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Through the prism of a fairly recent discovery of a milestone, the present article sheds light on the Roman road in the Gennesaret Valley, particularly the span connecting Tiberias to Julias. Building on Zvi Ilan's initiative in the 1980s, the author will emphasise two milestones: IMC 694 and IMC 847. Dating to 120 ce, the latter stone’s inscription not only divulges the role of Emperor Hadrian in the artery’s construction, but establishes Tiberias as its caput viae. By delving into historical sources, contemporary research, and the broader context of Hadrian's infrastructure initiatives throughout the province of Judaea, the paper explicates the road network’s purpose and strategic importance during the Roman era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explaining material traces of movement as proxies for past movement is fundamental for understanding the processes behind why people in the past traversed the landscape in the way that they did. For this, least-cost path analysis and the use of slope-based cost functions for estimating the cost of movement when walking have become commonplace. Despite their prevalence, current approaches misrepresent what these cost functions are, their relationship to the hypotheses that they aim to represent, and their role in explanation. As a result, least-cost paths calculated using single cost functions are liable to spurious results with limited power for explaining known past routes, and by extension the decision-making processes of past people. Using the ideas of multiple model idealisation and robustness analysis, and applied via a tactical simulation, this study demonstrates that similar least-cost paths can be produced from slope-based cost functions representing both the same hypothesis and different hypotheses, suggesting that least-cost path results are robust but underdetermined under the tested environmental settings. The results from this tactical simulation are applied for the explanation of a Roman road in Sardinia. Using probabilistic least-cost paths as an approach for incorporating multiple cost functions representing the same hypothesis and error in the digital elevation model, it is shown that both model outcomes representing the minimisation of time and energy are unable to explain the placement of the Roman road. Rather, it is suggested that the Roman road was influenced by pre-existing routes and settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Black Sea / Karadeniz is the property of Black Sea / Karadeniz and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Roman road that transverses the southern Golan is one of the best-preserved ancient roads in the region. The present study provides new evidence regarding its route, its date of construction and abandonment, and its military-administrative and geospatial relationship with the surrounding landscape and settlements. The research combines diverse methodologies, including historical cartographic data, survey, excavation, a mobility model of the region and visibility predictive analysis for watchtower positions. The results suggest that the road was constructed in the second half of the 2nd century CE. A system of watchtowers existed along it, and it apparently did not serve as a vital artery between the nearby villages and the road itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discussed here deals with a milestone whose location is unknown, but which is understood to have been erected 1.5 km away from the city center of Cibyra, based on the two inscriptions it bears. The milestone in question has two inscriptions indicating two different uses. Both inscriptions are written in Ancient Greek. While the first inscription dates to the Severan Period (AD 198-209), the latter belongs to the period of First Tetrarchy (AD 293-305). Both inscriptions give the city of Cibyra as caput viae and record the same distance. Thus, it is determined that the same milestone is reused after ca. hundred years. In the article, the routes related to Cibyra and the milestones that give Cibyra as caput viae are also discussed. In both uses, the milestone in question refers to repair and regulation works. This situation can be associated with the eastern campaigns during the Severan Period and the reconstruction efforts carried out during the Diocletianic Era.

The first information concerning the Roman fort at Sutor (Sălaj County) and its civilian settlement were recorded during the second half of the 19th century. Regarding the military unit stationed here, several solutions have been proposed for the reading of the NMO tile stamp through time. The generally accepted version is the one proposed by C. Daicoviciu, who translates the above-mentioned initials as N(umerus) M(aurorum) O(ptatianensium). The first systematic archaeological research carried out within the site was performed back in 2001 and, starting from that moment, has continued with some interruptions until now. However, the archaeological excavations occasioned by the large infrastructure works recently performed in the area have brought new information regarding the chronology of the site and the function that Optatiana had within the province of Dacia Porolissensis. Obviously, the central element of the settlement is represented by the two roads that intersect in the immediate vicinity of the vicus. The presence of the settlement at the intersection of important routes within the province must have contributed decisively to the economic development of the site, the location of the Roman camp at Sutor in that exact position not being accidental. In addition to the main function of overseeing the road-junction and controlling the transit on these two road arteries, the site at Sutor has become an important logistics hub and prosperous economic center, the nature of the structures identified here but also their orientation towards the two roads managing to give the vicus a quasi-urban aspect.

