Disease and Death in the Ancient City of Rome

Abstract:     
This paper surveys textual and physical evidence of disease and mortality in the city of Rome in the late republican and imperial periods. It emphasizes the significance of seasonal mortality data and the weaknesses of age at death records and paleodemographic analysis, considers the complex role of environmental features and public infrastructure, and highlights the very considerable promise of scientific study of skeletal evidence of stress and disease.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 14

Keywords: Roman History, Demography, Disease, Seasonal Mortality, Paleodemography

JEL Classification: I12

working papers series