ABSTRACT
An analysis of peninsular urbanism in the period following the Roman conquest (300 to 100 BCE) reveals highly pronounced patterns of change. Based on queries of the author’s analytical database of 583 higher-order settlements, both local and supra-regional processes can be clearly identified. The overall number and average surface-area of urban centers reduced sharply. More settlements were abandoned between 300 and 100 than new ones were founded, but regional and chronological differences in the patterns of abandonment are evident. Roman colonization is referred to in order to juxtapose Roman and non-Roman settlement activity. But here the types of non-colonial higher-order settlements founded in the third and second centuries are discussed in more depth. Of interest is what their formation processes can reveal about the consequences of Roman hegemony for peninsular urbanism. Specifically, the data has highlighted a pronounced change after the conquest in the type of locations chosen for new non-colonial settlements. Whereas previously hilltops were preferred, communities were now favoring sites that offered little natural defense. This phenomenon is epitomized by the forum, a new form of settlement to emerge after the conquest.
