"There is a similar reason that amazing old houses lie for ages untouched in France" Yeah, but here it is property laws preventing use. Otherwise there are pot

"There is a similar reason that amazing old houses lie for ages untouched in France" Yeah, but here it is property laws preventing use. Otherwise there are potentially enough people in seqrch of a home. (See squatter/occupy movement) And in general I see the same pattern today: abandoned houses would get used, but cannot easily, so step by step materials of that house gets used somewhere else as that is quite safe (if a owner comes back). And warming a big stone house is a problem, but I think most people rather have one warm room and have lots of dry but cold space, rather than one warm mud hut. So it was probably lots of factors preventing a use of the old roman houses.