Gijs Tol

Minor Centres in the Pontine plain: the cases of Forum Appii and Ad Medias

Although both the urban and rural landscapes of Roman Italy have received due attention in current debates on the Roman economy, this is less true for the highly variable group of intermediate sites, here conveniently labelled as ‘minor centres’, and their role within economic networks. This contribution focuses attention on two such sites, Forum Appii and Ad Medias , situated in the Pontine plain (Lazio, central Italy) along the Via Appia. After addressing issues of definition and the current state of research, we shall approach the potential functions of such sites through geographic models. Next, we discuss the results of a programme of geophysical surveys and field walking on both case-study sites. The results obtained suggest that, although far from being a uniform settlement class, minor centres could perform crucial functions within local and regional economies. Based on the present data, Forum Appii developed into a centre of craft production and, with its river port, also became a trade hub of regional importance. Ad Medias functioned primarily as a small centre provisioning and servicing travellers and the local rural population. To conclude the article, we consider the implications of the results obtained in terms of future research strategies.

A fragmented history. A methodological and artefactual approach to the study of ancient settlement in the territories of Satricum and Antium

This dissertation presents four methodological case studies that elaborate on the results of two field survey projects (the Astura and Nettuno surveys) that were carried out by the Groningen Institute of Archaeology (GIA). The case studies aim at investigating biasing factors that limit the analytical and comparative value of data from archaeological survey in general using these two projects as a suitable testing ground. Both surveys, carried out between 2003 and 2005, fell within the ambit of the Pontine Region Project (PRP), a long-term research program aimed at the diachronic archaeological investigation of the various landscape units forming this region. They covered two contiguous areas, situated on the Tyrrhenian seaboard, approximately 60 kilometres south of Rome. The study area comprises the communal area of the modern town of Nettuno, as well as the lower valleys of the Astura and Moscarello rivers (see fig. 0.1).2 As such it incorporates parts of the hinterland of the ancient towns of Antium and Satricum. In chronological terms this dissertation considers a time-span of 1300 years, from the 6th century BC to the 7th century AD.

The Economic Integration of Roman Italy: Rural Communities in a Globalizing World

The papers in The Economic Integration of Roman Italy use various archaeological data, particularly recent field survey and excavation data, to explore the changes Rome’s territorial and economic expansion brought about in the Italian countryside.

Roman cooking vessels (ollae): a preliminary study of the material from the Pontine region, Central Italy

ABSTRACT This paper presents the petrographic analysis of cooking vessels (ollae) from the Pontine region, Central Italy, dated between the 4th and the 1st centuries BC. Cooking vessels of three surveys in different parts of the Pontine Plain and around Norba, in the Lepine foothills, are considered. The considered time-span covers the period in which the Pontine region became integrated in the Roman state until the end of the Republic, and cooking vessels have much to tell us about the regions integration in production and distribution systems, and whether changes occurred therein. The petrographic study shows that the cooking pots were produced and distributed at regional and supra-regional scales. The production and distribution systems that are tentatively inferred show aspects of continuity and change during the time-span considered. Roman cooking vessels that circulated in the Pontine region between the 4th and the 3rd centuries BC had a supra-regional and regional provenance. During the 2nd and the 1st centuries BC, the region continued to have access to these products, as well as to other ones that were produced within and outside the region. Furthermore, the distribution of supra-regional products increased, whereas the importance of existing regional centres decreased in favour of others.