INTRODUCTION

The incorporation and integration into the Roman empire had a profound impact on the socio-political, economic and cultural order of the peoples in the Gallic and Germanic provinces. The key material example was without doubt the introduction of Roman-style towns and the associated urban culture. Just as important, however, and inextricably linked to this, was the profound transformation of the countryside, where at least 90% of the population lived. A key factor was the large-scale appearance of Roman villas from the second half of the 1st century AD onwards. Because of their attractive physical manifestation (multi-roomed houses with tiled roofs, stone foundations, plastered walls, hypocausts, bathing facilities, etc.), they count as the most ‘Roman’ component of the then rural landscapes. There is a long tradition of research into the origin, development and social interpretation of villas (see below). In the past decades we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of excavations and a veritable information explosion on Roman rural settlements. However, developing interpretive frameworks for rural settlement research has failed to keep pace with this data explosion. What we need are new, theory-based syntheses to organise the existing evidence and point the way for future research.

This study is an attempt to do just that. Our aim is threefold: a. to develop a synthesis of the origin and development of Roman villa landscapes in the northern provinces, b. to formulate a cohesive body of theoretical concepts and ideas about the social, economic and cultural function of villas within the context of the Roman empire, and c. to contribute to comparative research into Roman villa landscapes. We also wish to create a framework in which the various contributions to this volume can be understood.

Defining the concept of ‘villa’ is no easy task. One of the problems facing us is that the term has a wide range of meanings in Roman written sources and does not therefore lend itself to a workable archaeological definition.1 On the other hand, it has proved archaeologically impossible to distinguish clearly between villa settlements and non-villa settlements.