Roman Interaction in North-Western Iberia

The Iron Age in the North-West of Iberia is characterized by settlement patterns in which small hilltop enclosures or castros were dominant. Recent field-survey work has revealed more about the distribution of rural settlement sites in part of this area, and an analysis has been made of the pattern of rural site distributions in relation to the castros. This confirms the continued focal role of castros into the Roman period. An explanation for the settlement pattern in this region and the absence of typically Roman features like developed villas is sought in the nature and extent of Roman military recruitment from the region.     

Regional Survey and the Boom-and-bust Countryside: Re-reading the Archaeological Evidence for Episodic Abandonment in the Late Roman Corinthia

This paper reexamines the archaeological evidence for three episodes of rural abandonment and resettlement in the countrysides of Late Roman Greece (200–700 CE): an abandoned Late Hellenistic-Early Roman countryside (second century BCE to third century CE), a decline in the third to early fourth centuries CE, and the Dark Age beginning in the seventh century CE. The first and third episodes of abandonment, especially, have sharply defined Late Antiquity (250–700 CE) as a healthy period of new rural settlement and economic resurgence, and the entire pattern has been described in the terms of “boom-and-bust” demographic and economic cycles. Closer readings of the archaeological data can contribute to more sensitive pictures of continuity and change in settlement and connectivity in the late antique Corinthian countryside and other regions in Greece.     

苏北地区乡村聚落的格局特征与类型划分

以苏北地区乡村聚落为研究对象,运用RS和GIS技术,利用景观分析方法,选取空间韵律指数及聚类分析探讨苏北地区乡村聚落的格局特征及类型划分,结果表明,苏北地区乡村聚落的空间分布存在明显的地域差异。徐淮平原聚落规模大而稀疏;淮阴平原聚落规模相对大,较密集;盐城地区聚落规模小而密集。聚落被划分为盐宿地区聚落高密度分布区、徐连淮丘陵地区聚落中密度分布区、淮阴平原过渡性聚落均匀分布区及徐淮平原聚落稀疏分布区四种典型的类型区。     

The use of Animals at Roman Roadside Settlements in Britain: Contextualizing some new Results from Ware,Hertfordshire

Recent analysis of a large faunal assemblage from a Roman roadside settlement at Ware, Hertfordshire has indicated potentially strong links between the nature of animal exploitation on site and its location on Ermine Street. Animal husbandry was focused on the production of cattle and sheep, both of which had experienced stock ‘improvement’ by the late Roman period. Relatively high proportions of horse, and the presence of young horses, suggest the importance of this animal and the potential for its local breeding; the site could have acted as a station for changing or selling horses. The presence of marine fish and black rat also indicate clear links to the wider trade network. This was not an isolated settlement, outside the sphere of Roman influence, as rural Roman sites are often considered to be, but well‐connected to wider economic networks. This paper places these new results in context, by providing a review of faunal assemblages from Roman roadside settlements across Britain. The review indicates that most of the characteristics of animal exploitation at Ware are shared with other roadside settlement sites, though interesting differences also emerge.     

The Formation of Future Types of Rural Places in the Kuban'-Stavropol' Plain

The historical settling process in the Kuban'-Stavropol' plain of the Northern Caucasus has been dominated by the formation of large Cossack settlements and the subsequent establishment ot smaller peasant villages and individual homesteads. Two thirds of the collective and state farms of the region, as illustrated by the situation in Krasnodar Kray, now have a centralized settlement pattern consisting of a single permanent central settlement and seasonal outlying settlements. The other third is distinguished by a decentralized pattern of several smaller settlements. In the interest of more efficient production and the provision ot higher living standards, the recommendation is made that the centralized pattern be favored in the redesign of future rural settlement in the region.     

