A m s t e r d a m U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s 15Regional Pathways to Complexity s e t t l e m e n t a n d l a n d -u s e dy n a m i c s i n e a r ly i ta ly f ro m t h e b ro n z e ag e to t h e r e p u b l i c a n pe r i o d All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the editors of this book. A study of central and southern Italy between the end of the Bronze Age and the end of the Roman Republican period presents several major challenges: the size of the region, the length of the period under investigation, and especially the difficulty to investigate effectively the long-term processes operating at this time in this area, processes that involved the growing complexity of indigenous societies, and the transformation of traditional rural and pastoral ways of life into urbanism during the period of 'external' Greek and Roman colonization.Our purpose was not only to synthesize the results of the fieldwork, but also to present interpretations of and reflections on these processes, the approaches we used to investigate them, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the theoretical models applied by ourselves and others to explain our findings. This is why the introductory and concluding chapters contain extensive discussions of methodology. It is hoped that the RPC experience, once published, will be of interest to others pursuing similar studies. f b kChapter 1 introduces the RPC project itself and provides an outline of its methodology. The chapter discusses, firstly, the integration of settlement archaeology, environmental research, ethnography and ceramics studies; and, secondly, the problems presented by, on the one hand, systematic biases in the archaeological record and, on the other, by our attempt to compare differently constituted regional archaeological records. The remainder of the volume is organised into two parts, the first (chapters 2 to 4) being arranged chronologically by region, the second (chapters 5 to 8) chronologically by theme. A final chapter pulls together the main threads and conclusions of our argument.The first few chapters deal with each of the three RPC regions in turn (chapter 2: Pontine region, chapter 3: Salento isthmus, chapter 4: Sibaritide). Each chapter begins with a reconstruction of the principal geographical and environmental factors that influenced the forms of human habitation and land use. This is followed by a chronologically ordered discussion of actual settlement configurations and land use patterns, based on comparisons of the various field surveys and other settlement data. Each chapter sets out to describe the intra-regional differentiation in settlement and land use in relation to geography and environment. Together, these chapters pr...
Earlier studies on Holocene fills of upland lakes (Lago Forano and Fontana Manca) in northern Calabria, Italy, showed that these hold important palaeoecological archives, which however remained poorly dated. Their time frame is improved by new 14 C dates on plant remains from new cores. Existing pollen data are reinterpreted, using this new time frame. Two early forest decline phases are distinguished. The earliest is linked to the 4.2 kyr BP climatic event, when climate became distinctly drier, other than at Lago Trifoglietti on the wetter Tyrrhenian side, where this event is less prominent. The second is attributed to human impacts and is linked to middle-Bronze Age mobile pastoralism. At Fontana Manca (c. 1000 m a.s.l.), it started around 1700 BC, in the higher uplands a few centuries later (Lago Forano, c. 1500 m a.s.l.). In the Fontana Manca fill, a thin tephra layer occurs, which appears to result from the AP2 event (Vesuvius, c. 1700 BC). A third, major degradation phase dates from the Roman period. Land use and its impacts, as inferred from the regional archaeological record for the Raganello catchment, are confronted with the impacts deduced from the palaeoarchives.
Author contribution: the idea for this article emerged from extensive discussions at the twiceyearly International Mediterranean Survey Workshops. Bintliff and Attema took the lead in collecting the literature and drafting the text, using input from all other authors. Attema and Van Leusen drafted the recommendations. 1
Although both the urban and rural landscapes of Roman Italy have received due attention in current debates on the Roman economy, this is less true for the highly variable group of intermediate sites, here conveniently labelled as 'minor centres', and their role within economic networks. This contribution focuses attention on two such sites, Forum Appii and Ad Medias, situated in the Pontine plain (Lazio, central Italy) along the Via Appia. After addressing issues of definition and the current state of research, we shall approach the potential functions of such sites through geographic models. Next, we discuss the results of a programme of geophysical surveys and field walking on both casestudy sites. The results obtained suggest that, although far from being a uniform settlement class, minor centres could perform crucial functions within local and regional economies. Based on the present data, Forum Appii developed into a centre of craft production and, with its river port, also became a trade hub of regional importance. Ad Medias functioned primarily as a small centre provisioning and servicing travellers and the local rural population. To conclude the article, we consider the implications of the results obtained in terms of future research strategies.Mentre sia i paesaggi urbani sia quelli rurali dell'Italia romana hanno ricevuto una doverosa attenzione nel corrente dibattito sull'economia romana, lo stesso non si può dire per il gruppo di siti di tipo intermedio e il ruolo da loro giocato all'interno dei network economici. Essi sono enormemente variabili e in questo lavoro opportunamente etichettati come 'centri minori'. Il presente contributo focalizza l'attenzione su due siti di questo tipo: Forum Appii e Ad Medias nella Pianura Pontina (Lazio, Italia centrale), lungo la via Appia. Vengono trattate in prima istanza questioni relative alla definizione e allo stato attuale della ricerca, per poi affrontare tramite modelli geografici le potenziali funzioni di questo tipo di siti. Il contributo discute poi i risultati di un programma di indagini geofisiche e di ricognizioni topografiche nei due casi studio presi in considerazione. I risultati ottenuti suggeriscono come, sebbene lontani dal costituire una classe di insediamento omogenea, i centri minori potessero svolgere funzioni cruciali all'interno degli assetti economici locali e regionali. Stando ai dati oggi a disposizione, Forum Appii si sviluppò in un centro di manifattura artigianale e, con il suo porto fluviale, divenne anche un centro commerciale di importanza regionale. Ad Medias svolse in primo luogo il ruolo di un piccolo centro di approvvigionamento e di servizio per i viaggiatori e per la locale popolazione rurale. Per concludere, l'articolo prende in considerazione le implicazioni dei risultati ottenuti in relazione alle future strategie di ricerca.
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