
Decoding Archaeological Spaces: A Space Syntax Study of the Hellenistic Baths in Syracuse
References
- Basile, DB and Crispino, A. 2017.
‘Giuseppe Cultrera e l’archeologia a Siracusa fra Paolo Orsi e Luigi Bernabò Brea’ . In: Panvini, R and Sammito, A (eds.), Atti del Convegno di Studi Archeologia in Sicilia tra le due guerre, Modica, 5–6–7 Guigno 2014. Modica: Arti Grafiche Cannizzaro, pp. 57–74. - Broise, H. 1994. ‘La pratique du bain chaud par immersion en Sicile et dans la péninsule italique à l’époque hellénistique’. Xenia Antiqua, 3: 17–32.
- Cortés, A and De Soto, P. 2022. ‘Who lived in that Roman house? Computational analysis on the domestic space to identify a new hybrid house in the Roman Empire’. Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, 25:
e00222 . DOI: 10.1016/j.daach.2022.e00222 - Criado-Perez, C, Collins, CG, Jackson, CJ, Oldfield, P, Pollard, B and Sanders, K. 2020. ‘Beyond an ‘informed opinion’: evidence-based practice in the built environment’. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 16(1): 23–40. DOI: 10.1080/17452007.2019.1617670
- Cultrera, G. 1907. Saggi sull’ Arte Ellenistica e Greco-Romana. I. La Corrente Asiana. Rome: Ermanno Loescher & Co.
- Cultrera, G. 1938. ‘Restauro di una colonna dell’Olympieion a Siracusa’. Le Arti, I(VI): 604–606.
- Delaine, J. 1989. ‘Some Observations on the Transition from Greek to Roman Baths in Hellenistic Italy’. Mediterranean Archaeology, 2: 111–125.
- Fagan, GG. 1999. Bathing in public in the Roman world. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. DOI: 10.3998/mpub.14923
- Fagan, GG. 2001. ‘The genesis of the Roman public bath: recent approaches and future directions’. American Journal of Archaeology, 105(3): 403–426. DOI: 10.2307/507363
- Ferguson, TJ. 1996. Historic Zuni architecture and society: an archaeological application of space syntax. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
- Fladd, SG. 2017. ‘Social syntax: An approach to spatial modification through the reworking of space syntax for archaeological applications’. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 47: 127–138. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaa.2017.05.002
- Fournet, T and Redon, B. 2017.
‘Bathing in the shadow of the pyramids. Greek Baths in Egypt, Back to an Original Bath Model’ . In: Redon, B (ed.), Collective Baths in Egypt 2. New Discoveries and Perspectives. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale. pp. 279–322. - Gath-Morad, M, Grübel, J, Steemers, K, Sailer, K, Ben-Alon, L, Hölscher, C and Aguilar, L. 2024. ‘The role of strategic visibility in shaping wayfinding behavior in multilevel buildings’. Scientific Reports, 14(1):
3735 . DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53420-6 - Grahame, M. 2000. Reading space: social interaction and identity in the houses of roman pompeii: a syntactical approach to the analysis and interpretation of built space. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. DOI: 10.30861/9781841710860
- Hillier, B. 1996. Space is the machine: a configurational theory of architecture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Hillier, B and Hanson, J. 1984. The social logic of space. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511597237
- Holloway, RR. 2002. The Archaeology of Ancient Sicily. London: Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9780203469620
- Kemezis, AM. (ed.) 2015. Urban dreams and realities in antiquity: remains and representations of the ancient city. Leiden: Brill. DOI: 10.1163/9789004283893
- Krencker, D and Krüger, E. 1929. Die Trierer Kaiserthermen: Ausgrabungsbericht und grundsätzliche Untersuchungen römischer Thermen. Augsburg: Filser.
- Larguinat-Turbatte, G. 2018. ‘Les espaces vides dans les villes grecques: Ionie et Carie principalement, IVe–Ier s. a.C.’ Histoire Urbaine, 52(2): 121–136. DOI: 10.3917/rhu.052.0121
- Letesson, Q. 2013. ‘Minoan halls: A syntactical genealogy’. American Journal of Archaeology, 117(3): 303–351. DOI: 10.3764/aja.117.3.0303
- Lorenzon, M, Pylkännen, C and Artto, AV. 2023. ‘Architecture, reality and perception: The multicultural nature of Egyptian domestic architecture in the Roman period’. Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology, 6(1): 51–61. DOI: 10.5334/jcaa.95
- Lucore, SK. 2009.
