RURAL SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE ARCHAIC AND ROMAN PERIODS IN THE AREA OF POGGIO SOMMAVILLA (SABINA TIBERINA)This paper presents the results of an historical and topographical survey carried out in the middle Tiber valley, more specifically in the Sabina Tiberina, in the area around Poggio Sommavilla. The survey focused particularly on the area under the present-day administration of the Comune of Stimigliano, with the aim of reconstructing the topographical layout of the Roman landscape. The field survey shed important new light on the nature of the archaic and Roman road network. In particular, as well as the Via Flaminia that runs along the western limits of the study area, another road was identified running in a broadly northeast-southwest direction, which appears to have formed the main trade route that served the area during both the archaic and Roman periods. Furthermore, the study of earlier maps, together with the evidence from the survey, has permitted the identification along the Tiber of a number of ancient ports, the positions of which were not known previously.It is interesting to note that the settlement pattern characteristic of the Iron Age, which favoured high plateaux overlooking the Tiber, continued into the archaic period. This appears to have had a significant impact on settlement of the Roman period, in that the earliest attested Roman villas in this area are those situated next to the Tiber. The development of the ‘phenomenon of the villa’ in the area of the Sabina Tiberina from the end of the Republican period (third to second centuries BC) is consistent with the results of studies in other parts of central Italy. The study of the pottery collected from settlements of the archaic period (Colle Rosetta) and the Roman period (San Sebastiano) confirms the importance of the Tiber as a trade route for commercial exchange.
This study is aimed at the reconstruction of the physic and anthropic environment in the phoenician- punic site of Tharros, located on the Western coast of Sardinia. Since its origin this site is characterized by the role of leadership in economy, craftsmanship and administration politics, that it will have in the punie eparchy of Sardinia.
The samples traited for the palynological analysis were found to be quantitatively poor in pollen but mostly rich in pollen types (about 60). The reconstructed flora exhibits a predominance of herbaceous taxa. The constant presence of Cupressaceae type Juniperus, Quercus type ilex/coccifera, Corylus, Cistus, Ericaceae and Olea pollen, proves the presence of a maquis with a few trees. The anthracological analysis of the charbon rests from fires also confirms this hypothesis. Among the herbaceous dominant species it is possible to find pollen of cultivated (cabbage, mustard, fennel, carrot, broad bean, lentil, garlic, onion, cereals) or ruderal plants (Urtica, Plantago, Asteroideae, Cichorioideae, Chenopodiaceae), accompanying the human presence on the territories ; the low frequencies of cereals would exclude they were the only cultivation on the area. The current state of the studies make us thinking that Carthago could have granted Tharros a relative diversity of cultivations : cereals, crops, orchards.
<p>The area object of this paper is located in the Middle Tiber Valley and comprises a wide stretch of land within the loop of the river Tiber between the municipalities of Magliano Sabina and Ponzano. A study about this region was published in the volume 44 of the Series Forma Italiae, as it has played an important role in the reconstruction of the cultural and historical aspects of the Sabine Tiber Valley in ancient time. Its geological structure has produced a characteristic wavy landscape wich has determined the country life from time to time. Therefore, the 3D reconstruction of this area appears an important aid to the knowledge of the territory shape and its evolution. In fact the 3D model of this area has been developed in order to better understand its geological, hydrographical and anthropological conformation.</p>
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