THE PORT OF THOLOS IN EASTERN CRETE AND THE ROLE OF A ROMAN HORREUM ALONG THE EGYPTIAN 'CORN ROUTE'

Summary. Roman provincial warehouses and rural horrea in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean remain largely undocumented and their functions are poorly understood. A recent intensive archaeological survey at the bay of Tholos in the Kavousi area of northeastern Crete has investigated one such horreum and has explored the regional archaeological context of the building and its hinterland. The present study discusses the architectural form and archaeological context of this warehouse and assesses its function within the broader political and economic sphere of eastern Mediterranean trade routes in the second century A.D. Patterns of coastal urbanization, settlement development, and land use in eastern Crete in the Classical and Hellenistic periods, are examined as background for discussion of Roman rule, and as factors that are crucial in understanding the economics of settlement and the role of Cretan cities and the port of Tholos in the first and second centuries A.D.     

Rural Agricultural Economies and Military Provisioning at Roman Gordion (Central Turkey)

Roman Gordion, on the Anatolian plateau, is the only excavated rural military settlement in a pacified territory in the Roman East, providing a unique opportunity to investigate the agricultural economy of a permanent Roman garrison. We present combined results of archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological analyses, assessing several hypotheses regarding Roman military provisioning. The garrison adapted its dietary preferences to local agricultural systems, but maintained its traditional meat supply of pork, beef, and chickens as well. There is evidence for economic interdependence with local farmers and cattle herders, self-sufficiency in pork and chicken production, and complex relationships with autonomous sheep and goat herders who pursued their own economic goals. If the Roman military in Gordion exercised a command economy, they were able to implement that control only on specific components of the agricultural sector, especially cereal farming. The sheep and goat herding system remained unaltered, targeting secondary products for a market economy and/or broader provincial taxation authorities. The garrison introduced new elements to the animal economy of the Gordion region, including a new pig husbandry system. Comparison with contemporary non-military settlements suggests both similarities and differences with urban meat economies of Roman Anatolia.     

Relevant Beyond the Roman Period: Approaches to the Investigation,Analysis and Dissemination of Archaeological Investigations of the Rural Settlements and Landscapes of Roman Britain

Archaeology has been firmly embedded in the British planning systems for over a quarter of century, and development-led fieldwork is now by far the largest source of new information available to researchers. Custom and practice in the way that such work is conducted has evolved over this time, yet methodological innovation has been surprisingly limited. Using the data gathered in a major survey of the rural settlement of Roman Britain, this paper explores some themes in the way that commercial work is undertaken and seeks to open up a long-overdue debate about professional practice in a development-led context.     

Testing settlement models in the early Roman colonial landscapes of Venusia (291 B.C.), Cosa (273 B.C.) and Aesernia (263 B.C.)

This paper examines settlement density and settlement patterns in the Roman colonial territories of Venusia, Cosa and Aesernia, located in three different landscapes of central southern Italy (modern Basilicata, Tuscany and Molise). Using a series of GIS tools, we conducted a comparative analysis of the density and spatial distribution of sites dating to the Hellenistic period (ca. 350–50 b.c.). We used the legacy settlement data collected by previous large-scale, intensive, site-oriented field surveys to test the validity of two competing rural settlement models of early Roman colonization: the conventional model of neatly organized settlements regularly dispersed across the landscape and the recently proposed theory that colonists adopted a polynuclear settlement strategy. After calculating the extent to which the archaeological datasets conform to the regular or polynuclear model, we conclude that only a very small portion of the colonized areas actually meets traditional expectations regarding the organization of early colonial settlements. Our analyses show that the legacy survey data is more consistent with the polynuclear settlement theory, but the data also reveals some completely unexpected patterns, suggesting that early Roman colonial landscapes were more diverse than previously thought.     

