2nd c. CE defenses around small towns in Roman Britain structured by road network connectivity

Abstract

The large-scale provision of defenses around small towns in Roman Britain during the 2nd c. CE is without parallel in the Roman Empire. Although the relationship between defended small towns and the Roman road network has been noted previously, provincial-level patterns remain to be explored. Using network analysis and spatial inference methods, this paper shows that defended small towns in the 2nd c. are on average better integrated within the road network – and located on road segments important for controlling the flow of information – than small towns at random. This research suggests that the fortification of small towns in the 2nd c. was structured by the connectivity of the Roman road network and associated with the functioning of the cursus publicus.

Remote Sensing and GIS Modelling of Roman Roads in South West Britain

“…That South West Britain was served by a road network like any other part of Roman Britain brings with it considerations for the future of Roman archaeology in the region. We considered North Tawton to be a primary node and new archaeological evidence (Smart and Fonte in prep) suggests that it was extensive and perhaps had an urban character, and thus we might expect other important nodal places at junctions within the road network, or at its terminal points, as elsewhere in Roman Britain (Smith and Fulford, 2019;Lewis, 2022). In this regard, the recognised network, and the GISenabled modelling, may serve to predict the location of settlements that are as yet unknown to us.…”