Abstract :
The research undertaken on the Scheldt Valley Commercial Activity Zone was the first largescale
excavation in the Valenciennes region (northern France), permitting an insight into the
organization of a large territory. It has yielded a great wealth of data on land use and settlement
and it forms a key point of reference for any future research within the region for each of the
studied periods. The article discusses the characteristics of the occupation of the territory,
allowing the development of new models for the occupation, structure, and management of the
land and the institution of settlements and their related material culture. It argues for a Romanindigenous
land cadaster, until now not observed for this part of Roman France. The different
enclosures and their internal organization are described (buildings, wells, ponds, an artisanal
zone, a road system, and a burial zone), showing the persistence of numerous protohistoric
sites into Roman times, which is explained by the continuity of the agricultural system and a
voluntary integration into a Roman administration. The Onnaing-Scheldt Valley demonstrates
the importance of large-scale excavations for the understanding of land use.