县域尺度下交通对乡村聚落景观格局的影响研究——以宿州市埇桥区为例

聚落景观格局及其影响因子的研究历来是乡村地理学研究的热点,而交通对聚落的空间分布格局影响日益加深。以皖北的埇桥区为研究对象,基于土地利用现状图,运用GIS技术和景观分析软件,在县域尺度定量分析不同类型、不同等级交通对乡村聚落景观格局的影响。结果表明:交通运输用地是乡村聚落景观斑块之间和乡村聚落景观与其它类型景观进行物质和信息传递的景观廊道;乡村聚落景观面积和交通运输用地面积在数量上存在正相关关系;交通是影响乡村聚落景观格局的重要因子,且不同类型、不同等级的交通与乡村聚落景观空间分布的相关性不同;国道、省道和县道与乡村聚落景观空间分布有正相关性,铁路、高速公路和农村道路与乡村聚落景观分布则呈负相关。     

The Iron Age landscape of Alcoi Valley,eastern Iberia: Agricultural intensification and sociopolitical dynamics

Abstract

New archaeological survey data are combined with previous evidence to examine the rural landscape during the Iberian Iron Age in the Valencia region of eastern Spain. One goal was to understand the settlement pattern and agricultural intensification through manuring. The second objective was to address the socioeconomic aspects of changes in the landscape. It is possible to trace the emergence of a hierarchical settlement pattern in the Iberian Iron Age in which large fortified settlements carried out the most important functions of control and exploitation of the territory, extending their authority over small rural villages and farmsteads. This pattern is associated with the complex socioeconomic structures and political organization of early Iberian states.     

山西灵石县静升村明清聚落格局的变迁

聚落格局是历史聚落地理研究较少关注的一个对象。山西灵石县静升村“九沟八堡十八巷”的聚落格局形成历经元末明初各沟巷的初步开发,明中后期至清初的边界拓展与内部扩建,以及清中后期内部格局的充盈及跨河“南侵”三个阶段。这其中地理环境、宗族势力、战乱匪患和国家政策等因素产生了重要影响。静升村的个案研究表明,聚落格局的形成与发展是一个动态变迁的历史过程,而聚落庙宇以及标志性建筑物的创建历史成为考察的重要指标。现今加强乡村聚落格局的研究仍将是中国乡村聚落形态研究继续深入拓展的趋势之一。     

An overview of Byzantine Period settlements around Comana Pontica in north-central Turkey

Abstract

The sanctuary of Comana Pontica in north-central Anatolia, dedicated to a local Anatolian deity, Ma, was a significant part of the Hellenistic kingdom of the Mithradatids which continued to be of some importance under the Roman emperors. During the Byzantine period, as a result of the introduction of, and adaptation to, Christianity in the region, significant changes in settlement pattern/organization at and in the vicinity of Comana took place. This article illustrates these changes through the architectural and archaeological material discovered during surveys and offers a preliminary interpretation of the settlement patterns around Comana in the Byzantine period.     

BEYOND THE ROMAN EMPIRE: ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES IN GUDME ON FUNEN, DENMARK

Summary. More than one hundred years ago in the Gudme area on Funen, Denmark, Frederik Sehested carried out probably the earliest regional survey in world archaeology. This was subsequently published in two magnificent volumes. Today the Gudme-area is the focus of the main research project of Danish archaeology, investigating a truly massive 'royal' settlement of some two hundred hectares near Gudme with the adjacent emporium at Lundeborg on the nearby coast of the Greater Belt. The settlements, cemeteries, and hoards of precious metals of the region date in the main from 200–600 A.D., the late Roman and migration periods of European history. The royal settlement is seemingly made up of farms with longhouses of ordinary type, but with very rich finds, including many Roman and Frankish imports, and remains of luxury crafts. The emporium antedates the well-known Carolingian and Viking establishments by several centuries and was founded when Roman cities still flourished, e.g., in the Rhinelands.     

