The adoption of Roman building techniques in Asia Minor, 30 Years Later

Thanks to the recent excavations of the Sanctuary of Apollo in Hierapolis of Phrygia, a new example of brick construction was discovered: the barrel vault of the ›Temple C‹, exceptionally dated to the early Imperial period. This discovery provided the opportunity for a more general reflection on the use of Roman building techniques in Asia Minor. Through a historiographical approach, the paper provides a critical reading of the most important studies, giving an account of the current knowledge and proposing an up-to-date approach to this research field. Based on the archaeological data, literary sources, archaeometric analyses, experimental activities, a contextual perspective is needed, that takes account of the relationship of building techniques to architecture in its widest sense, but also of regional differences, exploring the economic and social aspects of the phenomenon.