Panel 3.15 – Villas, peasant agriculture, and the Roman rural economy


Organiser/Chair:

  • Annalisa Marzano (University of Reading, UK)

External Discussants:

  • Alessandro Launaro (University of Cambridge)
  • Marco Maiuro (Università di Roma "La Sapienza")

Sponsors

  • Structural Determinants of Economic Performance in the Roman World

Speakers:

Panel abstract

The appearance and spread of villas both in Roman Italy and abroad has been at the centre of a vast range of studies on the Roman economy and society. From Marxist approaches, which saw in the Roman villa based on slave labour a unit denoting a particular type of agricultural exploitation and 'mode of production' to studies aimed at understanding how settlement hierarchy and modes of landownership changed over time, archaeological evidence from excavations and from field surveys has been central to the debate. In the past, the spread of large villas in Republican Italy has been seen as a phenomenon which displaced from the land small and medium landowners and thus contributed to Rome's socio-political problems from the time of the Gracchi onwards. Recent studies, however, have in fact stressed that large villas and farms were not at variance with each other. The productivity of peasant farmers and the level of competitiveness they had on the market has also been the object of important recent investigations and reassessments. Time seems thus ripe for a more organic evaluation of how the 'villa economy' and the 'peasant economy' operated and to what degree the two were integrated.

This panel proposes to investigate if and how villas and small and medium farms were part of two productive and distributive systems which supported each other (e.g., by giving access to agricultural processing facilities; by growing complementary crops). In the villa category, special discussion will be devoted to imperial estates and how these played a role in influencing the market's demand, with possible trickle down effects on large and small agricultural estates. The main focus of the panel is Roman Italy, but proposals for papers that investigate this phenomenon also in provincial territories are encouraged. Submission proposals from early career researchers are particularly welcome.

Paper abstracts

1. Elena Chirico

Rural villas, farms and productive infrastructures in Roman rural economy
This paper portraits a part of the ager Hebanus, the territory of the colonia of Heba (GR) between the Republican period to the mid-imperial time. Heba was founded in the 1st century BC, north of the colonia of Cosa in the river Albegna Valley. This territory was studied in 1980s by a field survey project related to the ager Cosanus. The main result of the project was the abandonment of small and medium properties, and consequently of peasantry agriculture, after the development of a new type of villa based on slave labour, well represented by the case at Settefinestre. Despite the fact that a lot of excavations are limited to a part of the villas and that many small and medium properties are known by field survey, today, thanks to new research, a different reading of this landscape is possible. In it great estates, like the villa of Settefinestre, co-existed with farms, as Fattoria Colle Lupo, medium villas rusticae, as Campo della Paura, and productive and living settlements as that at Banditaccia – some of them were occupied until the end of 4th century AD. In short, despite the decline of a lot of rural sites at the end of 1st century BC, there were a coexistence of different settlements - large villas, medium and small farms, houses and productive quarters - in an articulate productive system stimulated by the presence of important infrastructures as the via Aurelia vetus (3rd century BC) and the port linked to the imperial estate of Talamone (end of 1st century AD).

"Rural villas, farms and productive infrastructures in Roman rural economy" (Fulltext)

 

2. Astrid Van Oyen (Cornell University) / Gijs Tol (The University of Melbourne) / Rhodora Vennarucci (University of Arkansas)

Planning and investment in a peasant landscape: the site of Podere Marzuolo (Tuscany, Italy)
The site of Podere Marzuolo (Grosseto, Tuscany) highlights the precariousness of firm typological distinctions between villa and peasant economies in Roman Italy. Situated ca. 40 km away from the coast and from the nearest urban settlement of Roselle, Marzuolo finds itself in a fragmented Tuscan topography populated by sites associated with small-scale peasant activity. Marzuolo exhibits many features traditionally ascribed to villa economies. The site, which covers ca. 2 ha, was carefully planned and experienced a sudden, large-scale investment in construction in the early Augustan period, including a central building in opus quasi-reticulatum masonry, and a material assemblage testifying to supra-regional connections (e.g. amphorae, window glass). However, neither the layout of the site nor its material signature conform to the image of a traditional villa rustica. Instead, recent excavations by the Marzuolo Archaeological Project reveal a purpose-built multi-craft community, geared towards production and distribution. This paper uses the new evidence of the 2016 and 2017 excavations at Marzuolo to challenge and rethink the explanatory baggage that comes with divisions between peasant and villa economies: Could peasants innovate? Could landowners invest in sites other than villas and activities other than agriculture, on a more modest scale than the elite-run brick manufactories or mines? Where did risk taking reside in the Roman rural economy?

