Symposium: Current Studies in Roman Settlement and Landscape Archaeology: Exploring Regional Dynamics – 5 May 2025
Date: 5 May 2025
Location: Universiteit Utrecht, exact venue t.b.d.
Credits: 1 ECT
The study of the settlement landscape offers a distinct and valuable perspective in archaeology, transcending the level of the individual site and isolated find material. By examining broader spatial frameworks and temporal scales, these studies reveal how human communities organised, constructed and responded to their environment across diverse regions and time periods. Drawing from landscape archaeology, computational archaeology and related (interdisciplinary) fields, settlement landscape research provides a holistic understanding of the complex interplay between natural, cultural and social factors that shaped patterns of human habitation.
This symposium aims to provide a platform for recent studies that explore the structure and typology of Roman settlement landscapes, their chronological evolution, the multifaceted factors that influence their formation and development, and the societal dynamics that result from the structure of the settlement landscape.
While computational methods – such as GIS, remote sensing, and spatial analysis – offer powerful tools to model and visualise complex settlement systems, this symposium invites a range of methodological approaches. We are interested in studies that employ both quantitative and qualitative frameworks to reconstruct and analyse past settlement landscapes and their respective communities. We place a special emphasis on offering space to studies from a wide geographical scope and potentially extending outside the Roman Period as well, to encourage a richer, more inclusive understanding of settlement landscape dynamics across human history.
Preliminary schedule
Note: Each 25-minute lecture slot allows for a 20-minute presentation and a 5-minute discussion, except for the invited guest speaker slot, which allows for a 45-minute presentation and a 5-minute discussion.
10:30 – 11:00 Registration and Coffee/Tea
11:00 – 11:20 Welcome and introduction
11:20 – 11:45 Lecture 1
11:45 – 12:10 Lecture 2
12:10 – 13:15 Lunch break
13:15 – 14:05 Invited guest lecture (A. Nüsslein)
14:05 – 14:30 Lecture 4
14:30 – 14:55 Lecture 5
14:55 – 15:15 Coffee break
15:15 – 15:40 Lecture 6
15:40 – 16:05 Lecture 7
16:05 – 16:30 Lecture 8
16:30 – 16:45 Closing remarks and discussion
16:45 – Optional drinks at nearby bar
A more detailed schedule including confirmed speakers is to follow.
Credits: ARCHON members can receive 1 ECT for attending the conference and handing in a reflection report afterwards.
Registration:
