Socio-economic impacts of the exposure to Roman ceramics in the inland Iron Age communities of the NW Iberian Peninsula: A quantitative approach

Abstract

How did the first ever exposure to Roman imported material culture at inland sites affect local material culture practices? What does this reveal about the speed and nature of cross-cultural influence between Roman and Iron Age communities? And about the specific dynamics of integration within the Roman Empire of inland sites? Our ability to address these key questions about the exposure of Iron Age communities to the Roman world is hampered by a research bias in classical archaeology towards the study of ceramics contexts from coastal sites. In this paper we present the first replicable quantified contextualised ceramics data analysis to address these questions, through a study of more than 150,000 sherds from inland sites in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula. We conclude that century-long gradual changes in local common wares and amphorae from Iron Age traditions to Roman-inspired forms reflect changing food production and consumption behaviours. This transition is also reflected in an increasing presence of imported Roman goods. Our results suggest very gradual but increasing integration with the Roman world and ceramic data patterns correlate with known events from textual sources: Caesar’s campaign, the Augustan Cantabrian wars, and the Flavian reforms.