93014 - Landscapes Archaeology (LM)

Learning outcomes

The course introduces the main research topics and the most up-to-date methods to analyze the changes that occur in the relationship between man and the environment over time, such as to generate different landscapes in different eras. The student will be provided with the necessary tools to understand these dynamics, through an integrated use of different sources and tools: from the reading of ancient texts (including technical repertoires such as itineraries and agri-sensory and urbanistic writings) and archaeological sources, to the study of physical geography, also with the help of modern methods of cartographic analysis (GIS) and diagnostics (Remote Sensing). Particular importance will be given to the study of the urban landscape and to the reconstruction of the ancient road system and agrarian farming.

Course contents

The course focuses on the changes in the ancient landscape through the study of the relationship between man and the environment in the past, paying equal attention to all categories of sources without neglecting environmental factors (climatic changes and constraints imposed by physical geography).

It will be articulated in a first introductory-methodological section followed by a second, more applied and laboratory section (also with classroom consultation of cartographic tools), dedicated to specific research strands characteristic of the landscape of the Roman era.
In both sections of the course, reference will be made to first-hand data collected in the field projects that will be presented in the first lessons of the course and in which students may ask to participate (Butrint, Suasa and Paestum).
Among the field projects, the surveys in the mid-Adriatic area (Cesano and Aso valleys in the Marche region) and the surveys of hilltop fortified sites in ancient Epirus corresponding to present-day Albania in September and October are particularly relevant. Having attended the course and passed the examination or having a related dissertation will be considered preferential for participation in the fieldwork.

Project Web Sites:

https://cumarcheologia.it/

https://site.unibo.it/butrint/en

The first section of the course, which will take place in the third teaching period between January and March, provides a brief introduction to the history and evolution of the discipline and illustrates the methods that characterise it, aimed at drawing up maps of archaeological potential that are also useful in a professional context.
To this end, the main source categories (repertories and written sources, toponymy, epigraphy, archaeology) will first be analysed with example cases, focusing on the study of the field (geomorphology) and its representations (topographic maps and thematic cartography on paper and digital). In addition, modern field investigation methodologies will be analysed, starting from non-invasive ones both remotely (remote sensing i.e. traditional and multispectral satellite/air photography, lidar) and on the ground (geophysics, archaeological survey). Particular emphasis will be placed on archaeological survey and comparison with archival data (legacy data). Then the main topographical survey techniques needed to document archaeological remains in the field (GPS, photogrammetry, laser scanning) and insert them into digital cartography to obtain a mapping of archaeology (GIS) will be briefly illustrated.

This aim will be pursued taking into account regulatory and professional aspects, enhancing the role of the landscape archaeologist who is also attentive to the involvement of citizens' communities (public archaeology) and an advocate of a sustainable archaeology that does not oppose change but acts as a protagonist in urban and territorial planning (preventive archaeology).

The second section of the course, after the teaching break in March, will be dedicated to some characteristic issues of Roman landscape (viability, settlement and centuriation). To this end, the impact on the territory of the agro-pastoral economy and Roman agriculture in particular will be analysed, also introducing the changes that lead to the formation of the medieval landscape. The territorial infrastructures that characterised the Roman settlement, such as the road system and centuriation, will also be analysed. In order to better illustrate the evolution of Roman landscapes, a number of case studies related to field projects in the Adriatic-Ionian area will be critically examined, comparing Roman itineraries, written sources, buried landscapes (which can be reconstructed thanks to geophysics and aerial photography), archaeological remains and environmental changes.

The contents of the course are closely related to those covered in the topography laboratories, which it is recommended to attend in order to complete the theoretical training with the technical and practical one. Please refer to the web page dedicated to laboratory teaching:

https://corsi.unibo.it/magistrale/archeologia/i-laboratori-didattici

Readings/Bibliography

 EXAMINATION TEXTBOOKS

Students who will attend the lessons will have to study the notes of the lessons and will also have to study the following texts:

· Marcone, Storia dell’agricoltura romana, Roma 2004;

· R. Rao, I paesaggi dell’Italia medievale, Roma 2015.

