Coins and Rural Settlements in the Roman Age: New Data from the Southern Venetia et Histria

The contribution provides an overview of an ongoing research concerning coin finds coming from Roman rural settlements uncovered in the area of the southern Veneto region. Over 3,000 coins collected during extensive surface surveys have been analyzed through GIS mapping, providing information on the evolution of the settlement and land exploitation dynamics during the Roman age. Among others, a change in the distribution of coin finds, between the early and the middle Imperial age, can be seen. It can be related to the development of a new settlement pattern which followed the expansion of the Imperial latifundia and the introduction of new farming practices. As attested by epigraphy, the veterans of the Imperial fleet stationed in Ravenna played an active role in the economic development of the area, which ultimately led to the designation of the city as capital of the western Empire in 402 AD.