Modelling the Topography of the Ancient Laurion: Epigraphical Sources, Mental Maps and GIS

In this contribution, we present an attempt to approach the past landscape of the Lavrion area, considering inscriptions dated to the 4th cent. BCE, recording the leases of the mines by the Athenian polity to individuals (the poletae record), as mental maps. The research aim is threefold: first, to reconstruct a flexible set of abstract mental maps, beyond a defined geometric space, in order to explore the network of spatial relationships defined in the epigraphical record and the social and economic meanings involved; second, to develop a methodology for the production of an “intermediate” map, spatially and geometrically correct, which transforms the mental map into an intra-referential map; third, final goal is to proceed to a reconstruction (insofar it is possible) of the landscape and the topographical layout of the area as in the 4th cent. BCE.In questo contributo, presentiamo un tentativo di avvicinamento al paesaggio antico dell'area del Lavrion, in Attica, prendendo in considerazione come mappe mentali alcune iscrizioni datate al IV secolo a.C., la lista dei poletae, che registravano gli affitti delle miniere da parte del sistema politico ateniese ad individui. Lo scopo della ricerca è triplice: in primo luogo, ricostruire un insieme flessibile di mappe mentali astratte, al di là di uno spazio geometrico definito, al fine di esplorare la rete di relazioni spaziali definita nella registrazione epigrafica e i significati sociali ed economici coinvolti; in secondo luogo, sviluppare una metodologia per la produzione di una mappa “intermedia”, spazialmente e geometricamente corretta, che trasformi la mappa mentale in una mappa intra-referenziale; in terzo luogo, obiettivo finale è quello di procedere ad una ricostruzione (per quanto possibile) del paesaggio e dell'assetto topografico dell'area come si presentava nel IV secolo a.C

Local responses to the Roman impact on the Greek landscape

On the 11th of October 2019 the Italian Archaeological School at Athens organized a scientific meeting on Local responses to the Roman impact on the Greek landscape with particular focus on the transformations occurring in the 2nd and 1st C BC, as they can be traced in density, size and character of rural sites, in the cityscape and urban biography, in spatial behaviours and territorial organization, in the forms of man-environment and city-countryside interaction, in the role of the élites and of economic investments involving different taskscapes in the countryside, as well as in the cultural and socio-political changes and diverse patterns of resilience the above-mentioned aspects may reflect

Roman landscapes of Greece. Issues on archaeological visibility and inter-regional variability

The quest for features of inter-regional variability, within a landscape with striking characters of uniformity, as the Greek landscape in the Roman period has been defined, in comparison to the variegated Italian landscape in the same period, was already one of the goals of S.Alcock’s research on Roman Greece (Graecia Capta 1993). The comment on landscape uniformity, as for Greece, was due mainly to the general persisting of the highest levels of nucleated settlements, and also to the general impression of a rural abandonment which would characterise the landscape of the early Empire, in comparison with earlier periods. In fact, while the initial shrinking in the rural landscape seems similar everywhere, explanation for this empty countryside may vary from region to region. It can be seen not absolute, but relative to the behaviour of the city sites, to the characteristics of the environment, to the extension and function of the sites themselves, to the property system. Following those lines, it should be put an effort on establishing micro-regional and regional models aiming at separating the effects of local and regional factors from trends at the larger scale of the imperial economy. The paper aims to set up a feasible research framework aiming at a critical revisit of the existing research, with the help of the most recent and updated data coming from the latest landscape research projects carried out in Greece, according to the newest methodologies and interdisciplinary research standards which would allow for a fruitful comparison of the results, such as surface density of potsherds, visibility issues, site classification, geomorphological mapping, land evaluation maps

Challenging marginality: intensive field survey and long-term landscape analysis in an upland inter-mountain basin (Cicolano-Italy)

Marginality has proved to be a relative issue, and intensive and systematic archaeological surface surveys are often able to enhance hidden landscapes and bring whole regions or microregions back to the main historical narrative. The Cicolano Survey research project aims at the reconstruction of the long-term human settling in the upland area gravitating around the Corvaro plain , within the wider Cicolan o r egion, with particu la r inter est in t he diach ronic man-e nvironment interaction, for the human eco-dynamics, for past land-use, for rural landscape transformations and the movement in the area, linked to transhumance routes. In four field seasons intensive and systematic artefact surface surveys were carried out in sampling areas of the plain as well as on the surrounding mountain areas. Systematic research was also carried out on the Frontino hill, a long-life fortified defensive high spot overlo oking the upland Corvaro plain. Survey results offer a previously unknown picture of an extensively occupied landscape in the Roman period, when the upland people inhabiting the Cicolano, never fully Romanised in a political sense, made th ei r strong arc haeological appearance sho wing a disper se d settlement pattern, which follows the less clearly visible lines of the pre-Roman period landscape

Beyond Attica: Landscape approaches to the neighbouring regions of Boeotia and Megaris

Questo articolo si propone di esplorare alcuni approcci ai paesaggi regionali potenzialmente fruttuosi, incentrati sulla regione come contesto euristico e sul ruolo sociopolitico delle piccole unità micro-regionali al suo interno. Viene inoltre approfondito il rapporto tra le dinamiche territoriali e la formazione della polis, nonché il ruolo che le ricognizioni archeologiche possono svolgere nel riconoscimento e nell’interpretazione di periodi di transizione, come quello tra l’età del ferro e l’età arcaica. A titolo esplicativo, e da un punto di vista comparativo, verranno presentati casi di studio dalle regioni limitrofe all’Attica, come la Beozia e la Megaride, secondo una prospettiva interregionale. Viene prestata particolare attenzione ad alcuni interrogativi all’interno del quadro concettuale del volume: possiamo comprendere l’atteggiamento umano nei confronti di paesaggi specifici o di particolari caratteristiche o risorse del paesaggio? Come possiamo cogliere i periodi di transizione nella documentazione archeologica? È possibile rilevare modelli quantitativi e qualitativi significativi in termini di variabilità regionale e locale oppure omologie strutturali nelle strategie insediative e nelle scelte sociopolitiche?This paper aims to explore some potentially fruitful approaches to regional landscapes, centring upon the region as a heuristic context and the socio-political role of the small micro-regional units within it. The relationship between territorial processes and the issue of the polis formation is also explored, as well as the role that archaeological surveys may play in the detection and reading of transitional periods, such as that between the Iron Age and the Archaic period. By way of explanation, and from a comparative point of view, case studies will be presented from Attica’s neighbouring regions, such as Boeotia and Megaris, following an inter-regional perspective. We will pay particular attention to certain questions in the conceptual framework set for the volume: can we approach an understanding of past human attitudes towards either landscape zones or particular landscape features or resources? How can we grasp transitional periods in the archaeological record? Is it possible to detect meaningful quantitative and qualitative patterns of regional and local variability or structural homologies in settlement strategies and socio-political choices