The urban domus in late antique Hispania: examples from Emerita, Barcino and Complutum

This paper examines the characteristics, evolution and decline of the late antique domus in Spanish towns, using case studies from three cities: Augusta Emerita, Complutum e Barcino. It discusses how, during the 4th c. AD, urban town houses were dramatically renovated and lavishly redecorated according to the tastes of their owners, the urban elites. These domus, which frequently replaced the public building and open spaces of the Early Roman era, acquired large, apsidal and basilical spaces, in many cases decorated with mosaics and paintings. This study also charts the decline of these domestic buildings, when, from the late 5th, and in some cases the 6th c., they were re-built using poorer materials, subdivided, or re-used for agricoltural or funerary purposes.