"Planning and Investment in a Peasant Landscape: the Site of Podere Marzuolo (Tuscany, Italy)" (Fulltext)

 

3. Werner Tietz (Universität zu Köln)

Temporary workforce on the Roman villa
This paper will be dedicated to the exchange of workforce between villas and surrounding 'subsistence' farms in Roman Italy. The latter often suffered from a lack of arable land, but had a surplus of workers. Those farms could earn cash money to buy goods they were not able to produce themselves, or could be granted access to facilities which demanded investment capital they lacked, such as wine presses or storage close to markets. The farms had to concentrate on grain (namely wheat and barley) to be self-sufficient. The villa always specialized on one or two cash crops. By the end of summer at least a few workers could by hired out to harvest and process olives, grapes or flowers.

"Temporary Workforce in the Roman Villa" (Fulltext)

 

4. Candace Rice (University of Alberta)

Keeping up with demand: new results on agricultural specialization from the Upper Sabina Tiberina Project
This paper examines the productive strategies of the Sabine region of Italy, focusing principally on the excavations of the villa at Vacone in the context of several newly investigated villas and farms in the region. The Vacone villa is of particular interest to discussions of imperial-era productive strategies as it contains one of the largest olive oil pressing facilities in central Italy (minimum of three press beds); during the early imperial period, the villa specialized in the export-oriented production of olive oil. By the second century AD, however, specialized production had ceased and was replaced by diversified production of oil and wine. This paper places the Vacone villa within its local and regional context of surrounding Sabine farms and villas and the market town of Forum Novum, and explores the broader historical and economic context in which the productive changes took place. The diversification of production at Vacone surely came in response to changes in the wider economic landscape, seen elsewhere across central Italy. The widespread nature of these changes suggests that demand at Rome was key to shaping central Italy’s economic landscape. While such observations are scarcely new, investigations at the Vacone villa and surrounding sites allow for a detailed look at local responses to wider economic change, both as the owners invested in specialized infrastructure for olive oil and then later diversified to keep up with changing market demands.

"Keeping up with demand: new results on agricultural specialization from the Upper Sabina Tiberina Project" (Fulltext)

 

5. Claudia Forin and Maria Stella Busana

Economy and production systems in the Roman Cisalpina: some data from the study of the farms and the villae
The paper aims to provide some insights to reflect about the role of farms and villae in the economic history of the Roman Cisalpina. The study started from the systematic census and the analysis of extraurban complexes, archaeologically investigated in Northern Italy, each one integrated into its environmental and settlement context. The complexes generally developed since the Augustan age and they are characterized by a long continuity of frequentation, which lasted until the V-VI century CE. If the presence of production facilities is the obviuos key indicator for understanding the economic role of a settlement, on the other hand the attestation of rich residential installations (i.e. a real investment of the owner) can return precious indications about the socio-economic level. Therefore, on the basis of archaelogical data, we will try to undestand whether and how small and medium farms and villae were part of the same production system, perhaps complementary, or if the advent of more structured economic realities (villae) somehow caused the end of the smaller complexes. Some important observations in this regard arise from the diachronic reading of the complexes, closely related to the historical events of the territory. These data support some considerations on the influence of imperial property on the market of the various northern regions, with possible effects on the success or disappearance of certain functional typology.

"Economy and Production Systems in Roman Cisalpine Gaul: Some Data on Farms and Villae" (Fulltext)

 

6. Coralini Antonella (University of Bologna)

Villas and farms in the Po Valley, Arimino Placentiam
In the history of studies about rural Roman ec, the researches of household archaeology, from villas to farms, had a leading role. The works by G.A. Mansuelli on Cisalpina, and in particular those on regio VIII, in Aemilia, were pioneering, between 50's and 70's. A half century later, new archaeological evidence from excavations and from field surveys, richer and richer and also more and more elaborate, makes possible new research adresses and needs new readings.
The review of the regio VIII situation, Arimino Placentiam, based on new data from surveys and excavations, allows to point out the coexistence of different and complementary productive vocations, with lots of specializations in various environmental compartments, corresponding to specific settlement patterns.
The critical analysis of these patterns allows to draw again the cultural and economic physionomy of a strategic region for Roman Italy.

