A landscape of conflict? Rural fortifications in the Argolid (400 – 146 BC)

This thesis presents the first systematic study of rural fortified structures in the Argolid between 400 and 146 BC. By placing these fortifications in the context of their surrounding landscape, this study aims to cast new light on the sites’ “military-strategic” and “civilian” functions and explores their implications for wider political, social and economic structures in the region and beyond. Methodologically, the study combines traditional approaches (e.g. architectural comparisons and extensive on-site observation) with GIS-based methods of data collection, visualisation and analysis. The thesis is structured in eight chapters. The introductory chapter 1 discusses the study’s chronological framework, geographical scope, aims and structure, as well as the history of the scholarship on this subject. Chapters 2–4 “set the scene” for the analysis of fortified sites in the Argolid. Chapter 2 works towards reconstructing the region’s ancient environment, discussing important landscape changes such as erosion, alluviation and coastline developments, as well as the available evidence for ancient vegetation and land use. Chapter 3 lays out the typology of ancient fortifications employed in this study, while chapter 4 aims to create the first systematic framework for dating fortified sites in the Argolid. In chapters 5–7, the study turns to the analysis of the Late Classical and Hellenistic rural fortifications in the Argolid. Chapter 5 discusses the region’s political structure and settlement patterns, chapter 6 explores the fortifications’ “strategic military” role, and chapter 7 considers the structures’ possible significance beyond a strictly “military-strategic” function, especially as places of refuge, habitation, production and agricultural processing. Chapter 8 concludes the study with a summary of the main results, before discussing their significance for the wider field of research and exploring the future potential of GIS-based methods of data analysis in the Argolid and beyond.