Indigenous communities under Rome

Abstract

This chapter focuses on a number of specific themes that can help us understand the nature of continuities of traditional Iron Age practices following Roman conquest, the development of complex mixed identities, discrepant experiences, and life after Roman rule. The chapter looks first at the historiographical context and complexities of studies of Europe under Rome, including previous models of ‘Romanization’, and the contribution of figures such as Theodor Mommsen, Camille Jullian, and Francis Haverfield. Examples of archaeological material from provinces across Europe are then explored in detail, including settlement, buildings, and social space; geography and landscape; religion and ritual; death and burial; and industry, craft activity, and material culture.