Alternatives to Urbanism? Reconsidering Oppida and the Urban Question in Late Iron Age Europe

Abstract

The mega-sites of Late Iron Age Europe (traditionally known as oppida) provide an important dataset for exploring how complex social systems can articulate power in novel ways. The question of whether these can be described as 'urban' has overshadowed a deeper understanding of the development and role of such sites, with many studies examining this issue almost wholly against peculiarly classical concepts of urbanism, isolating Iron Age studies from wider debate. Rather than seek to redefine 'towns', this paper explores how and why oppida diverge from traditional concepts of urbanism, arguing that the form of oppida reflects their focus on particular aspects-assembly, theatricality, and the household-which reflect the nature of Late Iron Age societies. It will be suggested that oppida are comparable to a range of mega-sites and low-density settlements recognised throughout the world that represent alternative solutions to the social complications urbanism seeks to address.

THE ORIGINS OF BRITISH OPPIDA: UNDERSTANDING TRANSFORMATION IN IRON AGE PRACTICE AND SOCIETY

“…Elsewhere, including Britain, it has been argued that lack of structural remains does not suggest that these locales were not socially significant prior to the foundation of oppida , but that the types of activities undertaken (e.g. meeting places) left little archaeological trace (Haselgrove , 509–10; Moore , 292–3). In summary, current theories stress, in most cases, the lack of permanent occupation in what I term ‘pre‐ oppidum landscapes’, as well as the important role of local elites in establishing and developing oppida over time.…”

“…The examination of the Chichester oppidum has demonstrated that a wider perspective of the Iron Age has the potential to populate pre‐ oppidum landscapes. However, the heterogeneous nature of oppida ‘illustrate(s) [that] societies developed different ways of managing social complexity’ (Moore , 284). With a wealth of available new data, we can now consider the current evidence for earlier activity from other British oppida .…”

“…The evidence for extensive Middle Iron Age farmsteads and field systems in the Chichester pre‐ oppidum landscape suggests that agriculture played a significant role in how oppida society was formed and developed over time. Often overlooked in oppida studies, agriculture plays an important role in understanding the origins of these settlements and the nature of social organization (Lodwick , ; Moore , 297–8). Typically it has been argued that oppida were positioned on the convergence of landscape zones, i.e.…”

Participatory Augering: A Methodology for Challenging Perceptions of Archaeology and Landscape Change

“…Funded through the JPI-Heritage plus scheme, the research focuses on Late Iron Age oppida, monuments which, due to their size (often over 100 hectares), can only be understood at a landscape scale (Moore, 2017). Focusing on the known oppida landscapes of 196 GEMMA TULLY AND MICHAEL J. ALLEN Bibracte (France), Ulaca (Spain), and Bagendon and Salmonsbury (UK), the project has been working with a range of stakeholders, from wildlife organizations to local residents, to position existing archaeological knowledge alongside the lesser-known perceptions and management approaches surrounding these landscapes, and to share best practice at a European level.…”

Editorial

“…Public events, ritual and spectacle play a powerful part in the staging of authority and choreography of power (Geertz 1980), and existing regular meeting patterns in some societies may have presented a particularly useful opportunity for aspirant elites and authorities. In Iron Age Europe, the large rural settlement forms called oppida are suggested as constructions designed to manage and enhance human experience of group events as a form of control by particular households (Moore 2017). In northern Europe, in Ireland, popular assemblies had associations with kingship and royal land.…”