Students who will not attend classes, in addition to the two bokks already provided, will have to study the following book:

· P. Carafa, Storie dai contesti. Metodologia e procedure della ricerca archeologica, Perugia 2021 (only cap. 3 Topografia e Archeologia del Paesaggio pp. 173-298);

· G. Bonora, P.L. Dall'Aglio, S. Patitucci, G. Uggeri, La Topografia antica, Bologna 2000 (only cap. 2 Le fonti per la topografia antica pp. 45-132 e cap. 4 Ambiti peculiari pp. 177-241).

Non-attending students are strongly advised to complement the study of the three indicated textbooks with consultation of the presentations available on the course website.

Foreign students, only after having agreed with the teacher, will be able to replace the texts provided with the following books:

· S. Campana, Mapping the Archaeological Continuum: Filling 'Empty' Mediterranean Landscapes, Springer 2018; 

· F. Vermeulen, G.-J. Burgers, S. Keays and C. Corsi (eds.), Urban Landscape Survey in Italy and the Mediterranean, Oxbow Books 2012.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(Non-mandatory but optional readings, only useful to deepen some topics covered in class)

READINGS FOR THE FIRT SECTION

General Topics
P. Carafa, Storie dai contesti. Metodologia e procedure della ricerca archeologica, Perugia 2021 (Topografia e Archeologia del Paesaggio pp. 173-298);

G. Gisotti, Geologia per archeologi, Roma 2020.

E. Giorgi (a c.), In profondità senza scavare. Metodologie di indagine non invasiva e diagnostica per l'archeologia, Bologna 2009;

F. Boschi, Archeologia senza scavo. Geofisica e indagini non invasive, Bologna 2020;

J. Bogdani, Archeologia e tecnologie di rete. Metodi strumenti e risorse digitali, Roma 2019;

F. Tosco, Il paesaggio come storia, Bologna 2017.

Survey

G. Barker, T. Rasmussen, In the Footsteps of the Etruscans: Changing Landscapes around Tuscania from Prehistory to Modernity, Cambridge 2023 (https://sol.unibo.it/SebinaOpac/resource/in-the-footsteps-of-the-etruscans-changing-landscapes-around-tuscania-from-prehistory-to-modernity/UBO09646929 );

P. Attema, J. Bintlff, F. Vermeulen et alii, A guide to good pactice in Mediterranean surface survey projects, in Journal of Greek Archaeology 5 (2022), pp. 1-62 (http://archaeopresspublishing.com/ojs/index.php/JGA/article/view/430/99 );

H. Patterson, R. Witcher, He. Di Giuseppe, Changing landscapes of Rome’s northern hinterland, Oxford 2020 (https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781789696158#:~:text=The%20Changing%20Landscapes%20of%20Rome's%20Northern%20Hinterland%20presents%20a%20new,1000%20BC%20to%20AD%201000 .);

P. Attema, Data integration and comparison in landscape archcaeology: towards analysis beyond sites and valleys, in Boschi, Giorgi, Vermeulen 2020, pp, 11-18 (https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781789696998 );

M. Cavalazzi, «Looking through the keyhole»: problems and research strategies for landscape archaeology in an alluvional plain with a high rate of vertical growth. The case of Bassa Romagna and south-eastern Po Valley, in Groma 2 (2020), pp. 1-24 (https://archaeopresspublishing.com/ojs/index.php/groma/issue/view/vol5-2020 ).

S. Campana, Mapping the Archaeological Continuum. Filling ‘Empty’ Mediterranean Landscapes, Springer 2018;

B. David, J, Thomas (eds), Handbook of Landscape Archaeology, Routlege 2008.

READINGS FOR THE SECOND SECTION

Rural Settlement and Roman Agriculture

E. Dodd, D. Van Limbergen (eds), Methods in Ancient Wine Archaeology: Scientific Approaches in Roman Contexts, London 2024;

A. Marzano, Plants, Politics and Empire in Ancient Rome, Cambridge 2022;

J. Turchetto, Una, nessuna, centomila…tracce di centuriazione romana nella Venetia centrale, Padova 2022;

W. De Clercq, D. van Limbergen, S. Maréchal (eds), The Resilience of the Roman Empire: Regional case studies on the relationship between population and food resources, Oxford 2020.