"Villas and farms in the Po Valley, Arimino Placentiam" (Fulltext)

 

7. Oriol Olesti (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Villas, peasant agriculture and wine production in the Ager Barcinonensis
In the frame of the panel “Villas, peasant agriculture, and the Roman rural economy”, we will analyze the example of the Ager Barcinonensis (Hispania Tarraconensis), where we have identified the existence of different forms of wine production, from the industrial and large-scale production, to the peasant and low-range one. The starting point of our research is the fundi system, and the existence of several wealthy families (identified in the monumental inscriptions, but also in the epigraphy of the production or in the ancient place-names) that employed servi and liberti as instruments for the management of their lands. At the same time, the archaeological identification of several peasant exploitations shows the diversity of this local economy. Despite the importance of industrial wine production and long-distance commerce, the role of the peasant economy should be taken into account, showing the existence of a complex “Social landscape” in Barcino and his territory.

"Villae, Fundi, Peasant Agriculture and Wine Production in the Ager Barcinonensis" (Fulltext)

 

8.  Juan Francisco Álvarez Tortosa (Universidad de Alicante)

Production models in Roman commercial agriculture: Northwest of the provincia Hispania citerior between 2nd century BC and 2nd century AD
In scientific investigations dedicated to the study of commercial agricultural production of the Roman era, scholars distinguish between two major productive models: The ‘villa economy' and the 'peasant economy'. But the configuration of these two distinct blocks has been quite problematic. The 'villa' model was constructed from the confluence of too strict a reading of literary sources combined with the overgeneralization of the interpretative proposals of slave villas originally described by the Italian Marxist school. By the other side, 'peasant economy' model was generated in deliberate contrast to the first model and, therefore, its characteristics are directly opposite to those that are indicated in the villa model. Discoveries made in recent decades within the field of archaeology show that reality is far more complex.
In the central area of the Catalan coast, a region belonging to provincia Hispania Citerior, it has been able to study the evolution of rural settlement between the 2nd century BC and the 2nd century AD. Here it has identified a wide range of production models, where both the ‘villa economy' and the 'peasant economy' are only two of the more than 20 models proposed. The results obtained affect the need to update these classic models.

"Production Models in Roman Commercial Agriculture: the Northwest of Hispania Citerior Between the 2nd Century BC and the 2nd Century AD" (Fulltext)

 

9. Josep Burch (Universitat de Girona) / Pere Castanyer (Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya-Empúries) / Josep Maria Nolla (Universitat de Girona) / Joaquim Tremoleda (Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya-Empúries)

Interrelation of rural settlements in the framework of an integrated economic system in the extreme northeast of the province of Hispania Citerior Tarraconensisand
During the Early Roman Empire, many rural settlements were situated in the extreme northeast of the province of Hispania Citerior Tarraconensis. Archeological research carried out in recent years has revealed considerable differences between these settlements, which has led to their classification. The parameters used in the classification were: environment, potential natural resources, communications, relation with urban areas, chronology, dimensions, construction characteristics and use of luxurious elements, number and type of spaces in the settlement, and the economic activity that was undertaken (agricultural, livestock or crafts). Through the application of these parameters, agricultural settlements have been classified into rural neighbourhoods (vici), suburban villas, coastal villas, dependent rural establishments, craft establishments and mansiones. Drawing up this classification was not an aim in itself: the end objective was to determine the system of occupation and exploitation of the territory. It was found that this was organised around the cities that existed in this region — mainly Emporiae and Gerunda. The objective was also to determine how the types of settlement had distinct functions, determined through their complex interrelation.

"Interrelation of rural settlements in the framework of an integrated economic system in the extreme northeast of the province of Hispania Citerior Tarraconensisand" (Fulltext)

 

10. Antoni Martín i Oliveras and Víctor Revilla Calvo and José Remesal Rodríguez (Universitat de Barcelona)

Quantifying laetanian roman wine production function (1st century BC-3rd century AD). A microeconomic approach to vineyard's yields and winemaking processing facilities
Viticulture has played an important role in the economy of the Mediterranean coast of Hispania Citerior Tarraconensis between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century AD.
The vineyards, wineries and pottery workshops are usually found clustering in specific areas, such as the Laetanian region located in the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Their spatial and temporal distribution has been previously interpreted as a proof of the existence of intensive and specialized winemaking economy, associated with large-scale production & trading of wine in bulk quantities targeting predominantly to overseas markets.
Despite the significance of wine-growing activity in this territory and its more or less important role in the empire-wide economy, the processes involved in production, trade and consumption of Laetanian wine and its evolution over time, have not been quantifying using formal empirical economic models and further econometric methods.
Here we present a first approach to a microeconomic explanatory data analysis of this ancient wine production function, paying particular attention in vineyard’s yields and winemaking processing facilities, taking the values from Roman writing sources, archaeological record, experimentation and ethnographic or current viticulture data.
The main goal of this paper is to explain the different processes and agents involved in this supply chain and evaluate "ab origine" the changing dynamics of Laetanian wine production system.

