ABSTRACT
So here we are at the end; what does it all mean? As noted in the introduction to this volume, the preceding chapters focus on a pivotal period for urban development in Italy in the wake of the Roman conquest, with a particular emphasis on the fourth and third centuries BCE. This period is considered formative for Roman imperialism and urbanism in conjunction with colonization has often been considered by ancient historians and archaeologists as a tool whereby Rome imposed its rule and integrated subject peoples into its socio-political system. In this historical model, Rome either exported a specific version of urbanism which was adopted throughout Italy, in regions where there had up until that point been no cities, or in regions with longstanding urban traditions, such as Etruria and Magna Graecia, Roman expansion brought an end to them. These two models and many variations on them are considered by authors in this volume, to which they apply recent archaeological data sets from both excavations at ancient urban sites as well as regional survey projects. In most instances, this has led to significant revision of the old historical model. Each chapter examines a different region within peninsular Italy, as well as Sardinia and Sicily, Rome’s first province, combining an overview of the state of Late Iron Age Indigenous urban development prior to the conquest and the different trajectories urbanism took within each region and at individual sites in the wake of Roman conquest.
