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All Outputs (59)

On Rome’s Ecological Contribution to British Flora and Fauna: landscape, legacy and identity (2013)
Journal Article
Witcher, R. (2013). On Rome’s Ecological Contribution to British Flora and Fauna: landscape, legacy and identity. Landscape History, 34(2), 5-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/01433768.2013.855393

This paper addresses the flora and fauna of Roman Britain via two long-lived and closely-related notions: the ‘Roman introduction’ and the ‘living legacy’. These concepts connect knowledge and beliefs about the introduction of new species during the... Read More about On Rome’s Ecological Contribution to British Flora and Fauna: landscape, legacy and identity.

(Sub)urban Surroundings (2013)
Book Chapter
Witcher, R. (2013). (Sub)urban Surroundings. In P. Erdkamp (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to Ancient Rome (205-225). Cambridge University Press

Ancient Roman writers such as Dionysius of Halicarnassus (4.13.4-5) observed the impossibility of locating the point at which Rome ceased and the countryside began. In contrast, modern guidebooks to the remains of the ancient city have less trouble,... Read More about (Sub)urban Surroundings.

‘Much That Has Long Been Hidden’: Reconstructing the Survey Methodology (2012)
Book Chapter
Witcher, R., & Craven, M. (2013). ‘Much That Has Long Been Hidden’: Reconstructing the Survey Methodology. In R. Cascino, H. Di Giuseppe, & H. Patterson (Eds.), Veii. The historical topography of the ancient city. A restudy of John Ward-Perkins’s survey (9-24). British School at Rome

Life of an Ancient Monument: Hadrian's Wall in History (2012)
Journal Article
Hingley, R., Witcher, R., & Nesbitt, C. (2012). Life of an Ancient Monument: Hadrian's Wall in History. Antiquity, 86(333), 760-771. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x00047906

The Romans are Britain's favourite invaders, and Hadrian's Wall is among the largest and finest of the relics they left behind on the island. However, as our authors urge, we should demand more intellectual depth from our monuments today. Not simply... Read More about Life of an Ancient Monument: Hadrian's Wall in History.

'That From A Long Way Off Look Like Farms': The Classification of Roman Rural Sites. (2012)
Book Chapter
Witcher, R. (2012). 'That From A Long Way Off Look Like Farms': The Classification of Roman Rural Sites. In P. Attema, & G. Schörner (Eds.), Comparative Issues in the Archaeology of the Roman Rural Landscape. Site Classification Between Survey, Excavation and Historical Categories (11-30). Journal of Roman Archaeology

Double Dutch: two perspectives on the landscapes of first millennium BC Italy (2011)
Journal Article
Witcher, R. (online). Double Dutch: two perspectives on the landscapes of first millennium BC Italy. Antiquity, 1476-1478. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x00062220

TESSE D. STEK. Cult places and cultural change in Republican Italy: a contextual approach to religious aspects of rural society after the Roman conquest (Amsterdam Archaeological Studies 14). xii+263 pages, numerous illustrations. 2009. Amsterdam: Am... Read More about Double Dutch: two perspectives on the landscapes of first millennium BC Italy.

The Fabulous Tales of the Common People, Part 2: Encountering Hadrian’s Wall (2010)
Journal Article
Witcher, R. (2010). The Fabulous Tales of the Common People, Part 2: Encountering Hadrian’s Wall. Public Archaeology, 9(4), 211-238. https://doi.org/10.1179/175355310x12880170217652

In 2003, the Hadrian's Wall National Trail was opened, providing a 135 km (84 mile) public footpath along the length of the Roman frontier from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway. Each year, thousands of visitors walk the Trail from end-to-end and many mo... Read More about The Fabulous Tales of the Common People, Part 2: Encountering Hadrian’s Wall.

The Fabulous Tales of the Common People, Part 1: Representing Hadrian’s Wall (2010)
Journal Article
Witcher, R. (2010). The Fabulous Tales of the Common People, Part 1: Representing Hadrian’s Wall. Public Archaeology, 9(3), 126-152. https://doi.org/10.1179/146551810x12822101587138

Hadrian’s Wall is one of the most instantly recognizable ancient monuments in the UK. This paper explores the historical and contemporary visualization practices which have created this iconic image. Moving between the disciplines of archaeology, cul... Read More about The Fabulous Tales of the Common People, Part 1: Representing Hadrian’s Wall.

Modelling the Agricultural Landscapes of Republican Italy (2010)
Book Chapter
Goodchild, H., & Witcher, R. (2010). Modelling the Agricultural Landscapes of Republican Italy. In J. Carlsen, & E. Lo Cascio (Eds.), Agricoltura e scambi nell’Italia tardo repubblicana (187-220). Edipuglia

In this paper, we review two recent models of Roman agriculture presented by Nathan Rosenstein and Paul Erdkamp. Firstly, we identify the similarities and differences between these models in terms of starting assumptions and variables, and evaluate t... Read More about Modelling the Agricultural Landscapes of Republican Italy.

Predictive Modelling of Roman Settlement in the Middle Tiber Valley (2010)
Journal Article
Kay, S., & Witcher, R. (2010). Predictive Modelling of Roman Settlement in the Middle Tiber Valley. Archeologia e calcolatori (Testo stampato), 20(2009), 277-290

This paper discusses the results of an inductive predictive modelling experiment on Roman settlement data from the middle Tiber valley, Italy. The study forms part of the British School at Rome’s Tiber Valley Project, which since its inception in 199... Read More about Predictive Modelling of Roman Settlement in the Middle Tiber Valley.