国外乡村聚落地理研究进展及近今趋势

乡村聚落地理的研究是乡村地理学的重要研究领域。本文通过对大量的文献资料分析,系统梳理了国外乡村聚落地理的研究动态,将其研究历程划分为:萌芽起步、初步发展、拓展变革、转型重构四个阶段。对乡村聚落地理的研究内容体系进行归纳总结,主要集中在聚落布局、聚落形态与分类、聚落景观、聚落用地、聚落生态等方面。在此基础上对近今乡村聚落地理的研究趋势及发展方向进行了分析,发现乡村聚落的人文社会化和乡村重构的研究趋势。以期能对国内乡村聚落地理的研究提供借鉴和参考。     

传承性视角下乡村聚落历史时空格局特征及演化研究——以广东省连州市为例

在采用地名志及相关史料的基础上,通过从时间和空间两个角度,解读连州市乡村聚落格局演化及形成原因。研究结果表明:连州早在西汉元鼎六年即已设立,后随南北交通线和区域开发进程演变,在时间上,可划分为六个发展阶段,以明清时期增长最快。在空间分布上,连州市乡村聚落具备空间传承性,连州镇是连州市乡村聚落增长的核心,各时期乡村聚落密度最大的乡镇均位于市域的中西部和东北部地区,聚落密度较小者集中于北部少数民族聚居区与东部高山区。在此基础上,从自然地理条件、移民、交通、经济发展、民族构成等五个方面对连州市乡村聚落建立和发展的影响进行了探讨。     

国家重点生态功能区乡村人居环境演变及影响机制——以湖北省利川市为例

采用层次分析等方法,从农民生活、生产环境、生态产品供给以及生态安全等人居环境核心领域出发,构建重点生态功能区乡村人居环境评价体系,对1998-2012年间利川市乡村人居环境做了评价,剖析了自然生态环境、社会经济要素空间变化特征。研究表明:①重点生态功能区乡村人居环境建设时序演变历经传统发展、过渡发展、生态化建设三个阶段,人居环境系统及影响因子在不同时期呈现出不同的特征;②社会经济环境、生态环境空间格局变化显著,主要表现为农村人口向盆地、城镇集聚,城乡收入差距增大,河流流域生态环境改善,高山区生态脆弱性增强;③农户行为受政策调控作用由无序、扭曲化向规范化变迁,政策调控与农户行为互动作用促使重点生态功能区乡村人居环境演变。     

Changes in the Distribution of Rural Settlement in Northern Kazakhstan from 1959 to 1963

After the first great population movement to northern Kazakhstan in the period 1953–1958 in conjunction with the start of the virgin-lands cultivation program, a period of reordering and restructuring of rural settlement within the region set in during 1959–1963. Three types of settlement areas are distinguished: (1) in areas of predominantly old settlement (preceding the virgin-lands program), the increase of rural population during this five-year period was below the average rate of natural increase for northern Kazakhstan as a whole; there was a net-outmigration from rural to urban areas and to other parts of northern Kazakhstan, (2) in areas of combined old and new settlement, population increase was more significant and there was a noticeable reduction of small populated places and increase in the number of larger places, (3) in areas of predominantly new settlement, where the density of population is lowest, the rate of population increase is highest, and settlement is mainly in widely spaced larger places.     

转型期欠发达地区乡村人居环境演变特征及微观机制——以湖北省红安县二程镇为例

优化乡村人居环境,改善农户生活质量,统筹城乡发展是社会主义新农村建设的一项重要内容。本文以欠发达地区为地理单元,以红安县二程镇8个村100户问卷和访谈调查为基础资料,探讨了转型期特定区域乡村人居环境演变特征和微观机制。从历史的维度来看,乡村人居环境演变特征主要体现在:乡村聚落的空心化和边缘化、乡村生态环境的剧烈恶化以及乡村社会文化的更新等方面。从微观的视野来看,乡村人居环境的演化实质上是农户空间行为作用的外在表现。不同类型的农户空间行为对乡村人居环境的作用方式不同,影响效果也不同,但其综合效应对乡村人居环境的系统功能影响较大。