The road system built during the Roman Empire continues to have a significant impact on modern infrastructure in Italy. This paper examines the historical influence of Roman roads on the development of Italy's motorways and railways. The empirical analysis demonstrates how modern Italian transport infrastructure largely follows the path of the consular trajectories established by the network of Roman roads. These ancient roads, being paved and connecting the extremes of the Italian peninsula, have endured over time, serving as the foundational physical capital for the development of the current transport network. Overall, this research highlights the enduring legacy of the Roman road system and the robustness of Roman roads as an instrument in determining the causal effect of modern infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A longstanding debate among ancient historians and students of Roman frontiers concerns the reality and effective reach of Roman imperial policy. Certainly when new military commitments were involved, the slowness of supply and information meant that major moves had to be planned well in advance. This paper focuses on the provincialisation of Britain and Thrace in a.d. 43 and c. 45. The dating evidence provided by tree rings, coins and milestones suggests that logistic preparation for the invasion of Britain started at least two years before the event. This pattern, of a newly installed Emperor immediately initiating a campaign on the northern frontiers, allowing two years for logistic preparation, is seen no fewer than seven times between Caligula and Caracalla. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Strata Diocletiana was a military road in Late Roman Period Syria. It ran from Damascus to the Euphrates by way of Palmyra. The road was fortified and received its name during the reign of Diocletian (284–305 CE), following the Roman sack and subsequent garrisoning of Palmyra after the city’s failed revolt 272–273 CE. The Strata Diocletiana is only one of several attested routes between Palmyra and western Syria and one of two between Palmyra and Damascus. In this study, we seek to understand why this route was chosen for the new fortified road. We compare the location of Late Roman fortifications along the Strata Diocletiana to the modern distribution of water in the Syrian Desert and the theoretical least-cost paths between Palmyra and Damascus, and Palmyra and the fortress of Sura on the Euphrates. The argument is made that some parts of the Roman road network in the Syrian Desert were planned in order to control major water sources along the desert rim, but that the new military road between Damascus and Palmyra in the late third century CE was constructed with the aim of monitoring and controlling access to settled regions from the desert, in addition to ease and speed of communication. The conclusions have bearings not only on our understanding of the Late Roman defence and communication system, but also on nomad-settled interaction in Late Antiquity and the use of GIS methodologies in the reconstruction of ancient communication networks.

Land use and land cover (LULC) strongly influence soil erosion/sediment yield, and predicting changes in soil erosion is an important management strategy. Tracing the Earth's past also helps us better understand the future evolution of the landscape, but research using modern mapping capabilities is hampered by the scarcity of historical landscape information. To fill the data gap and provide an example of how historical maps might be used in land-use change research, we combined an old paper map based on the IT Military Topographical Institute (ITM), aerial photos, and orthophotos to derive land-use history and landscape dynamics at fine scales for a segment of the Roman route "Via Herculia" located in the north-western sector of the Basilicata Region, Italy. Three LULC scenarios were then analysed to represent land use in 1870, 1974, and 2013. Starting from such scenarios, we applied a soil erosion model (Unit Stream Power Eosion and Deposition—USPED) to understand how land-use change over time has modified the areas subject to erosion and deposition. The results show an increase in erosion (from 17% to 20% of the total area) and sediment deposition (from 15% to 19%) over the period 1870–1974. In contrast, over the period of 1974–2013, the results show a decrease in gross erosion (from 20% to 14% of the total area) and sediment deposition (from 19% to 13%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent availability of a systematic airborne LiDAR coverage for England in the scope of the Environment Agency’s ‘National LiDAR Programme’ has enabled the mapping of a new Roman road network system in South West Britain, an area where there was little solid evidence for a system of long-distance roads. To understand the rationale behind their construction, a GIS spatial analysis approach to model movement was developed, which included not just straightforward Least Cost Paths, but also other methods, such as MADO and CMTC, to overcome some of the common limitations of Least Cost Paths and produce a more reliable prediction of the likely layout of the Roman road network in the area. The results indicate that this network privileged the movement of animal-drawn wheel vehicles, avoiding where possible areas subject to flooding risks. This road network is possibly the result of an evolutionary model, integrating pre-existing Prehistoric routeways with Roman military and civilian roads, most of which were probably still in use in Medieval times.

