| Our knowledge of developments in the Pontine region from the Archaic into the Republican period (6th-1st century BC) is still limited. From historical sources we have learnt that this period, characterized by expansion through colonization, resistance by indigenous populations and continuous warfare, was crucial in the formation of the Roman empire. From an economic point of view, the second Punic War (late 3rd century BC) is generally seen as a turning point, forcing the decline of the free farmer and the introduction of a slave-based agricultural economy. These processes are generally referred to by the term Romanization . From an archaeological perspective, however, Romanization in central Italy is not well studied. For example, the development of urban centres at Rome and in Latium Vetus starts in the Iron Age, and a network of independent city states arises in the Archaic period. How this system changed during and after incorporation into Rome s expanding influence has remained unclear so far. The importance of the Pontine region, situated directly to the south of Rome and its suburbium, lies in the fact that it was one of the first areas that came under the influence of Rome. It may therefore very well have formed a laboratory for the expansion politics that the Romans were later to apply to other regions in Italy and the wider Mediterranean. The Pontine region has, however, hardly been studied from this perspective - stratigraphic and topographic studies are mostly of a descriptive nature. GIA landscape archaeological research within the framework of the Pontine Region Project has begun to make more profound inroads into the region s settlement history, but this did not specifically focus on the process of Romanization. My PhD project will therefore build on the GIA research program in the Pontine region, focusing on a more in-depth analysis of developments between the 6th and 1st centuries BC and emphasizing the dynamics of rural exploitation systems as studied through landscape archaeological (survey) methods. The rural systems of the Pontine region will in their turn be analyzed in relation to urban and sacral centers, with special emphasis on the role of the Via Appia which was extended through the Pontine plain in the late 4th century BC. |
