Footprints and cartwheels on a pixel road: on the applicability of GIS for the modelling of ancient (Roman) routes
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 s...
| Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | book part |
| Publication Date: | 2019 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (USC) |
| Repository: | Minerva. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela |
| Language: | English |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:minerva.usc.gal:10347/23916 |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10347/23916 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Materias::Investigación::55 Historia::5505 Ciencias auxiliares de la historia::550501 Arqueología |
| Summary: | 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 re ection 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. |
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