Open architecture RDBMS and GIS as tools for analysing the Etruscan presence in the Po Plain: towards a model of the urban/non urban landscape

Abstract

The Po Valley was occupied by the Etruscans starting in the 9th century BC. This presence experienced a significant transformation from the mid-6th century BC, when the territory underwent a widespread colonisation process, which brought about a new pattern in the organization of the landscape. A network of farms and secondary settlements appeared and expanded around both old and new cities. Through the structuring power and the analytical potential of GIS, this research develops new perspectives on the reconstruction of the ancient landscape. In addition to cultural aspects closely related to Etruscan society, in this study we have taken into consideration the role played by the resources of the territory itself, both from economic and the transport network points of view. First, we briefly present the conceptual and physical structure of the GIS. It includes an archive of all the known sites N of the Apennines (541), dating to between the 6th and 4th century BC (managed in a relational database), and a set of geographic and thematic data of general interest, recorded in the same cartographic reference system, handled with GIS software. Second, on the basis of certain distinctive characteristics of settlements such as the size of the occupied area, the internal organization and the building techniques employed, a possible hierarchical subdivision of the settlements is identified. Further, the optimal pathways between major cities are hypothesised considering factors such as slope and the presence of rivers or streams, and a possible road network is calculated using the MADO model (optimal accumulation model of movement from a given origin). The final aim is to propose a settlement model that can then be compared to the reality of the current archaeological record.