"Quantifying Roman Laeetanian Wine Production (1st Century BC – 3rd Century AD): A Microeconomic Approach to Calculating Vineyard’s Crop and Winemaking Processing Facilities Yields" (Fulltext)

 

11. Lisa Lodwick (University of Reading)

The organisation of cereal production in Britannia: corn-drying ovens as evidence for agricultural integration
This paper will investigate the role of villas and farmsteads in the agricultural economy of Britannia. Roman Britain was largely a rural society, where the economy was primarily based upon agriculture, alongside mining, metalworking, pottery and textiles. Understanding how the agricultural economy was organised is still an open question, and in the absence of written evidence, archaeological excavations are the primary dataset with which to investigate this. Due to widespread developer-funded excavation, a substantial corpus of c. 2500 excavated rural settlements are now available for consideration, collated in the recent Rural Settlement of Roman Britain project. It is now clear that farmsteads, rather than villas, were the major component of the rural settlement pattern, alongside villages and roadside settlements.
This paper focuses on one aspect of settlements, corn-drying ovens, as a proxy for establishing the location and scale of cereal processing. These ovens were used to prepare cereals for flour and/or malt production, both products considered to be destined for the market. Whilst located at a range of settlement types across Britannia, here a more detailed evaluation of the size, form and location of these substantial ovens will be undertaken. The capacity and function of ovens at sites in the Hampshire Downlands and the East Midlands will be evaluated to address whether villas and farmsteads were integrated or discrete components of the rural economy.

"The Organisation of Cereal Production in Britannia: Grain-drying Ovens as Evidence for Agricultural Integration" (Fulltext)

 

12. Veselka Katsarova and Hristo Popov (National Institute of Archaeology and Museum - Sofia)

The role of agriculture for the formation and functioning of local settlement networks in the urban territory of Augusta Traiana (Province of Thrace) in 2nd-4th c. AD
The Roman city of Augusta Traiana (Stara Zagora) granted urban status under Emperor Trajan in the early 2nd c. AD. Together with the right of self-government it received also a large territory that encompassed much of the most fertile and suitable for agriculture lands of the former Thracian Kingdom. Their inclusion in the economic structure of the Roman Empire proceeded in parallel with the Romanization of the Thracian aristocratic elite. This process led to the relatively quick establishment of new economic models that took shape as various types of settlements.
Between 2008 and 2017, various archaeological investigations (excavations, field surveys, and large area geophysical surveys) were carried out successively in the southern parts of Sliven Region. Seven villages, three large villae rusticate, individual farms, and several tumular necropoleis were registered or partially excavated in the investigated micro-region. The combined analysis of the rich and diverse evidence provides the opportunity to distinguish specific settlement models in the southeastern parts of Augusta Traiana’s territory in the 2nd-4th c. They emerged from the development of large-scale grain production. This main economic activity greatly influenced the development of the region and of the types of settlements in particular.
The accumulation of new data allows for elucidating important questions about the specifics of the settlements in the Roman Province of Thrace, beyond the major urban centers.

"The role of agriculture for the formation and functioning of local settlement networks in the urban territory of Augusta Traiana (Province of Thrace) in 2nd-4th c. AD" (Fulltext)

 

13. Olivera Ilic (Institute of Archaeology SASA)

Roman rural settlements in the territory of Central Balkans
After the conquest of southeastern Pannonia and the Central Balkans in the process of Roman expansion to the east, in the newly-created provinces, besides autochthonous rural settlements, which continued to exist for some time, an organised urbanisation of the conquered area also took place following the establishment of Roman administration. According to investigations conducted so far, this process developed more intensively in the Pannonia region than it was the case in the barely accessible mountainous and hilly areas of the Central Balkans. The new organisation of the Roman state resulted in the establishment of new types of rural settlements, vici, which were similar in their type of dwellings to the pre-Roman settlements of the autochthonous populations. It has been concluded, on the basis of the topographic data of registered sites, that Roman settlements were established in the vicinity of main roads and at locations that made possible the exploitation of natural raw materials along with the employment of a labour force from the neighbouring native settlements. Before the agricultural estates of the type villa rustica were established, such settlements, which to a great extent resulted from deductions of veterans, were important production units which played a part in supplying the urban centres.

"Roman Rural Settlements in the Provinces of Pannonia Inferior and Moesia Superior" (Fulltext)