Middle Class Houses in Late Antiquity

Abstract

The concept of the “middle class” is a modern invention, but it can be applied in archaeology to identify housing between that of the aristocracy and the lowest level of domestic architecture in a settlement. Applying this concept suggests that late antique craftsmen and professionals aspired to an aristocratic lifestyle by adopting elements of aristocratic architecture. There are indications that the middle classes increased their influence in Late Antiquity and that they continued to aspire to an aristocratic lifestyle until the 7th c. A.D.