The main aim of this study was to analyse the Roman settlement patterns of the western part of the Conventus Bracarensis, located within a vast province of the Iberian Peninsula: the Hispania Citerior or Tarraconensis. In order to fully understand the Roman settlement patterns of the area under study, it was necessary to verify the political and administrative procedures carried out at the Tarraconensis province together with their direct impact upon the landscape, alongside the varied occupation techniques implemented after the conquest, assessing the different patterns impacting upon the indigenous space. The nature of the available data was analysed through G.I.S. and four operative concepts: entities, relationships between entities, scales and limits to those relationships. Using these elements, the interpretation and description of the studied centres aimed to shed some light on the basic evolutionary features of settlement patterns. Through their complex interactions, the analysed areas provided the minimum conditions with which to achieve the proposed objectives.

AUTHOR
Helena Paula Abreu de Carvalho is a Professor of Classical History and Archaeology at the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Minho, Portugal and a research member of Lab2Pt - Landscape, Heritage and Territory Laboratory. She has been a visiting professor at several universities in Europe (University Blaise Pascal-Clermont Ferrand, University of Bologna, University of La Coruña, University of Vigo, Institut Català d'Arqueologia Clàssica) and also in Brazil (University of Vale de São Francisco, University of S. Paulo, Federal University of Espírito Santo). Her research interests include Roman and landscape archaeology.