Slavko Ciglenečki, Between Ravenna and Constantinople. Rethinking Late Antique Settlement Patterns (Opera Instituti Archaeologici Sloveniae 46), Ljubljana: Založba ZRC 2023.

In his book, published in 2023, the Slovenian archaeologist Slavko Ciglenečki (Institute of Archaeology ZRC SAZU, Ljubljana) deals with the transformation of the settlement patterns in the area between Ravenna and Constantinople during Late Antiquity. Framed by the capital of Ravenna in the west and the metropolis of Constantinople in the east, the geographical focus spans the territories of present-day northeastern Italy, large parts of Austria and Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Bulgaria, parts of Romania along the Black Sea, Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, and the European part of Turkey.

While the settlement of this area during the Roman Imperial period has long been the focus of research, scholarship began to pay attention to the settlements between the 3^rd to 6^th centuries not before the late 20^th century. This time was characterized by an increase of scholarly interest in the transformation of the Roman world at the transition to the Middle Ages. Political, military, socio-economic crises as well as the so-called barbarian invasions into and within the late Roman Empire led to a fundamentally changed landscape. Towns were newly fortified or abandoned, refuges and military installations were constructed, and significant changes in rural settlement patterns became evident. Numerous new, predominantly fortified settlements can be observed as a characteristic feature of this period. Since the 1970s and 1980s, an increased interest in these sites, as well as a more targeted search, has brought more and more sites to light.

Previous archaeological research increasingly focused on individual settlement types (such as towns or hilltop settlements) and often remained confined within modern national borders. In contrast, Slavko Ciglenečki’s work transcends these boundaries, examining both urban and unfortified rural settlements across a broad study area, thus providing a comprehensive picture of the changing settlement patterns.

The book is divided into six major sections. The first chapter (Introduction, pp. 9–18) presents, among other things, the history and state of research, the geographical and chronological framework, the applied methods and terminology. Ciglenečki defines the chronological scope of his study as spanning from the late 3^rd to the early 7^th century, with these dates marking the beginning and end of the major settlement shift in the region under investigation.

The second chapter (Cities, pp. 19–165) is focused on cities. A distinction is made between cities abandoned before the end of Late Antiquity, and newly founded cities. Based on selected examples, Ciglenečki discusses individual sites addressed as cities. In Late Antiquity, distinguishing a city from a large settlement is particularly challenging, as the boundaries between them are often fluid. Both ancient authors, such as Procopius, and archaeologists use varying terms like “urban settlement”, “miniature cities” or “semi-urban settlement” to describe such sites. To address this ambiguity, Ciglenečki introduces his own criteria for identifying cities, focusing on size, defensive and church architecture, elite housing, and mentions in ancient texts.

In the third chapter (Settlement in the countryside), Ciglenečki deals with settlements in the countryside (pp. 167–336). He divides these settlements into the following categories: settlements with continuity, newly-founded unfortified settlements, and newly-founded fortifications. While the Roman villae, vici, and road stations existed only until the 4^th century, the author shows newly (fortified) settlement forms in the study area and proposes possible interpretations of their emergence. This reveals the problem of distinguishing between a military and civilian function of many newly constructed fortifications.

In the fourth chapter, the author diachronically assesses settlement changes and city-countryside dynamics (pp. 337–349). Here, the major changes in the settlement landscape in the West and East are outlined. This chapter presents the chronological developments discovered in the course of the study.

The fifth chapter (Brief outline of the Late Antique settlement patterns in other parts of the Roman Empire, pp. 351–381) sketches, in the form of an excursus, settlement patterns in other parts of the Roman Empire according to their forms (cities, countryside settlements) and geographic location (west, east).

In the last chapter (pp. 383–388), the author summarizes the results obtained and presents an attempt to interpret the settlement patterns. According to the author, the urban culture of Late Antiquity shows a clear decline, while the diversity of rural settlements reflects a radical transformation in human habitation. The newly founded cities, especially large central settlements, continued the traditions of ancient urban life, but in a more modest form. The distinction between cities and new, often fortified settlements is often blurred, with only the administratively significant inland cities and major trade centers along the Mediterranean coasts standing out. However, the author points out that these conclusions are largely based on sites with rich architectural remains and stresses the need to also consider economic and environmental factors as well as archaeological finds in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of shifts in settlement patterns.

In each chapter the sites discussed in the text are located on maps. In the appendix there is an index (pp. 421– 431) of all sites mentioned in the text.

Ciglenečki presents the first coherent overview of the changing settlement patterns in an area of the late Roman Empire, between Ravenna and Constantinople, which was subject to considerable and long-lasting stress. Throughout this examination, chronological, topographical, as well as architectural similarities and differences of the individual subregions are highlighted. It becomes apparent how complex and diverse the settlement pattern of Late Antiquity is.