Reconsidering the Impact of Roman Expansionism on Daunian Population Centers in the Melfese Area: New Data on the Primary Settlements of Venosa, Banzi, and Lavello

Over the last decades, important progress has been made in the study of the impact of the Roman conquest on southern Italic societies. Archaeological research has fueled debate by providing vital information on the urban and rural settlement changes that occurred in the fourth to first centuries BCE. As a result, the developments that occurred when the region was increasingly incorporated into the expanding Roman empire are well understood. Nevertheless, some essential questions remain to be answered, especially those regarding the causal relationship between urban developments and Roman agency. This chapter addresses this issue by analyzing in detail the impact of Roman colonization on the urbanization trajectory of three large settlement sites in the Melfese area of present-day Basilicata, southern Italy, in the period between the fourth and first centuries BCE: Banzi, Lavello, and Venosa.