How did that survive? - The survival stories of Ancient Ruins

The Pantheon, the Amphitheatre of Verona, the temples at Baalbek, the ruins of Pergamon, the Egyptian temples, most of these are thousands of years old, but unlike many other sites they still survive in substantial parts. How did this happen? Is there something special about the construction or building materials? Where later centuries were particularly attracted to the buildings because of the stories associated with them or where they just too perfect to adapt to new uses. How much of the surviving structures is actually Roman and how much represents later restorations/reconstructions? In this course, we will be looking at ancient monuments and how they survived to the 20th century and what needs to happen, for them to remain. What sort of maintenance system supported these buildings?

3rd October: Why that one and not the other? Survival of Ancient Monuments on the Saxon Shore.
10th October: But it is so useful: Why do Roman roads and bridges survive so well?
17th October: Rome: From Temple to Late Roman Church: The Forum temples and the Pantheon
24th October: Do you have to be a church to survive? Why are so many surviving Ruins associated with religious buildings?
31 October: Halfterm
7th November What is it with theatres and Amphitheatres? From Dougga to Arles via the Colosseum
14th November: Now that's what I call good workmanship: The role of Roman Concrete in the survival
21st November: "The Celebrity factor"- Preservation and Mythologie/Hagiography
28th November: "Preservation" by natural disaster: Ephesos, the Nile Delta, and Baiae
5th December: Is that really survival? Reconstructions and Rebuilding -From the Saalburg to Colonia Ulpia Trajana and South Shields