Something old, something new: Social and economic developments in the countryside of Roman Italy between Republic and Empire

In his classic publication Hannibal’s Legacy, Toynbee wrote about the economic consequences of the deracination of the Italian peasantry which supposedly had both accompanied and followed the Hannibalic War. In his opinion new economic possibilities had potentially existed in the Italian peninsula since its political unification, though they had never really been exploited: “If an alternative economic system, or set of systems, were to present itself, and if the introduction of this promised to be profitable to the old Roman aristocracy or to the new commercial and industrial class whose fortunes had been made by the wars that had been the Italian peasantry’s ruin, this ruined and uprooted peasantry would no longer have the strength to protect and preserve its ancestral way of life”. 1 Whatever the exact nature of the relationship Toynbee established between the outcome of the Second Punic War, rural free-population dynamics, the attitude of the landed aristocracy, and new productive/trade patterns, the interplay of these factors has kept many scholars occupied over the last fifty years. 2 The aim of this contribution is to offer a critical discussion of more recent developments in our understanding of the social and economic transformations taking place within the countryside of Roman Italy in the period 200 BC to AD 100

The Impact of High Resolution Ground-Penetrating Radar Survey on Understanding Roman Towns: case studies from Falerii Novi and Interamna Lirenas (Lazio, Italy)

Abstract—In three field seasons, the Roman towns Falerii Novi and Interamna Lirenas (Lazio, Italy) were surveyed using ground-penetrating radar (GPR). The aim was to take maximum advantage of the high resolution capability of the GPR technique. Beside the choice of the antenna frequency, unaliased data recording is important when undertaking a fullresolution GPR survey. In this project, the use of a GPR array allowed a high sample density (~0.05 m in in-line direction, and ~0.06 m in cross-line direction). The accuracy and precision of the positioning by means of an RTK GNSS and a robotic total station nearly fulfilled the requirement that the accuracy and precision should be better than half the required sample density (in this case ~0.04 m). The data were 3D migrated, which improves the lateral resolution. The results of the survey contributed to the understanding of the investigated Roman towns and their early development. For example, private houses, revealed in detail, confirm the existence of a regular pattern of land allotment

Ground-penetrating radar survey at Falerii Novi : a new approach to the study of Roman cities

Our understanding of Roman urbanism relies on evidence from a few extensively investigated sites, such as Pompeii and Ostia, which are unrepresentative of the full variety of Roman towns. This article presents the results of the first high-resolution GPR survey of a complete Roman town-Falerii Novi, in Lazio, Italy. The authors review the methods deployed and provide an overview of the results, including discussion of a case-study area within the town. They demonstrate how this type of survey has the potential to revolutionise archaeological studies of urban sites, while also challenging current methods of analysing and publishing large-scale GPR datasets

Ground-penetrating radar survey at Falerii Novi: a new approach to the study of Roman cities

Our understanding of Roman urbanism relies on evidence from a few extensively investigated sites, such as Pompeii and Ostia, which are unrepresentative of the full variety of Roman towns. This article presents the results of the first high-resolution GPR survey of a complete Roman town—Falerii Novi, in Lazio, Italy. The authors review the methods deployed and provide an overview of the results, including discussion of a case-study area within the town. They demonstrate how this type of survey has the potential to revolutionise archaeological studies of urban sites, while also challenging current methods of analysing and publishing large-scale GPR datasets.AHRC grant AH/M006522/

Falerii novi (comune di fabrica di Roma, provincia di viterbo, regione lazio)

As part of the AHRC-funded “Beneath the Surface of Roman Republican Cities” project (2015-17), our team is pursuing a full-coverage Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey of the entire intra-mural area of the Roman town of Falerii Novi, in combination with an assessment of the unpublished pottery from the excavations of 1969-75: our objective is to further our knowledge and understanding of the Roman town and its earlier phases of settlement (Launaro et al. 2016; 2017)

Hidden histories of Roman towns: seeing beneath the surface of Falerii Novi and Interamna Lirenas

How can we unpick the development of Roman towns? Even large excavations only open up modest areas, while traditional geophysical survey superimposes countless different phases of activity. Now, Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) has come of age and can provide a virtual slice through the underlying soil. Giovanna Rita Bellini, Alessandro Launaro, Martin Millett, Lieven Verdocnk, Frank Vermeulen provide a breathtaking new view of the Roman towns of Falerii Novi and Interamna Lirenas

Interamna lirenas and its territory (comune di pignataro interamna, provincia di frosinone, regione lazio)

The archaeological fieldwork at Interamna Lirenas is part of an integrated research project involving geophysical prospection, field survey and excavation, all aimed at exploring the long-term development of the Roman town and its territory from its colonial origin (late 4th c. BC) well into Late Antiquity (6th c. AD) (Bellini, Launaro and Millett 2014). The full coverage Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey of the urban area (in collaboration with Ghent University) and the main excavation of the roofed theatre (theatrum tectum) were brought to completion in the course of the eighth fieldwork season (2017)