We are continuing our series of studies regarding the maps of Roman Dacia1 with this short note regarding the representation of Dacia on a map published by Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli in his book Danubius Pannonico-Mysicus, observationibus geographicis, astronomicis, hydrographicis, historicis, physicis perlustratus et in sex tomos digestus, I-II, Hagae-Amstelodami, 1726. The military engineer born in Bologna in 1658 elaborated a map in his book, at the beginning of the second volume, entitled Theatrum antiqvitatum romanarum in Hungaria: sive mappa geographica regionum Danubio circumjacentium, Pannoniarum, Daciarum, Mysiar: etc. in qvibus antiqvitates romanae Svis singulae figuris in hoc tomo descriptae reperiuntur. Our study examines the main features illustrated in Marsigli's map, including some Roman roads and forts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A milestone located in Bet Ḥananya, below one of the arches of the Hadrianic High Aqueduct to Caesarea (Canal B), was subjected to a 3D scan. This technique enabled the reading of the inscription on the milestone and thereby, to date the stone to the period of the dual reign of Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (161-169 CE). It also became apparent that the stone marked the fourth mile station from Caesarea. This paper suggests that the milestone is in situ and marked a segment of the Roman imperial road between Caesarea and the legionary base at Legio. The road was submerged in the fourth century CE when a reservoir was created behind dams built across Naḥal Tanninim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent availability of a systematic airborne LiDAR coverage for England in the scope of the Environment Agency's 'National LiDAR Programme' has enabled the mapping of a new Roman road network system in South West Britain, an area where there was little solid evidence for a system of long-distance roads. To understand the rationale behind their construction, a GIS spatial analysis approach to model movement was developed, which included not just straightforward Least Cost Paths, but also other methods, such as MADO and CMTC, to overcome some of the common limitations of Least Cost Paths and produce a more reliable prediction of the likely layout of the Roman road network in the area. The results indicate that this network privileged the movement of animal-drawn wheel vehicles, avoiding where possible areas subject to flooding risks. This road network is possibly the result of an evolutionary model, integrating pre-existing Prehistoric routeways with Roman military and civilian roads, most of which were probably still in use in Medieval times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roman roads are omnipresent in the Mediterranean basin. Despite the methodological advances achieved, interdisciplinary studies including geoarchaeological techniques are still rare. The aim of this study is to offer a microstratigraphic analysis of an important Roman road in order to characterise the raw materials and construction techniques used to build it and their evolution over time. Our research focuses on the Via Augusta, the longest road in Roman Hispania, where it passes through the Ianus Augustus (Mengíbar, Spain), a monumental complex on the frontier between the provinces of Baetica and Tarraconensis. Archaeological excavations of this road have revealed vertical stratigraphic variations, suggesting the presence of several transit surfaces and repair works. A protocol was designed to characterise the road deposits at the microscale, where micromorphology revealed six overlying roads and their construction techniques. The combination of micromorphology, µ-XRF and the study of the textural parameters of the deposits allowed us to identify the raw materials used and their sources, as well as the specific features generated during the construction and use of the road. The results show how the technical solutions used survived as a tradition for centuries, and how the repair works identified in the stratigraphic sequence have a correlation with the road maintenance works mentioned in the Roman epigraphic record of Hispania Baetica. This study shows how detailed microstratigraphic analyses of Roman roads are very effective in the characterisation of road biographies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, a well-preserved Roman-period road network was explored in southern Moab, descending the steep topographic gradient from the Moabite plateau to the south-eastern Dead Sea region. This network comprises three paved roads—Kathrabba, Kuniyeh and Zoar Ascents—installed according to Roman principles of road construction, sharing features such as minimal width of 4 m, kerbstones and retaining walls, built steps and paved sections. All roads were forced to overcome vertical height differences of 1200–1500 m over a short