- The First Towns -
Figure 10.5 Defended sites larger then 30 ha of the second to first century Be in central and
western Europe. (From Collis 1984, fig. 1.8, with additions.)
major factor for many sites and areas, but not all. There are open sites in Gaul and
southern Germany which precede the defended oppida; in Slovakia and perhaps
Moravia, much if not all the population lived outside the 'defended' site; in Britain
the dyke systems are hardly defensible; and even some of the oppida in Gaul, such
as Villeneuve St Germain, are not in ideal defensive situations. In Britain the element
of display and prestige is an important aspect of the size of the ramparts. In any case,
the organization politically and economically to 'found' a site implies a developed
tribal organization capable of sustaining urban settlements even before they were
established.
The spatial arrangement of this arc of urban sites in the hinterland of the
Mediterranean urbanized zone would imply some sort of causal relationship, but
what this was is not immediately apparent. Trade might seem to be an obvious cause,
but this was not highly developed at the time when the earliest oppida were being
founded in Czechoslovakia, and the same may be true for the Iberian peninsula as
well - we are poorly informed about the earliest phases there. However, in Gaul the
major period of the foundation of the oppida does coincide with the enormous
upsurge in trade, just preceding, and especially just after, the Roman conquest of
Provence in 125-123 Be, which is documented in the huge quantities of amphorae
which were being imported (Figure 10.6). The conflict for resources, especially
slaves, to meet the trade demands of the Mediterranean, would provide a scenario for
the conflicts between the Gallic states mentioned by Caesar, and a context for the
establishment of defended sites.