Architecture and Urbanism in the Fortified Settlement of Pech Maho (Sigean,France) in the Third Century BC: A Social and Economic Perspective

This paper offers a synthesis of the urbanism and architecture of Pech Maho (Sigean) from a social and economic point of view. Its aim is to highlight the specificities of this settlement in the context of the Late Iron Age between south France and north‐east Spain. During the third century BC, this small site had an impressive defensive system, as well as quite a complex urban framework. The constructed blocks excavated so far show a predominance of multicellular buildings that testify to a wide range of ground plans. Most of the spaces seem to have been devoted to specialized activities of a clear economic orientation, whilst other buildings or spaces have a strong symbolic nature. Rooms used exclusively for domestic tasks are in the minority, while a large dwelling in the central area appears to have been a private residential unit. All of this suggests that Pech Maho would have been an economic centre, as well as the residence of an elite that would have exerted control over the productive and trading activities, in a context that clearly evokes that of an emporion.     

‘A NEW SEASON FOR PLANNING’: URBAN GARDENING AS INFORMAL PLANNING IN ROME

This article investigates the relationship between urban gardening and planning by building upon the results of field research on gardening initiatives in the city of Rome, Italy. The work is aimed at suggesting that, while often associated in geography and planning literature with urban informality practices (e.g. accidental city or self‐made urbanism), urban gardening actually presents the character of a distinctive form of people's interaction with urban space, here defined as “informal planning”. This includes practices that are intentionally put forward by local dwellers with the intention of urban space planning and organizing public life in the absence of legal definition, guidance and funds provided by public authorities or the private sector. Urban gardening cases in Rome exemplify the emergence of informal planning and show how, by questioning the counterplanning tradition that understands urban gardening as an antagonist spatial practice opposing institutional planning, informal planning can open up collaborative possibilities. A new mode of interaction between citizens' agency and the formal planning initiatives of local administration can lead to creative solutions to address some of the problems associated with the neoliberal transformation of the city space, most notably the decrease in public space and its deterioration.     

Open Warfare or the Odd Skirmish? Bell Beaker Violence in the North‐Eastern Iberian Peninsula

Archaeological examples of violence in prehistory have increased in recent years. The evidence, methodology employed and interpretation of the data have been diverse, but in each case the myth of the ‘peaceful past’ is questioned. This work provides new data on the issue from the north‐eastern Iberian Peninsula, associated with the Bell Beaker culture (c.2800–2350 cal BC). Material from two megalithic tombs, Can Gol I and Can Gol II (Barcelona Province), in particular a set of flint arrowheads, has been revisited. Use‐wear analysis on the arrowheads confirmed the presence of impact fractures. This indicates that the arrowheads were not funerary offerings, but that they entered the graves lodged in the bodies of the deceased. The data from the only site with evidence of massive death by violence in the neighbouring region (Costa de Can Martorell) reinforce the hypothesis of episodes of conflict and violence during prehistory. However, the interpretation of the nature of such violence remains open to debate: was it an act of warfare or an occasional skirmish? And is the image of the Bell Beaker warrior identified in other European contexts also applicable to this area?     

The Emergence of Chariots and Riding in the South Caucasus

Summary.   The beginning of the Late Bronze Age, i.e. the late fifteenth–early fourteenth centuries BC, saw the emergence of chariots in Transcaucasia, where rich barrows of this period yielded bronze chariot models. The latter correspond to the type of chariots widespread in the western Near East in the late sixteenth–early thirteenth centuries BC. Hence it can be inferred that, regardless of the ultimate origin of Near Eastern chariots, Transcaucasian specimens belong to the Near Eastern tradition. However, in Transcaucasia, in contradistinction to the Near East, the chariot was merely a prestige marker. The growing role of the horse indicative of horseback riding is attested by some Transcaucasian funeral complexes of the late second millennium BC, which correspond to those of the steppes of south Russia. It seems likely that the builders of these barrows were related to the Iranian population of the Russian steppes.