The latest contribution to over thirty years of work by Dutch universities in the Pontine region, this published PhD thesis re-examines two field survey projects carried out in the areas of Nettuno and the Astura Valley (located about 60 km south of Rome) by the Groningen Institute of Archaeology (GIA) as part of the wider Pontine Region Project (PRP). In this work Tol aims to investigate several biasing factors that limit the analytical and comparative value of survey data, in addition to gauging the suitability of survey work for assessing site chronology and function and wider socio-economic trends — long-standing questions in the field of landscape archaeology. To accomplish this, the author takes a ceramic approach using four methodological case studies to supplement the previously produced datasets.
The first chapter focuses on the historiography and archaeology of the study area, highlighting key sites and historical events while examining the infrastructure, geology and geography of the zone in antiquity. Ch. 2 discusses the methodological background of the study and problems that plague survey archaeology, including inherent issues concerning the value of pottery assemblages for determining site chronology, function and development. T. also specifies his methodological approach — with emphasis on quantity, diagnostics and overlapping periodization (41) — and his additional goals for the project, including the publication of all diagnostic pottery collected — a task seldom undertaken in regional survey work.
Ch. 3 presents the first case study, reflecting on the value of systematic revisits to previously recorded sites: 118 sites are considered, many identified previously by surveys in the 1970s (Piccaretta 1977; Liboni unpublished) and by the GIA in 2003–2005. However, no description of the sampling methods employed by these earlier surveys is given which could create issues when discussing the value of such revisits, as sites surveyed less recently and with less intensity seem to have produced more diagnostic pieces (52). Regardless, the overall results are impressive, as these revisits were able to confirm or extend chronologies at many sites, in the process recording several new sites and observing the rate of site loss and destruction in this region.
Ch. 4 examines the archaeological collection at the Antiquarium di Nettuno and evaluates whether such a dataset can be usefully integrated with recent fieldwork data. This study produced some interesting results as the collection provided chronological scope for several sites that are now destroyed. Due to the bias in the collection (predominantly fine wares, metals, rare finds) consumption trends could not be evaluated, although some of these finds did elucidate the status of certain sites, even furnishing pieces previously undocumented by survey work (e.g. first-century b.c. vernice nera). While the detailed examination of this collection allowed for many objects to be ‘put back in the landscape’, facilitating the reassessment or discovery of several sites, it is worth noting that this particular museum collection was managed by a long-tenured museum director (Arnaldo Liboni) and many finds had either been collected by him or had a well-documented provenance.
Ch. 5 discusses the third case study which used intensive survey (100 per cent coverage) to map find locations and densities at four different sites to investigate whether such information could be used to better clarify site morphology. Sites were selected based on diversity of assemblage, preservation, visibility and lack of human or natural intervention. When mapped, the sites produced some interesting results with clear artefact concentrations possibly alluding to site function, periods of expansion and contraction, and/or a division of space. However, while intensively recorded surface distributions may be a good indicator of site layout, no geophysical work was undertaken at any of these sites, making it difficult to confirm whether these distributions are indeed an accurate representation of site morphology and not the result of post-depositional processes.
The final case study in ch. 6 comprises the results of small-scale excavations at a road station at Astura (mentioned in the Tabula Peutingeriana). The impetus for this project was the recognition of a thick stratum of pottery exposed in the bank of the Astura river due to marine erosion. The excavations produced an abundance of Roman artefacts and faunal remains dating primarily from the fourth to seventh centuries a.d., with a later phase represented by numerous anforette in ceramica dipinta a bande rosse dating to the twelfth to thirteenth centuries a.d., possibly produced at or near the site (307). The excavation results provide valuable insights into a less well-known period of late antique occupation, reflecting general trends of nucleation around road stations or vici during this time. Furthermore, the pottery forms identified have parallels in Naples, Rome, Ostia, Luni and Marseille, indicating the site's inclusion in a greater trade network.
In ch. 7 the author summarizes the revised chronology and site numbers — most notably for problematic phases including the post-Archaic, the mid- and late Republic, and the late antique. T. also assesses the value of these data for studying socio-economic issues and discusses future research directions including the ongoing ‘minor centres project’.
Overall this ‘second phase’ work represents an important contribution to landscape studies in Italy bringing into focus the results of previous surveys, highlighting methodological issues, and allowing for more informed interpretations of the datasets. In addition, maps and images are of high quality and the exceptional drawing and documentation of the majority of diagnostic sherds recovered (no small feat) make this an excellent reference work for anyone working with or studying Roman pottery assemblages.
