ArcheoLogica Data 5.2/2025

The paper presents a methodology for documenting the morphology of archaeological urban settlements, developed on the analysis of the cities from a marginal Roman province, Scythia (modern Dobrudja). Just like specialists in ceramic and numismatic have standard procedures in documenting their objects of interest, so should the specialists that study ancient cities – even if there may not be yet a defining term for this specialization. A data model dedicated to the physical configuration of urban settlements was adapted to document fifteen relevant sites in the historical region mentioned above. Its last version is presented here, along with the dataset collecting published archaeological evidence on the urban structures of ancient Tomis – located in the historical centre of Constanța, Romania. The advantages, disadvantages and limitations of this method are also pointed out, including recommendations for technical improvement.