Archaeologies of Landscape. Excavating the Materialities of Hadrian's Wall (2010)
Journal Article
Witcher, R., Tolia-Kelly, D., & Hingley, R. (2010). Archaeologies of Landscape. Excavating the Materialities of Hadrian's Wall. Journal of Material Culture, 15(1), 105-128. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359183510355228

This article interrogates the materiality of Hadrian’s Wall beyond its widespread perception as a monument of/to Ancient Rome. Encounters with this monument have generated multitudinous materialities: hegemonic, conflicting and ambiguous. These traje... Read More about Archaeologies of Landscape. Excavating the Materialities of Hadrian's Wall.

The Villa of the Gordiani at the 3rd Mile of the Via Prenestina, Rome. Reassessment of a Roman and Medieval Site in the Suburbs of Rome (2009)
Journal Article
Leone, A., Palombi, D., Maiuro, M., Witcher, R., Howard, P., & Vallelonga, F. (2009). The Villa of the Gordiani at the 3rd Mile of the Via Prenestina, Rome. Reassessment of a Roman and Medieval Site in the Suburbs of Rome

This article presents the principal aims and the preliminary results of the Villa dei Gordiani project conducted during summer 2006. The research is jointly run by the University of Durham, Department of Archaeology and the University “La Sapienza” d... Read More about The Villa of the Gordiani at the 3rd Mile of the Via Prenestina, Rome. Reassessment of a Roman and Medieval Site in the Suburbs of Rome.

The Countryside (2009)
Book Chapter
Witcher, R. (2009). The Countryside. In A. Erskine (Ed.), A companion to ancient history (462-473). Blackwell

This chapter introduces some key academic debates about the ancient countryside, with particular emphasis on economy, demography and representation. It draws on textual and archaeological evidence to consider some of the most prominent academic discu... Read More about The Countryside.

Regional Field Survey and the Demography of Roman Italy (2008)
Book Chapter
Witcher, R. (2008). Regional Field Survey and the Demography of Roman Italy. In L. de Ligt, & S. Northwood (Eds.), People, land and politics : demographic developments and the transformation of Roman Italy, 300 BC - AD 14 (273-303). Brill Academic Publishers

This article considers some of the key debates concerning the demography of Roman Italy from the perspective of archaeological field survey. First, it addresses the question of whether or not the results of survey archaeology reveal the supposed decl... Read More about Regional Field Survey and the Demography of Roman Italy.

(Re)surveying Mediterranean Rural Landscapes: GIS and Legacy Survey Data (2008)
Journal Article
Witcher, R. (2008). (Re)surveying Mediterranean Rural Landscapes: GIS and Legacy Survey Data. Internet Archaeology, 24,

Legacy data have always been important for Mediterranean archaeologists. Over the past decade, one specific category of legacy data, that deriving from regional survey, has become particularly important. Not only has the scale of research questions b... Read More about (Re)surveying Mediterranean Rural Landscapes: GIS and Legacy Survey Data.

The Tiber Valley Project: The Database and Geographical Information System (2008)
Book Chapter
Witcher, R., & Kay, S. (2008). The Tiber Valley Project: The Database and Geographical Information System. In F. Coarelli, & H. Patterson (Eds.), Mercator placidissimus : the Tiber Valley in antiquity : new research in the upper and middle river valley (417-429). QUASAR

This short contribution outlines the basic information technology at the heart of the Tiber valley project; the purpose of this article is to introduce the principles of the database and GIS and the methodologies followed. More detailed discussion of... Read More about The Tiber Valley Project: The Database and Geographical Information System.

The Middle Tiber Valley in the Imperial Period (2008)
Book Chapter
Witcher, R. (2008). The Middle Tiber Valley in the Imperial Period. In F. Coarelli, & H. Patterson (Eds.), Mercator placidissimus : the Tiber Valley in antiquity : new research in the upper and middle river valley (467-486). QUASAR

This paper explores the settlement and economy of the middle Tiber valley during the early and mid imperial periods. Drawing on the results of the Tiber valley project, in particular the restudy of the South Etruria survey and more recent surveys and... Read More about The Middle Tiber Valley in the Imperial Period.

The Upper Simeto Valley Project: An Interim Report on the First Season (2007)
Book Chapter
Leone, A., Witcher, R., Privitera, F., & Spigo, U. (2007). The Upper Simeto Valley Project: An Interim Report on the First Season. In M. Fitzjohn (Ed.), Uplands of Ancient Sicily and Calabria : the archaeology of landscape revisited (49-58). Accordia Research Institute, University of London

This paper introduces a new survey project, located on the north-west flank of Etna, and presents the preliminary results of the first season of fieldwork (2006). The project research area includes the territories of the comuni of Bronte, Maletto and... Read More about The Upper Simeto Valley Project: An Interim Report on the First Season.

Settlement and Society in Early Imperial Etruria (2006)
Journal Article
Witcher, R. (2006). Settlement and Society in Early Imperial Etruria. The Journal of Roman Studies, 96, 88-123. https://doi.org/10.3815/000000006784016161

This paper compares the early imperial period results from thirty surveys in and around regio VII Etruria in order to identify similarities and differences of settlement, population and economy. Three sub-regional patterns are defined: the suburbium,... Read More about Settlement and Society in Early Imperial Etruria.