Man and environment in the territory of Sagalassos, a classical city in SWTurkey

Since 1990 archaeological research by the Catholic University of Leuven (Be lgium) has been carried out at the ancient site of Sagalassos (Aglasun, Bur dur province, Southwestern Turkey). At first, research focused on the excav ation of the city and the study of the immediate vicinity which provided it with raw materials. The main objective was to obtain a clear picture of th e history and development of the city. Since 1993 research has also incorpo rated a study of the territory of the Roman city, from prehistoric to moder n times, in order to understand why the site was selected for settlement, w hy it developed into a middle-sized town, its economy and subsistence, how it affected and exploited the environment, its decline, and what changes ha ve taken place in the district subsequently. The focus has now shifted towa rds obtaining a better understanding of the linkages between human and envi ronment systems so that inter-relations between the two can be more readily understood. As a result, a number of environmental topics concerning the t erritory of the Roman city are presently being studied. This territory exte nded from Lake Burdur in the West to the Aksu canyon in the East, from the Aglasun Daglari in the North to Mt. Kestel in the South. Interdisciplinary research revealed that for the early Neolithic and the Roman period there w as a slightly warmer climate, a richer vegetation and more fertile soils fo r agricultural practice. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved .