Changing settlement patterns in the Normandy countryside

The suburbs of the city of Caen (Calvados, Lower Normandy) have seen an increasing amount of development over the last fifteen years. All this construction work has been preceded by systematic archaeological investigations involving trial-trenching or excavation, the latter often covering several hectares. Out of a total of 1 400 hectares, 500 hectares have thus been investigated, providing an ideal sample zone for research into the history of settlement patterns. A G.I.S. has been used to record and map all archaeological remains dating from the Early Neolithic to the end of the Roman period. Our main focus is on the recognition and chronological determination of phases of increase or decrease of farmsteads. The quantification of these phenomena has also been tested. While the combined data for the various periods show an overall trend towards the intensification of settlement, the progression is not linear. Two striking episodes have been identified. The first occurs during the Middle/Late Bronze Age transition (15th-12th centuries BC) and corresponds to the emergence of massive domestic enclosures. These settlements, linked to burial sites characterized by major clusters of circular ditched monuments, regularly shifted within a territory that was already cleared of forest. The second episode probably started during the second half of the 5th century BC, and was amplified in the 3rd century BC. It coincides with important modifications in the exploitation of the environment and in production.Farmstead expansion is associated with geometrical subdivision of space, functional differentiation of settlements and the presence of increasingly prosperous landowners. Additional information is provided by data on the spatial organisation of the Mondeville plateau during the 1st century BC. This rural area is clearly structured and was maintained by a regular network of closely linked and interdependent agricultural settlements. The specificities of the local Gallic agrarian system, mainly based on cattle-breeding and intensive farming, influenced the size and layout of the exploited territories. Densely occupied during the late Iron Age, the study zone was substantially transformed after the Roman conquest. In fact the archaeological data from the outer-urban districts of Caen argue for a complete reorganisation of rural settlement during the second half of the 1st century AD. This is illustrated by the founding of new farmsteads imitating contemporary Roman models. These villae are strictly organized in a hierarchical system and have left a lasting mark on the landscape, as well as contributing to the reshaping of field systems inherited from earlier periods. As a result of this case study, we would like to underline that examination of the data in the long-term makes it possible to go beyond the narrow frame of event-based history to approach the form of history promoted by Fernand Braudel: a history highlighting the underlying dynamics and structures that form human societies