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Settlement and Society in Early Imperial Etruria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2010

Robert Witcher
Robert Witcher*
Affiliation:
University of Durhamr.e.witcher@durham.ac.uk
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This paper compares the early imperial period results from thirty surveys in and around regio VII Etruria in order to identify similarities and differences of settlement, population, and economy. Three sub-regional patterns are defined: the suburbium, coastal Etruria, and inland Etruria. Consideration of methodological issues of survey comparison suggests the problem is real, but not insuperable. A range of interpretative models is discussed with particular reference to the impact of the Urbs on economic, agricultural, and social developments. The structural connections between these sub-regions are emphasized, particularly the organization of labour, demography, and agricultural strategies. The results reveal varied responses to Roman control, leading to more not less diversity. More generally, the results underline the value of comparing regional survey data.

Keywords

Comparative SurveyEarly Imperial EtruriaLandscape ArchaeologyRoman DemographyRoman EconomyRoman Italy
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Roman Studies , Volume 96 , November 2006 , pp. 88 - 123
Copyright
Copyright © Robert Witcher 2006. Exclusive Licence to Publish: The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies

Footnotes

*

This paper draws on my doctoral thesis completed at the University of Leicester under the supervision of D. Mattingly and C. Ruggles. Various versions of the material discussed here were presented at the Universities of Groningen, Cambridge, and Glasgow. I would like to thank the participants at all three venues for their questions and comments, in particular P. van Dommelen, B. Knapp, and R. Roth. I would also like to thank H. Patterson, H. Di Giuseppe and other Tiber Valley Project colleagues for ongoing dialogue on the archaeology of that region and G. Barker for information. Finally, I am very grateful to D. Mattingly, M. Millett, and J. Patterson for reading drafts and offering critique and encouragement in equal measure, and my anonymous referees for much helpful advice. All errors, however, are mine alone. The following abbreviations are used:

Side-by-Side Survey = S. Alcock and J. Cherry, Side-by-Side Survey. Comparative Regional Studies in the Mediterranean World (2004)

Paesaggi d'Etruria = A. Carandini, F. Cambi, M. G. Celuzza and E. Fentress, Paesaggi d'Etruria. Valle dell'Albegna, Valle d'Oro, Valle del Chiarone, Valle del Tafone (2002)

Settlement and Economy = N. Christie (ed.), Settlement and Economy in Italy 1500 BC–AD 1500. Papers of the Fifth Conference of Italian Archaeology (1995)

Società romana = A. Giardina and A. Schiavone (eds), Società romana e produzione schiavistica, vols 1–3 (1981)