Workgroup 2 on ‘settlement patterns and territories’ seeks to apprehend the intensity, stability and the forms of long-term (800 BC – 800 AD) occupation of rural space using indices related to settlements. Eleven study areas in central and southern France and in Slovenia are examined. A common protocol was defined to homogenize the data and assess their reliability so interregional comparisons could be made. Quantitative and chronological indices show settlement intensity and dynamics while qualitative indices express the hierarchical typology of settlements. The combination and spatialization of these indices reveals the structure of settlement patterns and allows us to identify the areas that were more or less intensely occupied, in a more or less permanent and stable manner throughout the 16 centuries under consideration.