Recipient Nichole Sheldrick
Date 01 April, 2025
Amount £7414
Summary This interdisciplinary archaeological research project will investigate the settlement, agricultural production, and environment of the Nemencha region of east, central Algeria (ancient southern Numidia) during the Roman period (1st-7th c. CE). The introduction of large-scale olive cultivation for Mediterranean markets resulted in a major socio-economic transformation of the region under the empire. Extensive investment into indigenous irrigation and cultivation technologies led to a substantial increase in settlement and population, organised around a series of imperial and private estates. This project will use advanced remote sensing methods to record, map, and analyse the ancient landscape in two pilot areas of the Nemencha region, which has not previously been subject to in-depth, modern archaeological investigation. Our intent is to reconstruct the political economy of the region and to gain new insights and depth of understanding into the scope and nature of the region’s integration into Mediterranean economies.