The Iberian Peninsula between 300 and 850: An Archaeological Perspective (Late Antique and Early Medieval Iberia)

The Vast Transformation Of The Roman World At The End Of Antiquity Has Been A Subject Of Broad Scholarly Interest For Decades, But Until Now No Book Has Focused Specifically On The Iberian Peninsula In The Period As Seen Through An Archaeological Lens. Given The Sparse Documentary Evidence Available, Archaeology Holds The Key To A Richer Understanding Of The Developments Of The Period, And This Book Addresses A Number Of Issues That Arise From Analysis Of The Available Material Culture, Including Questions Of The Process Of Christianisation And Islamisation, Continuity And Abandonment Of Roman Urban Patterns And Forms, The End Of Villas And The Growth Of Villages, And The Adaptation Of The Population And The Elites To The Changing Political Circumstances. Javier Martínez Jiménez, Isaac Sastre De Diego, And Carlos Tejerizo García. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 341-388) And Index. Acknowledgements 17 Preliminary notes 19 Preface 21 Introduction: An archaeological perspective on the Iberian peninsula between Rome and the Middle Ages 23 Part 1. The Late Roman period 1. The settings of late Roman Hispania 47 Roman Spain on the eve of late Antiquity 47 Roman internal transformations 51 External factors 58 The beginning of regionalization 60 Changing tides in the economy of the late Empire 63 2. New townscapes in the late Empire 67 What constituted a late Roman city? 67 Fortifications 69 The old Roman public buildings 76 The fate of urban infrastructure 82 New late Roman monuments? 87 Suburbanization and de-urbanization 91 New domestic architecture 95 3. The economy and the rural world in the late Empire 101 Blurring lines between the 'urbs' and the 'rus' 102 The late Roman villa: redefinition, expansion and collapse 107 Industrial exploitations of the landscape 114 The rural societies: Towards a new settlement pattern 120 4. Christianization and Germanization: New evidence for current debates 125 Understanding Christianity through archaeology 125 Locals and barbarians 138 Part 2. The post-Roman period 5. Towns and cities under Christian prevalence 153 The late Roman urban legacy in the post-Roman world 153 The consolidation of a Christian monumentality 161 Visigothic state formation and urban renewal 168 State intervention in the Byzantine and Suevic territories 180 Developments in the seventh and eighth centuries 186 Trade and towns in the post-Roman period 188 6. The new rural landscape 193 Hillfort occupations 193 Farmstead and village networks and other lay rural settlements 202 Funerary rituals in the rural world 209 Churches, monasteries and ecclesiastical sites 218 Other rural sites 224 7. A new material culture: a new society, a new economy 229 Snapshots of the new daily life: pottery and glass 229 The solid foundations of society and state: building and architecture 236 Representing the self and the community: identity and display 247 Beyond pots: coins and slates in their economic context 255 Part 3. The Early Middle Ages 8. The formation of a new Medieval materiality 267 The formation of new medieval polities 268 Early material traces of the newcomers 269 Archaeologies of power 276 Archaeologies of religion and identity in al-Andalus 291 Changing townscapes 299 Transitions in the rural world 303 9. Conclusions 315 From the collapse of the Roman Empire to a Brave New World Appendix 1. Site reference table 323 Appendix 2. Maps 329 Appendix 3. Lists of rulers 335 Abbreviations 339 Bibliography 341 Index 389 The Vast Transformation Of The Roman World At The End Of Antiquity Has Been A Subject Of Broad Scholarly Interest For Decades, But Until Now No Book Has Focused Specifically On The Iberian Peninsula In The Period As Seen Through An Archaeological Lens. Given The Sparse Documentary Evidence Available, Archaeology Holds The Key To A Richer Understanding Of The Developments Of The Period, And This Book Addresses A Number Of Issues That Arise From Analysis Of The Available Material Culture, Including Questions Of The Process Of Christianisation And Islamisation, Continuity And Abandonment Of Roman Urban Patterns And Forms, The End Of Villas And The Growth Of Villages, And The Adaptation Of The Population And The Elites To The Changing Political Circumstances. Javier Martínez Jiménez, Isaac Sastre De Diego, And Carlos Tejerizo García. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 341-388) And Index. La quatrième de couverture indique : "The vast transformation of the Roman world at the end of antiquity has been a subject of broad scholarly interest for decades, but until now no book has focused specifically on the Iberian Peninsula in the period as seen through an archaeological lens. Given the sparse documentary evidence available, archaeology holds the key to a richer understanding of the developments of the period, and this book addresses a number of issues that arise from analysis of the available material culture, including questions of the process of Christianisation and Islamisation, continuity and abandonment of Roman urban patterns and forms, the end of villas and the growth of villages, and the adaptation of the population and the elites to the changing political circumstances." "The vast transformation of the Roman world at the end of antiquity has been a subject of broad scholarly interest for decades, but until now no book has focused specifically on the Iberian Peninsula in the period as seen through an archaeological lens. Given the sparse documentary evidence available, archaeology holds the key to a richer understanding of the developments of the period, and this book addresses a number of issues that arise from analysis of the available material culture, including questions of the process of Christianisation and Islamisation, continuity and abandonment of Roman urban patterns and forms, the end of villas and the growth of villages, and the adaptation of the population and the elites to the changing political circumstances" -- Proveït per l'editorial The vast transformation of the Roman world at the end of antiquity has been a subject of broad scholarly interest for decades, but until now no book has focused specifically on the Iberian Peninsula in the period as seen through an archaeological lens. Given the sparse documentary evidence available, archaeology holds the key to a richer understanding of the developments of the period, and this book addresses a number of issues that arise from analysis of the available material culture, including questions of the process of Christianization and Islamization, continuity and abandonment of Roman urban patterns and forms, the end of villas and the growth of villages, and the adaptation of the population and the elites to the changing political circumstances The first work to address the end of Roman Hispania and the emergence of Medieval Spain from a principally archaeological perspective

Using ethnographic and participatory methods, this timely volume calls for an exploration of 'unseen' social capital