Workshop: Roman landscapes across the Western Mediterranean

Historiography & landscape archaeological approaches in Italy, Spain and Portugal compared

6 February: KNIR, Via Omero 10, Rome
7 February: EEHAR, Via di Sant’Eufemia 13, Rome

The Western Mediterranean area has a long shared history, of which the Roman period undoubtedly forms a long and incisive phase. With a straightforward geographical and temporal trajectory, in theory the Western Mediterranean offers an ideal observatory for studying the development of Roman imperialism over time. In practice, however, comparative research is hampered by different national research traditions. These operate on different levels: from the more evident ideological and political influences on the writing of national histories, to the practical choices made by archaeologists in the field. In this workshop, we want to explore the backgrounds of the differences in national research traditions in Portugal, Spain and Italy. We do this first by discussing the general histories of studies on the Roman period, and more specifically how the transition between the Iron Age and the early Roman expansion has been viewed. Second, we discuss the differences in methods and data collection of landscape archaeological research in these West-Mediterranean countries. The aim is to get a better understanding of the depth of the gap between different West-Mediterranean datasets, methodologies and historical interpretations, and hence to identify what we need to do before we can work towards a solidly based, transnational perspective on Roman expansionism in the West.

The workshop is a co-production by the Culture Foundation, the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome (KNIR) and the Escuela Española de Historia y Arqueología en Roma-CSIC (EEHAR). It is part of the project The Impact of Roman Imperialism in the West.

To attend in presence, please register by sending an e-mail to secretary@knir.it. There will be no livestream.