Pastori e contadini lungo il confine. Scelte insediative, forme, tracce nella Sardegna romana

Shepherds and farmers along the border. Settlement choices, shapes, traces in Roman Sardinia. Reconstructing the functioning of the ancient territorial structures implies a deeply analytical knowledge of the traces that history leaves on the ground. Despite many of these structures are lost, it is possible to identify some traces still present that may appear not very meaningful, but which are part of a strong territorial structure. This paper tries to give a historical reading of the territory of Roman Sardinia taking into account the quantity, complexity and location of transhumance routes, still existing in the island until recently. These are movements that follow different directions from the hills and mountains and come down to the plains, following the paths of the rivers along a strong border between agricultural and pastoral culture. In this direction, it is even possible to identify many remains, that are connected to a symbolic landscape which is reflected into a thorough organization of the territory, planned in order to meet functional needs.