La ville antique et l'organisation de l'espace rural : villa, ville, village - article ; n°4 ; vol.38, pg 920-942

Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations - Année 1983 - Volume 38 - Numéro 4 - Pages 920-942
Ancient Towns and the Organisation of Rural Space : Villa, Town and Village
The author seeks to further the discussion on the relationship between town and country in Roman antiquity by taking into account the findings of urban geography and sociology on the one hand, and those of rural archaeology on the other. Despite the fact that Roman towns drew the bulk of their ressources from landed income, the relationship they maintained with rural space was an active one. Whereas recent authors have tended to emphasize the parasitic character of ancient towns, advances in archaeological knowledge concerning the Roman countryside have brought to light the organizational role of the towns. The creation and development of villa networks, and their disappearance in late antiquity -when they were replaced by a different, village-centered organization of the countryside were the tangible signs of two forms of organization of rural space by two societies : a countryside organized by the town acting through the villa network, and a countryside faithful to the tradition of village-centered organization. This division corresponds to that between the Roman world and the native world.
23 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.