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SUMMARY:Interdisciplinarity Rules! A radical re-appraisal of the countrysi
 de of Roman Italy (200 BC - AD 100) - Dr. Alessandro Launaro\, Darwin Coll
 ege\, Cambridge
DTSTART:20091110T131000Z
DTEND:20091110T140000Z
UID:TALK21085@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Hilary Powell
DESCRIPTION:This short talk will aim at showing the critical importance of
  integrating different sets of sources as this – rather often – leads 
 to a radical re-assessment of long-held views on central issues. One such 
 case pertains to that crucial period which witnessed the decline of the Ro
 man Republic and the rise of the Empire. The traditional narrative – pri
 marily based on textual evidence – has fascinated generations of scholar
 s and students (including me!) as Rome’s victory over her arch-enemy Car
 thage was held to have triggered a chain of dire events which eventually l
 ed to the fall of the Republic itself – as it gradually transformed into
  an absolute monarchy. Critical to such a process was a social crisis taki
 ng place within the countryside of Roman Italy\, eventually leading to a d
 ramatic decline of the rural free population. Recent scholarship in histor
 y\, however\, has increasingly call into question such a reconstruction an
 d it is precisely here that the integration of material evidence from land
 scape archaeology has proved critical. By suggesting – and supporting 
 – alternative readings of documentary evidence it has helped in radicall
 y reshaping our modern understanding of such a troubled period in early It
 alian and European history.\n\n
LOCATION:Entertaining Room\, Darwin College
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