Initiative and Financing of Roman Public Works. A Methodological Proposal for their Differentiation Based on Epigraphic Information

Abstract

Differentiating between the origin of the initiative and the financing of building projects allows us to analyze with greater precision the financing formulas, the executive phases and the administrative mechanisms associated with any Roman construction act. However, it is often difficult to precisely define the specific participation of all the agents involved in the process. We present a methodological proposal, based on the study of 49 indicators extracted from the analysis of 231 building inscriptions from the 1st century BC to the 3^rd century AD from Hispania and North African provinces. This will allow us to trace the origin of both concepts in each building project and to define with greater precision the tasks carried out by the actors referenced in the tituli. We classify each indicator according to whether it belongs to the imperial, municipal or private spheres and evaluate its reliability on the basis of specific examples.