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This essay reviews the archaeology of a mid-Byzantine administrative central place - an aristocratic oikos - in the old Roman suburb of Butrint, Albania. Apart from illustrating the many aspects of the excavated evidence, consideration is given to Paul Magdalino's ground-breaking essay on the nature of the Byzantine aristocratic oikos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the use of terracotta tubes in the construction of vaulted ceilings in Roman architecture from the third century BCE to the sixth century CE. The distribution of such construction techniques across Europe and North Africa is discussed, as are the connections between the spread of this technique and patterns of trade during the same period. Specifically, the agricultural policy of the Roman Empire in North Africa, leading to the region's becoming a dominant exporter of olive oil and other liquid foodstuffs, is discussed, along with the consequent surge in production of terracotta vessels for transport.

This paper deals with the residences of public authority across Europe from the emergence of the state system to the present. It is concerned with the addresses, the buildings, their surroundings and the symbolic significance from the point of view of builders and the public. The building styles have been heavily influenced by the examples of imperial and papal Rome, and a dominant model of a European capital city building has evolved. There are also some systematic differences, particularly for those countries with a dramatic history of constitutional change and for those with a decentralized process of state-building in the early stages of the process. In the second half of the 19th century, and probably again currently, the residences of public authority should be read in conjunction with the positioning of a series of civic institutions. The display of state authority has been increasingly accompanied by the representation of national identity. More recently, however, a touch of cosmopolitanism has been added in many capitals. The reading of these capitals is therefore now more ambiguous. This will probably intensify under the impact of the emerging European multilevel governance system. At the same time, this governance system has become increasingly based in Brussels. For this city to symbolically represent Europe is a very difficult ambition in the context of its multiple capital roles. However, Brussels has a long history of dealing successfully with such urban challenges in spite of major conflicts and drawbacks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article describes the fountain rooms at the villas in Aquitania and Lusitania in Europe. It is not appropriate to identify the fountain rooms at these two villas as baptisteries because of two main reasons. First there is no associated churches which would need to be envisaged as having been built on a similar scale. Secondly, polygonal structures were a defining motif in late Roman architecture and art.