New from California Classical Studies: Joey Williams: The Archaeology of Roman Surveillance in the Central Alentejo, Portugal, 2017

New from California Classical Studies

Williams, Joey: The Archaeology of Roman Surveillance in the Central Alentejo, Portugal, 2017

Abstract: During the first century B.C.E. a complex system of surveillance towers was established during Rome’s colonization of the central Alentejo region of Portugal. These towers provided visual control over the landscape, routes through it, and hidden or isolated places as part of the Roman colonization of the region. As part of an archaeological analysis of the changing landscape of Alentejo, Joey Williams offers here a theory of surveillance in Roman colonial encounters drawn from a catalog of watchtowers in the Alentejo, the artifacts and architecture from the tower known as Caladinho, and the geographic information systems analysis of each tower’s vision. Through the consideration of these and other pieces of evidence, Williams places surveillance at the center of the colonial negotiation over territory, resources, and power in the westernmost province of the Roman Empire.

ISBN:

9781939926081

Publication Date:

February 16, 2017

Series:

California Classical Studies

Permalink:

http://escholarship.org/uc/item/8304n08d

Keywords:

archaeology, surveillance, watchtower, Portugal, Roman archaeology, Roman Portugal, Portuguese archaeology, landscape archaeology, colonization, geographic information systems, viewshed, viewshed analysis, Alentejo

Data Availability Statement:

The data associated with this publication are in the supplemental files.