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Surveying the Townscape of R oman A mmaia in P ortugal: An Integrated Geoarchaeological Investigation of the F orum A rea
Author(s) -
Vermeulen Frank,
Corsi Cristina,
De Dapper Morgan
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/gea.21402
Subject(s) - abandonment (legal) , excavation , plan (archaeology) , settlement (finance) , archaeology , geology , geography , computer science , world wide web , political science , law , payment
Geoarchaeological research, integrating traditional excavations, and ground truthing with intensive geophysical surveys, aerial photography, and GIS ‐based data processing, has revealed the full intramural plan of the abandoned R oman city of A mmaia in central P ortugal. Although this multidisciplinary effort also focussed on understanding the town/territory relationships and the system of resource exploitation, this paper presents the most important results from fieldwork in the central monumental area of the town, the R oman F orum. Here, excavations, geomorphological survey, and an array of geophysical methods illuminate the long history of the site, from the first settlement and monument‐building phases in early I mperial times, to the ongoing post‐abandonment processes. This paper discusses some of the benefits of compiling these complementary data sets and proposes the use of a wide array of approaches in order to achieve full understanding of the complex topography and evolution of a classical urban site. It further demonstrates the need for effective stratigraphical control and geomorphological analysis of crucial areas revealed by high‐quality geophysics.