The principal outcome of this project is the publication of a series of groundbreaking volumes that will unravel and contextualize the complex social structures of a sub-elite neighborhood of Pompeii. Through original and interdisciplinary approaches to Roman urbanism, including archaeological excavations of a large Pompeian neighborhood of houses, shops, and workshops, this research is uncovering the livelihoods of the Roman sub-elite by charting their socioeconomic developments over generations, indeed centuries.

The excavations (the Pompeii Archaeological Research Project: Porta Stabia) are a collaborative effort between the University of Cincinnati and the American Academy in Rome. The results are contributing a new understanding of the connections between urban infrastructure (especially waste management) and the construction of cities, while also revealing the structural and social relationships over time between Pompeian households of variable economic portfolios, determining the role that sub-elites played in the shaping of Roman urban networks, and registering their response to city—and Mediterranean-wide historical, political, and economic developments.