Public Works and Manpower Needs of the Julio-Claudian Emperors

From 29 B.C. to A.D. 68, there were significant public works projects in the city of Rome. These projects were dictated by the emperor at the time, and there is variation between the amount of public works performed under each emperor. As we have been in Rome, our class has experienced many of these public projects. In order to study these works and the emperors that dictated them, the researchers must identify the most relevant public buildings within the time line and be able to assign each of these buildings manpower costs. One way that they are able to get a lot of their information is through written works by the emperors of Rome, as many of them enjoyed describing their contributions to the society. The researchers also needed a base in order to assign the manpower costs of each of the public works, so they decided on a base building of 480 square meters. With the estimate of 60 work units for the building, it was calculated that one unit of work porduces 8 square meters. For reference, an average temple in ancient Rome was around 100 work units.

After researchers had an idea of the amount of manpower it would take to create each public work, they were able to find that between 29 B.C. and 68 A.D., there were two major peaks and two major dips in the manpower intensive projects in the city of Rome. The first major peak was called the Augustan boom and was from 12 B.C. to 3 B.C. During this time, many project were put into place, including the introduction of aquaducts into Rome. All together, the work units were 13, 102. The other boom happened between 38 A.D. to 51 A.D. There were many fountains made during this time, and the work units totaled to 17,824. The first major dip was between 22 B.C. and 12 B.C. There were very few projects in these years. The work units totaled to 7, 337.  The other major dip was between 61 A.D. and 68 A.D. The work units totaled to 6,468.

These numbers tell us a lot about both the economy at the time and the emperor ruling. For example, the dip between 61 and 68 A.D. was both during the Great Fire of Rome, and during Emperor Nero's reign. So, not only was the economy at a weak point, but the people were unhappy and the workforce was depleted. Instances like this explain part of the reason why there are the peaks and dips in the public works programs. Another aspect to take into account is the public view of the emperor. Emperors who were attempting to please their people and gain popularity also gained economic benefits because the people of Rome were more willing to work and had better quality lives. These manpower units also begin to show us the economic state of Rome at the time of the building. In most cases, the higher the manpower units, the better the economy is at the time of the building. It is important to put time and energy into studying topics like the amount of manpower needed for public buildings in ancient Rome because it not only helps us put together this history, but it also helps us learn strategies to put into place in our modern world that can help produce a more productive and happier society.

The images below depict ancient Roman architecture in styles that were popular during the Julio-Claudian empires. Also, these structures were considered public works and the upkeep of these would also be public works.