Between Ravenna and Constantinople: Rethinking Late Antique Settlement Patterns

Description

The book presents the settlement in a period of European history (late 3rd to early 7th century) when the highly exposed areas between the Late Antique capitals in Ravenna and Constantinople underwent a radical transformation. The relentless pressure of barbarian populations from beyond the Roman limes resulted in political, military, economic and social changes that finally led to the decline of the former forms of human habitation. Cities in the continental parts were largely abandoned or continued in heavily reduced and ruralised skeletons of their former selves; only the urban centres along the coasts of the Mediterranean met a kinder fate. Other forms of lowland settlement, primarily the once prominent Roman villas, ceased to exist as early as the middle of the 5th century. The population began retreating to remote areas and naturally well-protected hilltop settlements of an autarchic character, where the achievements of the ancient civilisation were upheld to the late 6th century. Alongside these, there was a series of forts constructed under the Emperor Justinian, which show a carefully thought-out system defending the lines of communications between the two capitals. The book offers a comprehensive overview of the mass of characteristic cities, lowland hamlets and fortified settlements illustrated with plans, maps and photographs, but also an interpretation of the profound transformation of the settlement patterns. Preface 7 1. Introduction 9 1.1 Scope of the book 9 1.2 Changes in settlement patterns – recent research 9 1.3 Geographical scope 10 1.4 Chronological scope 11 1.5 Some overviews of Late Antique settlement in the area under discussion 13 1.6 Content of the book 14 1.7 Methodological remarks 15 1.8 Terminological remarks 16 1.9 Open problems, shortcomings 17 2. Cities 19 2.1 Altered appearance of Late Antique cities 19 2.2 How to identify a Late Antique city? 20 2.3 Cities abandoned before the end of Late Antiquity 24 2.3.1 Western part 24 2.3.2 Eastern part 38 2.4 Cities with continuity 39 2.4.1 Western part 40 2.4.2 Eastern part 59 2.5 Cities newly-founded in Late Antiquity 104 2.5.1 Western part 104 2.5.2 Eastern part 119 2.6. Concluding observations on Late Antique cities 149 2.6.1 Transformation of Late Antique cities 149 2.6.2 Characteristics of Late Antique cities 151 2.6.3 Characteristics of groups of Late Antique cities and differences between them 156 3. Settlement in the countryside 167 3.1 Major settlement changes in the countryside 167 3.2 Settlements with continuity 167 3.2.1 Western part 169 3.2.2 Eastern part 182 3.3 Newly-founded settlements in the countryside 187 3.3.1 Newly-founded unfortified settlements 187 Western part 187 Eastern part 196 3.3.2 Newly-founded fortifications 200 Western part 200 Eastern part 265 3.4 Interpretation of the settlement patterns in the countryside 314 3.4.1 Settlements with continuity 314 3.4.2 Newly-founded unfortified settlements 314 3.4.3 Newly-founded fortifications 315 History of research 315 Functional identification of the newly-founded fortifications 322 Categories of fortified sites 324 4. Diachronic assessment of the settlement changes and of the city–countryside dynamics. General remarks on the chronology of the settlement changes 337 4.1 First changes of the settlement pattern in the second half of the 3rd and first half of the 4th century 438 4.2 Marked changes in cities, gradual abandonment of lowland settlements and the appearance of numerous hilltop sites (last third of the 4th and first half of the 5th century) 340 4.3 Transformation of the settlement patterns after the mid-5th century: landscape of fortifications and declining cities in the 6th and the end of Late Antique settlement in the first third of the 7th century 344 5. Brief outline of the Late Antique settlement patterns in other parts of the Roman Empire 351 5. 1 Western part of the Empire 351 5.1.1 Cities 351 5.1.2 The countryside 356 5.2 Eastern part of the Empire 362 5.2.1 Cities 362 5.2.2 The countryside 372 6. Concluding remarks and an attempt to interpret the settlement patterns 383 Bibliography 389 Index 421