E. Todisco, I vici rurali dell’Italia Romana, Bari 2011;

L. Capogrossi Colognese, Persistenze e innovazione nelle strutture agrarie dell’Italia romana, Napoli 2002;

S. Segenni, L’agricoltura in età romana, Milano 2019;

L. Capogrossi Colognesi, L’agricoltura romana, Bari 1982;

E. Sereni, Storia del paesaggio agrario italiano, Bari 1974 (cap. II l’Italia antica, cap. III l’alto Medioevo e l’età feudale);

S. Settis (a c.), Misurare la terra: centuriazione e coloni nel mondo romano, Modena 1993.

JOURNALS

The latest issues of the following journals are recommended for an update on the main research topics:

Groma (groma.unibo.it)

Atlante Tematico di Topografia Antica (lerma.it/catalogo/collana/41)

Archeologia Aerea (archeologia-aerea.it)

Rivista di Topografia Antica

Agri Centuriati

Teaching methods

The lessons will be seminars with the use of presentations and case studies of the current research projects led by the professors. Subject to logistical availability and if possible, interested parties will be offered the opportunity to participate in field research.

Students will be required to take an active part in the lessons.

Subject to the number of students attending, some optional readings from the latest issues of the specialised journals indicated at the end of the bibliography will be proposed, which students will be able to summarise and critically refer to in the classroom or during the final examination.

Conferences will be organized, additional and open to the public.

 

In order to refine the theoretical and practical aspects, it is recommended to attend topography laboratories (https://corsi.unibo.it/magistrale/archeologia/i-laboratori-didattici)

Assessment methods

The active participation in lessons, conferences and teaching activities will also be evaluated.

The final vote will be determined by an oral exam.

The questions will cover the following topics:

1. Methods and sources for landscape archaeology (first part of the course on ancient sources, toponymy, cartography, aerial photography, geophysics, survey);


2. Ancient Landscape of Roman Italy (Settlement, Farming, Viability);


3. Tools for the topographic documentation (Total Station, Laser Scanner, Photogrammetry, GPS);

The interview will be opened by the candidate with a topic of his or her choice (first question), followed by two requests for further information on the other topics (two questions). If necessary for the assessment, further questions may be asked.

For non-attending students, the interview will focus on the same topics, paying particular attention to the volumes being studied.

 

The following evaluation parameters will be adopted, for attending students and non-frequenting students.

Attending Students

Excellent evaluation (30 and praise-28): active participation of the student in the lessons; the student will have to demonstrate the possession of high level knowledge, the ability to interpret the landscape problems correctly and showing a certain autonomy of reasoning. The student will demonstrate the ability to move well within the "parure" of sources presented in class. Excellent oral expression skills including in the technical languages presented.

Good grade (27-23): The student has attended the course and will demonstrate possession of knowledge at a good level, but mainly mnemonic; the interpretation of the problems proposed will be correct, but not always precise and autonomous. The language used will be appropriate with some problems in the more technical aspects.

Sufficient rating (22-18): The student has attended the course, demonstrates possession of the basic knowledge of the discipline, but assumed in mnemonic form; the interpretation of the problems is mostly correct, but conducted with inaccuracy and little autonomy. The language used will be fair, but lacking in technical language.

Insufficient evaluation: the lack of acquisition of the basic concepts of the discipline, combined with a poor ability to make use of the sources presented and an adequate language will be evaluated with insufficient score, which provides for the repetition of the exam.

Non-Frequenting Students
Non-frequenting students will be evaluated primarily on the basis of their ability to gain awareness of the issues inherent in Landscape resulting from manual and bibliographic study, combined with adequate language.

Excellent evaluation (30 cum laude -28): the student will demonstrate a solid understanding of the subject matter, the demonstration of a critical sense in evaluating the sources to be drawn upon in reconstructing the ancient landscape. He/she will express him/herself in language appropriate to the subject, even in its technical parts.

Good evaluation (27-23): the student will demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of the subject, but will not have fully succeeded in developing a critical sense, with verbal expression and reasoning on the issues proposed not always perfect.

Sufficient rating (22-18): the student will demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the subject matter, but will have failed to develop a critical sense, with verbal expression and reasoning on proposed problems not fully satisfactory.

Insufficient assessment: lack of acquisition of basic concepts of the discipline, coupled with a poor ability to make use of the sources presented and adequate language will be assessed with an insufficient score, which requires retaking the exam.

Teaching tools

The presentations used during the lessons will be available on the web portal of the course.

Students who require specific services and adaptations to teaching activities due to a disability or specific learning disorders (SLD), must first contact the appropriate office: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students .

Office hours

See the website of Enrico Giorgi