Rural Landscapes of Roman (northern) Liburnia: Diachronic Development of Organisation and the Economy in Extra-Urban Territories in the Light of Recent Archaeological Research

Abstract

The archaeology of Roman rural landscapes in the province of Dalmatia, and espe¬cially northern Liburnia, has until recently focused on single-site or single-monument analyses, allowing for only geographically patchy and chronologically limited conclu¬sions. Considering the results of recent research in the wider Kvarner and sub-Velebit area, the paper discusses issues of Roman extra-urban territorial organisation, the formation and evolution of settlement and economies on rural estates. Using several case studies, the role of indigenous residents and immigrants in the organisation of the countryside during the early Imperial era is addressed, testifying to a diversified social structure of both landowners and the employed workforce. Later developments in rural settlement are analysed through the prism of newly emergent geopolitical factors emerging in the region from the 3rd century onward. The Christianisation of rural areas and associated novel social practices, and possibly new forms of habita¬tion, are also covered. Finally, the final phases of use of rural sites can now be more cogently discussed thanks to new data from several, mainly insular sites.