Debating Early Republican Urbanism in Latium Vetus: The Town Planning of Gabii, between Archaeology and History

Recent archaeological investigations have revealed that at the end of the fifth century b.c.e., Gabii, an ancient centre of Latium Vetus, was reorganised in a planned, quasi-orthogonal pattern, which constitutes an anomaly in the regional context. This is indicative of an important transformational...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of Roman studies 2020-11, Vol.110, p.91-121
Main Authors: Johnston, Andrew C., Mogetta, Marcello
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
4th century
5th century
6th century
Archaeology
Grave goods
Roads & highways
Tombs
Urbanism
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Summary:Recent archaeological investigations have revealed that at the end of the fifth century b.c.e., Gabii, an ancient centre of Latium Vetus, was reorganised in a planned, quasi-orthogonal pattern, which constitutes an anomaly in the regional context. This is indicative of an important transformational moment in its history, representing a break from previous patterns of occupation and involving significant spatial and socio-political discontinuities with the previous settlement. This article proposes that the reorganisation reflects a moment of refoundation after a period of abandonment, an urban trajectory that can be clarified by a critical re-examination of the historical evidence, focusing on two pivotal processes: the devotio of the city by the Romans and the dynamics of early colonisation in Latium. This new interpretation not only has important implications for understanding the archaeology of Gabii and of early republican urbanism, but also sheds light on one of the ‘darkest’ ages in Roman history.
ISSN:0075-4358
1753-528X
DOI:10.1017/S0075435820001070