Non-Unique Forms of Continuity in Rural Space: aspects of "Romanisationˮ in North-western Greece through the so-called fortified farmsteads

During the Illyrian and Macedonian wars, North-western Greece was one of the first regions which had to face the Roman presence. The concept of "Romanisation" - a complex, diachronic and multifaceted phenomenon - was recently questioned and criticized and the use of the term, too, was debated. Inevitably, this geographical area was deeply involved in the process of "Romanisation". As for Epirus, in the last decades archaeological research has given new data to deal with the topic, the majority of which derived from urban excavations, less frequently from rural contexts. Some hints are offered by a particular category of sites, the so-called fortified farmsteads or villas. In this paper the relationship between these buildings and other evidence from Chaonia and Thesprotia is investigated emphasising continuity and disruption in the light of the settlement patterns. After the Roman conquest, many of these sites were not destroyed or abandoned but continued to be settled and were refurbished. A comparable trend is observable in some fortifications (such as Malathe, in present-day Southern Albania). Some of them were altered and changed their functions, probably responding to new settlement dynamics, which, beyond sub-regional characteristic, should be considered as part of a wider phenomenon.