Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Beyond Iron Age ‘towns’: Examining oppida as examples of low-density urbanism

Moore, T.

Beyond Iron Age ‘towns’: Examining oppida as examples of low-density urbanism Thumbnail


Authors



Abstract

The question of whether Late Iron Age oppida in Europe were truly ‘urban’ has dominated debate over these sites since the nineteenth century. Oppida have been surprisingly absent from comparative urban studies, however, despite increasingly nuanced perspectives on the nature and diversity of the urban phenomenon. In particular, Roland Fletcher's implication that oppida might represent part of a broader alternative form of low-density urbanism has been largely overlooked, by Iron Age scholars and urbanism specialists alike. With the complex nature of many oppida now becoming increasingly apparent, I suggest it is a pertinent time to assess Fletcher's claim and examine whether oppida can be convincingly compared to low-density urbanism elsewhere in the world and, if so, what implications this might have for understanding Iron Age societies. This paper argues that oppida do indeed display aspects of low-density urbanism and that this is likely to be due to the negotiated nature of power in Iron Age societies.

Citation

Moore, T. (2017). Beyond Iron Age ‘towns’: Examining oppida as examples of low-density urbanism. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 36(3), 287-305. https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.12116

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 19, 2016
Online Publication Date Jul 17, 2017
Publication Date Aug 31, 2017
Deposit Date Nov 3, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Oxford Journal of Archaeology
Print ISSN 0262-5253
Electronic ISSN 1468-0092
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 36
Issue 3
Pages 287-305
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.12116

Files

Accepted Journal Article (1.9 Mb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
This is the accepted version of the following article: Moore, T. (2017). Beyond Iron Age ‘towns’ Examining oppida as examples of low-density urbanism. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 36(3): 287-305 which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.12116. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.




You might also like



Downloadable Citations