Conquest strategy and political discourse: new evidence for the conquest of Dacia from LiDAR analysis at Sarmizegetusa Regia

Abstract

By the end of the 1st c. A.D., Dacia had been an intermittent thorn in Rome's side for almost two centuries. The ambitions of Burebista and the actions of his various successors continued to threaten Roman hegemony along the lower Danube, culminating in the rise of the powerful kingdom of Decebalus and a substantial Roman defeat in Moesia. Domitian sent troops against the Dacians to restore the dignity of Rome (85-86 and 88-88/89), but with mixed success, finally having to settle for buying peace at a substantial price in order to free himself to deal with threats to security in both Germany and Pannonia. No doubt both the costs involved and the perceived lack of success further contributed to the hostility of Roman authors towards Domitian and left unfinished business on the Danube frontier. It is no great surprise, therefore, that Dacia was the first area to which Trajan — to whom the attitude of contemporary sources (e.g., Pliny's Panegyricus) could not have been in greater contrast — turned his attention within three years of his accession.

Following the Roman Army between the Southern Foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains and the Northern Plains of Castile and León (North of Spain): Archaeological Applications of Remote Sensing and Geospatial Tools

“…These data have an average ground returns of 0.5 points/m 2 . Despite its potential for the detection and characterisation of Roman military sites elsewhere [2,[91][92][93][94], the technology shows certain limitations in zones with anthropogenic landscape modifications and extensive agricultural areas [81,83]. Table 1.…”

Nuevas evidencias arqueológicas en la provincia de Soria: posibles aportaciones para el estudio de la presencia militar romana en la Submeseta Norte

“…Los yacimientos presentados en este trabajo se han identificado y analizado mediante el empleo combinado de diversas técnicas de teledetección. Esta aproximación al estudio de los asentamientos militares romanos se integra en un marco metodológico desarrollado en los últimos años en Europa (Menéndez Blanco et al, 2013;Menéndez Blanco et al, 2017;Bernardini et al, 2015;Oltean y Hanson, 2017;Hanson et al, 2019;Komoróczy et al, 2021).…”

“…Este hecho explica el auge experimentado por la disciplina en las últimas décadas, que ha cristalizado en el descubrimiento de decenas de nuevos asentamientos en el territorio peninsular (Cordero Ruiz et al, 2017;Costa-García et al, 2019;Peralta Labrador et al, 2019;Menéndez Blanco et al, 2020;Martín Hernández et al, 2020). Sin embargo, este avance metodológico no es exclusivo del territorio peninsular, pues se documenta a escala europea (Bernardini et al, 2015;Oltean y Hanson, 2017;Laharnar y Lozić, 2019;Driver et al, 2020).…”

Satellite Remote Sensing for the Analysis of the Micia and Germisara Archaeological Sites

“…Starting in 2000, the investigations have been resumed in this point under the supervision of Petculescu [63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70]. The emergence and development of Micia's human occupation during the reigns of Traianus (98)(99)(100)(101)(102)(103)(104)(105)(106)(107)(108)(109)(110)(111)(112)(113)(114)(115)(116)(117) or of Hadrianus at the latest, are both archaeologically attested. The finds prove the evolution of the site from its incipient status, illustrated by earth and timber constructions, to the almost urban phase of the locality, characterised by the edification of large size stone and brick buildings (the amphitheatre, the baths, houses with central heating installations, etc.)…”