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Abstract:In this study the methodology proposed by Vogel & Märker (2010) to reconstruct the pre-AD 79 topography and paleo-environmental features of the Sarno River plain (Italy) was considerably revised and improved. The methodology is based on an extensive dataset of stratigraphical information from the entire Sarno River plain, a high-resolution present-day digital elevation model (DEM) and a classification and regression tree approach. The dataset was re-evaluated and 32 additional stratigraphical drillings were collected in areas that were not or insufficiently covered by previous stratigraphic data. Altogether, an assemblage of 1,840 drillings, containing information about the depth from the present-day surface to the pre-AD 79 paleo-surface (thickness of post-AD 79 deposits) and the character of the pre-AD 79 paleo-layer of the Sarno River plain was utilized. Moreover, an improved preprocessing of the input parameters attained a distinct progress in model performance in comparison to the previous model of Vogel & Märker (2010). Subsequently, a spatial model of the post-AD 79 deposits was generated. The modelled deposits were then used to reconstruct the pre-AD 79 topography of the Sarno River plain. Moreover, paleo-environmental and paleo-geomorphological features such as the paleo-coastline, the paleo-Sarno River and its floodplain, alluvial fans near the Tyrrhenian coast as well as abrasion terraces of historical and protohistorical coastlines were identified. This reconstruction represents a qualitative improvement of the previous work by Vogel & Märker (2010).

Pompeii, buried by the explosive A.D. 79 eruption of Somma‐Vesuvius, is one of the most studied ancient cities in the Roman world. However, until very recently, the rural settlement in its hinterland had been largely ignored by systematic archaeological research. The ancient landscape around Pompeii consisted of a dense network of Roman farms (villae rusticae). They are believed to have played a vital role in ancient rural life and economy and thus represented the interactive rural–urban relationship in the Sarno River plain. The systematic investigation of published work combined with new fieldwork has yielded a data set of 140 villae rusticae in the Sarno River plain. Geographic information system based spatial statistics as well as predictive modeling were applied to gain a more detailed understanding of the ancient rural settlement structure in relation to the underlying paleoenvironmental and socioeconomic conditions. A high‐resolution pre‐A.D. 79 paleolandscape model of the Sarno River plain was utilized. The aim of this paper is to address theoretical considerations, the methodological implementation, and the archaeological discussion of the analysis of the ancient rural settlements and agriculture around Pompeii.

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