distance as well as high sub-vertical segments of Nubian sandstone cliffs and massive plutonic rock outcrops. The starting point for all roads was in the southernmost part of Moab, in the vicinity of the modern village of Mu'tah, and they led to three different points along the eastern coast of the southern basin of the Dead Sea. The article explores the geographic and structural traits of the newly discovered road system and delves into its historical context and significance. We argue that this meticulous, labour-intensive enterprise was most probably associated with the decades following the Roman annexation of Nabataea in 106 ce, and more specifically with the suppression of the Bar Kokhba Revolt, during which Jewish communities on both sides of the Dead Sea revolted against Roman rule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The new excavation in Regio V discovered the pavement construction site of vicolo de Balconi. • A cross-disciplinary approach was adopted to analyze the archeological excavation. • The surface texture of flagstones was assessed with photogrammetry and skid resistance tests. • Penetrometric and deflectometric tests were used to study the subgrade structure. • A possible succession of paving works in this part of the city using lava stone is recognized. A significant portion not yet investigated in the Regio V of the ancient city of Pompeii is currently the subject of the most remarkable excavation in the post-World War II period. These activities relate to a triangular area, the so-called "wedge", which is placed between the houses of Nozze d'Argento and Marco Lucrezio Frontone. Besides the astonishment and scientific emotions resulting from the finding of magnificent frescoed and well preserved thermopolium , dwellings and balconies, also a feeling of extreme interest in the pavement engineering arose due to a further one of a kind discovery. The Somma-Vesuvium volcanic eruption of 79 AD buried a narrow alley, i.e. vicolo dei Balconi, during the construction of its stone pavement, in which the laying of compact lava stone flags was interrupted about halfway from north to south. The eruption and the following superimposition of lapilli, ash and pumice blankets has therefore maintained in a state of perfect documental conservation the whole area, preserving the new laid flagstones still showing the original surface finishing and the preparatory subgrade. Thus, this historical and archeological source becomes a priceless engineering evidence describing some of the design and construction techniques used by the Romans at Pompeii. The excavated area has been analyzed following a cross-disciplinary approach, adopting several minimally intrusive or non-destructive techniques and instruments belonging to different branches of science to capture some specific aspects. Specifically, the alley has been initially surveyed with a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) device to build an accurate layout model of the worksite. Although the TLS survey provided an invaluable source of information for the street structures documentation, specific stone paving elements were also analyzed using close range photogrammetry techniques and their friction properties have been measured exploiting the potential of a modern road engineering device, i.e. a skid resistance tester, also known as the British pendulum tester (BPT). The consistency analysis of the subgrade structure and homogeneity in the unpaved section involved the use of two dynamic procedures, i.e. a penetrometric (dynamic cone penetrometer - DCP) and a deflectometric (light weight deflectometer - LWD) test. Besides, some design and urban planning considerations have been drawn from the analysis of the relationships between the finished structures and the pavement construction site according to the lines of the existing curbs, the thresholds of access to the dwellings and the placement of enigmatic prismatic blocks arranged in trenches, probably intended as a useful target points for the stonemasons or temporary pedestrian passage. In a wider reading a succession of paving works (and not repaving) using stone elements in this part of the city starting from the Cardo via del Vesuvio (from west to east) is recognizable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Radovi Zavoda za znanstveni rad Varazdin is the property of Institute for Scientific Work in Varazdin, Croatian Academy of Sciences & Arts and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The movement of past peoples in the landscape has been studied extensively through the use of least cost path (LCP) analysis. Although methodological issues of applying LCP analysis in archaeology have frequently been discussed, the effect of DEM error on LCP results has not been fully assessed. Due to this, the reliability of the LCP result is undermined, jeopardising how well the method can confidently