‘Archimedes, The North Baths At Morgantina, And Early Developments In Vaulted Construction’ . In: Scott, A and Kosso, C (eds.), The Nature and Function of Water, Baths, Bathing, and Hygiene from Antiquity through the Renaissance. Boston: Brill, pp. 43–59. DOI: 10.1163/ej.9789004173576.i-538 - Lucore, SK. 2013.
‘Bathing in Hieronian Sicily’ . In: Lucore, SK and Trümper, M (eds.), Greek Baths and Bathing Culture: New Discoveries and Approaches. Leuven: Peeters. pp. 151–180. - Lucore, SK, Karivieri, A, Campbell, P, Göransson, K, Tusa, S and Prescott, C. 2021.
‘The Morgantina baths in their urban context’ . In: Prescott, C, Karivieri, A, Campbell, P, Göransson, K and Tusa, S (eds.), Trinacria, ‘an island outside time’. International Archaeology in Sicily. Oxford: Oxbow Books. pp. 71–84. DOI: 10.2307/j.ctv24q4z4h.13 - Lucore, SK and Miles, MM. 2016.
‘Greek Baths’ . In: Miles, MM (ed.), A Companion to Greek Architecture. 1st Edn. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 328–341. DOI: 10.1002/9781118327586.ch23 - Nielsen, I. 1990. Thermae et balnea. The architecture and cultural history of Roman public baths. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press.
- Osborne, JF. 2012. ‘Communicating power in the bīt-ḫilāni palace’. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 368: 29–66. DOI: 10.5615/bullamerschoorie.368.0029
- Ostwald, MJ. 2011. ‘The mathematics of spatial configuration: Revisiting, revising and critiquing justified plan graph theory’. Nexus Network Journal, 13(2): 445–470. DOI: 10.1007/s00004-011-0075-3
- Stöger, H. 2007. ‘Roman Ostia: Space Syntax and the Domestication of Space’. In: Posluschny, A, Lambers, K and Herzog, I (eds.), Layers of Perception. Proceedings of the 35th International Conference on Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA), Berlin, Germany,
April 2–6, 2007 . Bonn:Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH , pp. 322–327. - Stöger, H. 2009.
‘Clubs and Lounges at Roman Ostia: The Spatial Organisation of a Boomtown Phenomenon (Space Syntax Applied to the Study of Second Century AD ‘Guild Buildings’ at a Roman Port Town)’ . In: Koch, D, Marcus, L and Steen, H (eds.), Proceedings of the 7th International Space Syntax Symposium. Stockholm: KTH, pp. 108.1–108.12. - Stöger, H. 2014.
‘The Spatial Signature of an Insula Neighbourhood of Roman Ostia’ . In: Paliou, E, Lieberwirth, U and Polla, S (eds.), Spatial Analysis and Social Spaces: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Interpretation of Prehistoric and Historic Built Environments. Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 297–316. DOI: 10.1515/9783110266436.297 - Turner, A. 2001.
‘Depthmap: A program to perform visibility graph analysis’ . In: Proceedings of the 3rd International Space Syntax Symposium, Atlanta 2001. Atlanta: Georgia Institute of Technology, pp. 31.1–31.9. - Turner, MG and Gardner, RH. 2015. Landscape ecology in theory and practice: pattern and process. Second Edn. New York: Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-2794-4
- Voza, G. 1999. Nel segno dell’antico: archeologia nel territorio di Siracusa. Palermo: A. Lombardi.
- Ward-Perkins, JB. 1994. Roman Imperial Architecture. New Haven (CN): Yale University Press.
- Yang, M and Ji, Z. 2025.
‘Interpretation of the archaeological and architectural space of the Monastery of Santa Maria de Pedralbes based on space syntax’ . In: Lloveras, L, Rissech, C, Nadal, J and Bank, P (eds.), Reconstructing past monastic life, Volume 2. Diet, Landscape and Monastic Space: New Trends from Archaeological, Bioanthropological and Documentary Perspectives. Oxford: Oxbow Books, pp. 117–125. DOI: 10.2307/jj.30297091.15 - Yegül, FK. 2015.
‘Roman baths at Isthmia and Sanctuary baths in Greece’ . In: Gebhard, ER and Gregory, TE (eds.), Bridge of the untiring sea: The Corinthian Isthmus from Prehistory to Late Antiquity. Princeton (NJ): The American School of Classical Studies at Athens, pp. 247–269.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/jcaa.197 | Journal eISSN: 2514-8362
Language: English
Page range: 184 - 197
Submitted on: Jan 9, 2025
Accepted on: Feb 21, 2026
Published on: May 8, 2026
Published by: Ubiquity Press
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 1 issue per year
© 2026 Mei Yang, Zhiwei Ji, published by Ubiquity Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.