Villae and Farms: Early Imperial Rural Settlement in the Adaja-Eresma Basin (Central Roman Spain)
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Margarita Sánchez-Simón
Abstract
The information gathered, on the one hand, from the excavations carried out at the Roman villa of Almenara de Adaja-Puras and the archaeological analyses of various samples of sediment, starch and charcoal and, on the other, from the surveys carried out in the surrounding area, in a sector of the interfluve of the Rivers Adaja and Eresma of approximately fifteen km2, provide new data on the rural occupation model of this particular sector of the territory in the civitas of Cauca. The characteristics of the archaeological finds associated with the deposits demonstrate that the occupation and exploitation of these lands was well established in the second half of the 1st c. AD, although it is very likely that it would have been initiated earlier, judging from the discovery at Almenara-Puras of some early structures and imported pottery, including Italic terra sigillata.
Abstract
The information gathered, on the one hand, from the excavations carried out at the Roman villa of Almenara de Adaja-Puras and the archaeological analyses of various samples of sediment, starch and charcoal and, on the other, from the surveys carried out in the surrounding area, in a sector of the interfluve of the Rivers Adaja and Eresma of approximately fifteen km2, provide new data on the rural occupation model of this particular sector of the territory in the civitas of Cauca. The characteristics of the archaeological finds associated with the deposits demonstrate that the occupation and exploitation of these lands was well established in the second half of the 1st c. AD, although it is very likely that it would have been initiated earlier, judging from the discovery at Almenara-Puras of some early structures and imported pottery, including Italic terra sigillata.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments V
- Contents VII
- Introduction 1
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Part I: From Traditional to New Approaches: Methodological Insights
- Early Imperial Roman Peasant Communities in Central Spain: Agrarian Structure, Standards of Living, and Inequality in the North of Roman Carpetania 23
- Perceiving the Countryside: Some Thoughts on the Representation of Agrarian Cycles and Tasks in the Mosaics of Roman Spain 49
- Investigating Livestock Practices in the Countryside of Roman Spain: An Archaeozoological Approach 71
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Part II: Beyond Villascapes: Peasants in Landscapes
- A Peasant Landscape in the Eastern Roman Spain. An Archaeological Approach to Territorial Organization and Economic Models 91
- Exploring the Complexity of Roman Agrarian Landscapes. State of the Art and a Study Case from the Southwestern Iberian Peninsula 111
- Roman Peasantry, Spatial Archaeology, and Off-site Survey in Hispania 143
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Part III: Comparing Villae and Peasants Habitats in Settlement Systems
- On the Margins of the Villa System? Rural Architecture and Socioeconomic Strategies in North-Eastern Roman Spain 169
- Villae and Farms: Early Imperial Rural Settlement in the Adaja-Eresma Basin (Central Roman Spain) 201
- With the measure you use you will be measured back… Late Roman and Early Medieval Peasants in Central Spain on Examination 229
- From Villa to Village? Relational Approaches within Roman and Medieval Iberian Rural Societies 253
- Conclusions 277
- List of Contributors 285
- List of Figures 291
- Index 295
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments V
- Contents VII
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: From Traditional to New Approaches: Methodological Insights
- Early Imperial Roman Peasant Communities in Central Spain: Agrarian Structure, Standards of Living, and Inequality in the North of Roman Carpetania 23
- Perceiving the Countryside: Some Thoughts on the Representation of Agrarian Cycles and Tasks in the Mosaics of Roman Spain 49
- Investigating Livestock Practices in the Countryside of Roman Spain: An Archaeozoological Approach 71
-
Part II: Beyond Villascapes: Peasants in Landscapes
- A Peasant Landscape in the Eastern Roman Spain. An Archaeological Approach to Territorial Organization and Economic Models 91
- Exploring the Complexity of Roman Agrarian Landscapes. State of the Art and a Study Case from the Southwestern Iberian Peninsula 111
- Roman Peasantry, Spatial Archaeology, and Off-site Survey in Hispania 143
-
Part III: Comparing Villae and Peasants Habitats in Settlement Systems
- On the Margins of the Villa System? Rural Architecture and Socioeconomic Strategies in North-Eastern Roman Spain 169
- Villae and Farms: Early Imperial Rural Settlement in the Adaja-Eresma Basin (Central Roman Spain) 201
- With the measure you use you will be measured back… Late Roman and Early Medieval Peasants in Central Spain on Examination 229
- From Villa to Village? Relational Approaches within Roman and Medieval Iberian Rural Societies 253
- Conclusions 277
- List of Contributors 285
- List of Figures 291
- Index 295