A Reverse Perspective on the Transformations of the Roman ‘Rural Landscape’ in Central Dalmatia – Hyllis Peninsula, Danilo, Bilice

The article concerns some aspects of the transformations of Roman ‘rural landscape’ of Dalmatia, while representing an effort to reverse the usual perspective applied by Croatian scholarship to the phenomena. The aim was to include initial stages of the development of Roman ‘rural landscape’ of Dalmatia in the examination of its later evolution, and to demonstrate that certain specific features of that landscape were retained longer. The studied area corresponds to modern-day central Dalmatia, where selected case studies – villa in the bay of Stari Trogir of the ancient Hyllis peninsula, Roman complex at the locality of Stari Sematorij in the village of Danilo (Roman municipium Rider), and Roman object in Bilice village – all functioned as centers of major properties, and are all recognized as the ‘basis’ for later reshaping of the surrounding territory. In that respect, the analysis of architectural forms and plans of these complexes – indicating their important administrative function and even property ownership – as well as their regional and trans-regional comparative contextualization, is used as a point of departure for the research on late antique and early medieval ‘rural’ continuity and/or change.