area, and lots of building in the north were destroyed.

[Flavius Nevitta]

The towns of Trier and Cologne had several huge baths. The Kaisertherme in Trier with a cupola of over 16m in diametre.

"The town wall of Cologne, built in the first decade of the first century, was 2½ meters wide and eight meters high, and had nine gates and twenty-one towers. Its total length was no less than 3,900 meters and it surrounded a city with a surface of almost a square kilometer (96.8 hectare to be precise)."

Here a 3D reconstruction of CCAA (Cologne)

Heidentor in Carnuntum:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[René Artois]

In southern spain, france and italy you have great aquadecuts, theatres, ampitheatres etc but in northern france and in britain you have none of these things despite being Roman provinces for 400 years aprx, why is this?

Apart from the fact that France is north of the med, there are. Villas and other buildings are being found constantly in Britain. Take a look at the archaeology sub-forum.
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=389367
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=393125
It was only 6 years ago that they found a Roman Circus that was almost the size of Colchester, almost as big as the Circus Maximus in Rome.

[Araz]

In southern spain, france and italy you have great aquadecuts, theatres, ampitheatres etc but in northern france and in britain you have none of these things despite being Roman provinces for 400 years aprx, why is this?

Some of them destroyed thru history, and it also has got to do something that these areas were never core Roman areas, don't you think?

[Captain Grimes]

southern france isnt north of the med it borders it +1 rep

[Blarni]

The Roman villa at Fishbourne, England, hypothesized to have been built by the native client king Togidubnus, is on a size and par with almost any in Italy - it is often dubbed the largest north of Italy, something I'm not so sure about, but it still goes to show it was a substantial building. It burned down in about 270 AD.

I would guess the climate extremes of the north would take a toll on the remaining buildings (I know Rome in winter ain't exactly tropical) with the sedimentation that eventually covers them being more extreme, but local people knicking the stone was also a major contributor. PS - the Coliseum is believed to have only escaped the same fate because the papacy decided it was a holy spot due to christians being martyred there.

[DAVIDE]

PS - the Coliseum is believed to have only escaped the same fate because the papacy decided it was a holy spot due to christians being martyred there.

Is not believed simply because no Roman inhabitant during middle age knew what that building served for originally. There are sources of the time telling this

[SigniferOne]

There are sources of the time telling this

I'd be interested in reading them.

[Dr. Oza]

[DAVIDE]

For example La Fiorita written by Armannino, 1325 AD. Armannino, a notary, not knowing what Coliseum was in ancient times aka basically an arena for spectacles, substained that the building was a huge temple or well the main pagan temple of the known world. Inside it, many diabolic spirits were contained and those spirits were able doing prodigies. The priests, showing the effigy of the main demon to the crowd, were usual asking them "colis eum??????" which in latin of medieval times meant "do you venerate it???" Apart that, there are also some other manuscripts now collected in Laurenziana's Library in Florence, some of them written by anonymous people and dated 14th and beginning of 15th century in which it is said that Coliseum was a gigantic temple of the sun fully covered in golden bronze material with the purpose of rapresenting the stars

[SigniferOne]

For example La Fiorita written by Armannino, 1325 AD. Armannino, a notary, not knowing what Coliseum was in ancient times aka basically an arena for spectacles, substained that the building was a huge temple or well the main pagan temple of the known world. Inside it, many diabolic spirits were contained and those spirits were able doing prodigies. The priests, showing the effigy of the main demon to the crowd, were usual asking them "colis eum??????" which in latin of medieval times meant "do you venerate it???" Apart that, there are also some other manuscripts now collected in Laurenziana's Library in Florence, some of them written by anonymous people and dated 14th and beginning of 15th century in which it is said that Coliseum was a gigantic temple of the sun fully covered in golden bronze material with the purpose of rapresenting the stars

Wow, hehe, that's pretty amazing, and sad what a lack of knowledge there was.

[Captain Grimes]

Dont think Arnie destroyed Roman buildings Siphazade

[The Noble Lord]

There are some beautiful Roman buildings in France and Vindolanda finds in Britain. Plus the Hadrian Wall, Roman finds in Former Yugoslavia, etc.

[DAVIDE]

All people there were like him. Just thanks to Flavio Biondo and Poggio Bracciolini in 1414 or something circa, the originary purpose of Coliseum has been understood, through the rediscovering of classical world thanks to Greek and Latin texts.. Bracciolini for example, it is the same guy which "discovered" the Vitruvian De Architectura and many others

[Blarni]

All people there were like him. Just thanks to Flavio Biondo and Poggio Bracciolini in 1414 or something circa, the originary purpose of Coliseum has been understood, through the rediscovering of classical world thanks to Greek and Latin texts.. Bracciolini for example, it is the same guy which "discovered" the Vitruvian De Architectura and many others

Interesting, thanks.

[DAVIDE]

or in Mirabilia Urbis Romae, a guide for tourists and pilgrims about Rome dated after the year 1000, Coliseum was just a great temple of the sun exactly as thought by many at the time, but with a gigantic dome on it with a gigantic statue of Apollo inside the temple, with Apollo having a sphere in one of his hands, meaning Rome holding the weight of the world


English edition of "Mirabilia Urbis Romae"

[SigniferOne]

There I think he confused the vast statue of Apollo that really did stand next to the Coliseum.

[Kawee]

The city Bath in England, for example, was named after the Roman bath built there.

But I think in general, there was probably less Roman investment in those areas as well?