Reuse in early mediaeval Rome Observations from the Papal Basilica of St. Paul outside the walls

Comparison between the various methods of re-employing materials in the Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls complex in Rome seems to highlight a difference between the first half of the eighth century and the end of the same century. The first phase, which is not very systematic and differentiated, differs from the much more pronounced compositional uniformity of later buildings, which appears to be related to the existence of real systems and societies of building-material recycling.