Parametrising the Roman Army's Behaviour in Northern Iberia

Abstract

[EN]The appearance of new conceptual and technical tools (GIS, remote sensing, UAVs) has led to a substantial gathering of archaeological data linked with the Roman army's activities in Iberia. This technological leap has been particularly fruitful in the northernmost territories, conquered ca. 138-19 BCE. Within the Expeditio project, a considerable effort was made to systematise and catalogue the archaeological information related to the Roman army in these areas. This action aimed to make it easier to parametrise variables and behaviours reflecting different military operatives using morphological, locational, and mobility analyses.

So far, archaeological data points to diversity. Evidence suggests the movement of large armies along river courses or mountain chains, as well as the recurrent use of specific locations for regrouping. On the contrary, the distribution of several outposts occupying strategic geographic positions could indicate a different, more static logic based on territorial effective occupation and visual control. While various expressions of physical violence —such as sieges, assaults and battle scenarios— have been documented fossilised in the archaeological record, it seems that the Roman military was primarily concerned with keeping logistical nodes and supply routes active in other sectors.

Our objective in studying these militarised landscapes goes beyond a positivistic recreation of the conquest process in the region. We aim to identify unique manifestations of the asymmetric interaction between the external imperial power and the late Iron Age indigenous communities. These pieces of evidence will contribute to the development of innovative archaeological narratives on the Roman expansion in northern Iberia and benefit the study of a phenomenon intimately linked with this process: the reorganisation of northern Iberian territories in Augustan times. In its limited length, this paper aims to provide a snapshot of this ongoing research and the challenges it faces.