The journal Places has published “The Trash Heap of History,” a peer-reviewed article by Michael Ezban (MLA I AP 2013). The article recovers the ancient Roman landfill Monte Testaccio as a precedent for contemporary landfill reclamation. Michael’s research was conducted while he was a Visiting Scholar in Architecture at the American Academy in Rome in 2011. From the article:
Monte Testaccio is Rome’s feral monument, an ungainly aggregation of material, mythology, interests and events. From the processes of food consumption, waste production and landfill appropriation emerged a multivalent terrain that continues to shape urban activity in Rome. As contemporary governments and citizens ask that reclaimed landfill sites be many things to many people—energy producers, social nodes, memorials—and interface with local infrastructure, we should turn to the historical precedent of Monte Testaccio. This waste site’s longevity and vitality make it an ideal model of what a landfill can become: an agent of civic engagement and an urban catalyst.