As part of the Department of Archaeology’s evening lecture series, Dr. Rinse Willet (University of Nijmegen) will deliver a talk titled ” Life in transition – Shifts in settlement, urbanization, infrastructure and material culture in Hellenistic and Roman Imperial Asia Minor ” on Wednesday, March 19th, at 17:30 in C-Block amphi.
During the Hellenistic to Roman Imperial periods, Anatolia saw a rise in cities, monumental architecture, and infrastructure. Roman rule formalized communication networks like the cursus publicus and expanded road systems, integrating urban centers. Urban growth relied on agricultural productivity from villages, which housed most of the population. Improved connectivity also influenced material culture.
This paper analyzes these changes using GIS data on Roman cities in Asia Minor, examining urban patterns, monumentality, and settlement structures. It evaluates whether village distribution reflects agricultural exploitation supporting city grandeur. A case study of Sagalassos in Pisidia explores the impact of Roman roads, such as the Via Sebaste, on regional integration. These infrastructural developments coincided with shifts in material culture, particularly in pottery production and culinary practices. Using spatial analyses, the study assesses how Roman connectivity reshaped settlement patterns and daily life in Anatolia.
Rinse Willet studied Mediterranean and Classical archaeology at Leiden University and earned his PhD (2012) at KU Leuven on tableware use in the Roman East. He researched settlement patterns and urbanism in Roman Asia Minor at Leiden, Leuven, and Koç University’s ANAMED. At Radboud University Nijmegen, he studied the Roman road network and settlements around Nijmegen and Xanten. Willet conducted field and geophysical surveys in the Netherlands, Turkey, and Greece and taught archaeology and ancient history at several universities. He is also passionate about computer science, working as a software engineer and teaching at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences.