Tracing settlement patterns in late antique Mallorca (Balearic islands): a field survey in the eastern territories

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a field survey in the eastern part of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Western Mediterranean) undertaken in order to better understand settlement patterns in the Late Antique period. The results show a shift in the forms and nature of the occupation of the countryside in Late Antiquity between the Roman period and the Muslim conquest of the island at the beginning of the tenth century. An important decrease in the number of rural sites is evident in the 3rd and 4th centuries, perhaps the result of a concentration of the property. The end of the established villa settlement pattern probably occurs in the mid/late 5th century, and in the 6th century. This coincides with an increase in the number of smaller sites, creating a network of settlements, which include the reoccupation of old prehistoric and early Roman sites, the continuity of some large farms or villas and the creation of a small number of sites ex novo.