Footprints and Cartwheels on a Pixel Road: On the Applicability of GIS for the Modelling of Ancient (Roman) Routes

Abstract

GIS-based digital modelling tools, such as the well-known least cost paths (LCP), have been widely used in archaeology in recent years as ways of approaching forms of mobility in the past. Roman roads are among the best-known examples of ancient networks of paths and have been widely studied using such approaches. In this paper, we shall make a general reflection on the applicability of those tools for the modelling and analysis of ancient routes, with a special focus on Roman roads. Drawing from a case study in the NW Iberian Peninsula, we shall discuss certain aspects related to the potential and limits of Cumulative Costs, LCP and other related tools for the modelling and analysis of ancient roads. We will illustrate how the use of tools which explore potential mobility in less restricted ways can help to overcome some of the limitations of LCP.

Paradigm and pragmatism: GIS‐based spatial analyses of Roman infrastructure networks and land‐use concepts in the Upper Rhine Valley

“…The permeability of a landscape depends not only upon its relief. Parcero‐Oubiña et al (); van Lanen, Kosian et al (); R. Van Lanen et al (); van Lanen, Groenewoudt et al () and van Lanen, Jansma, van Doesburg, & Groenewoudt () were able to show that in areas with relatively even topographic conditions, cost surfaces can be calculated that are not primarily generated from terrain roughness. In this case, the “network friction” is based on mires, peat bogs, and rivers.…”

“…However, the combination of natural factors and pragmatic knowledge of the landscape and the environment becomes clearly visible when potential movement corridors are modeled on the basis of spatial geographical data (van Lanen, Kosian et al, ). In contrast to (multiple) LCP‐calculations that are basically depending on a friction model and the first optimal connection between two points (Parcero‐Oubiña et al, ), the corridor‐model allows for the estimation of large‐scale landscape permeability. This approach is thus also a potential model for finding archaeological infrastructure networks and settlement agglomerations, as well as for identifying land‐use strategies (Verhagen, ).…”

“…This paper examines the regional physical conditions in the Upper Rhine Valley that affect adaptation strategies, land‐use dynamics, settlement distribution and the development of Roman transportation and trade networks. The aim of this work is not simply to predict the location of a Roman road network, but rather, to understand ‘‘why they are, where they actually are’’ (Güimil‐Fariña & Parcero‐Oubiña, ; Parcero‐Oubiña, Güimil‐Fariña, Fonte, & Costa‐García, ). The model is based on the spatial analysis of geological and pedological units, hydrological and hydrogeological systems, as well as the distribution patterns of archaeological features and finds in the study area to understand the pragmatic human‐environment interaction that was responsible for the establishment of a local and regional transportation network.…”

Probabilistic Modelling using Monte Carlo Simulation for Incorporating Uncertainty in Least Cost Path Results: a Postdictive Roman Road Case Study

“…Due to this, archaeological interpretations based on a single LCP realisation may not be statistically stable, and so inferences such as the reconstruction of the layout of ancient paths (i.e. predictive (Parcero-Oubiña et al, 2019); e.g. Parcero-Oubiña et al, 2019;Verbrugghe et al, 2017;Verhagen and Jeneson, 2012) or understanding the factors that may have influenced the location of known routes (i.e.…”

“…predictive (Parcero-Oubiña et al, 2019); e.g. Parcero-Oubiña et al, 2019;Verbrugghe et al, 2017;Verhagen and Jeneson, 2012) or understanding the factors that may have influenced the location of known routes (i.e. postdictive (Parcero-Oubiña et al, 2019); e.g.…”