be used to model past movement. To strengthen the reliability of LCP results, this research proposes the use of Monte Carlo simulation as a method for incorporating and propagating the effects of error on LCP results. Focusing on vertical error, random error fields are calculated and incorporated into the documented and reproducible LCP modelling process using the R package leastcostpath. By graphically communicating the impact of vertical error using probabilistic LCPs, uncertainty in the results can be taken into account when interpreting LCPs. The method is applied to a Roman road case study, finding that the incorporation of vertical error results in the identification of multiple 'least cost' routes within the landscape. Furthermore, the deviation between the roman road and the probabilistic LCP suggests that the location of the roman road was influenced by additional factors other than minimising energy expenditure. This research finds that the probabilistic LCP derived using Monte Carlo simulation is a viable method for the graphical communication of the uncertainty caused by error within the input data used within the LCP modelling process. Therefore, it is recommended that probabilistic LCPs become the default approach when modelling movement using input data that contains errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides new evidence of the presence of an ancient Roman road in correspondence to a paleobeach ridge now submerged in the Venice Lagoon (Italy). New high resolution underwater seafloor data shed new light on the significance of the Roman remains in the lagoon. The interpretation of the data through archive and geo-archaeological research allowed a three-dimensional architectural reconstruction of the Roman road. The presence of the ancient Roman road confirms the hypothesis of a stable system of Roman settlements in the Venice Lagoon. The study highlights the significance of this road in the broader context of the Roman transport system, demonstrating once more the Roman ability to adapt and to handle complex dynamic environments that were often radically different from today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, during excavations in the Wadi al-Ghozza in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, archaeologists from the French Archaeological Mission to the Eastern Desert of Egypt discovered a well-preserved Flavian praesidium. This small and unusually shaped fort, identified in ostraca found in the fortress as Berkou (Βɛρκου), lay along a track leading from ancient Kaine (Qena) to the imperial quarries at Porphyrites. The fort lay over the remains of a Ptolemaic village and incorporated elements from the water system of the older settlement. This article presents the results of those excavations, including an overview of the fort's architecture and associated finds, as well as a discussion of its role in the regional transportation and security network that supported Roman exploitation of the nearby porphyry quarries in the 1st c. CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gensis was the first road station on the Roman road Sirmium - Argentaria, which connects the capital of the province of Pannonia Inferior with rich silver mines along the middle course of the Drina River. According to Tabula Peutingeriana, the distance between Sirmium and Gensis was 30 Roman miles, or about 44 km, while distance Gensis - Ad Drinum was 15 Roman miles or about 22 km. A. Boué has located Gensis in the territory of modern town Loznica. However, in the territory of the town of Loznica, as well as suburban settlements, no archaeological findings have been discovered so far that would be related to the ancient period. Starting from the assumption that Gensis was the administrative vicus of the ancient mines in the lower course of the Drina River, S. Dušanić proposed that its location was in the village of Rumska, on the eastern slopes of Mount Cer. However, the position of the Rumska village in relation to Roman communication in the Drina valley leads to the conclusion that the mentioned village cannot be the location of Gensis. According to F. Kanitz, Gensis road station was located on top of the Vidojevića hill. The existence of archaeological remains at the top of Vidojevića hill indicates that a Roman settlement could be found on its slopes. In support of locating the Gensis road station on Vidojevića, the data from the Tabula Peutingeriana supports this. However, although more field reconnaissance has been carried out so far in the vicinity of Vidojevića, it is noticeable that there are no archaeological sites from the ancient period in the villages on the right side of the Drina River, nor any epigraphic and numismatic findings. In contrast, the archaeological finds of building materials, necropolises, and coins dating from the Roman period indicate that the Roman settlement was located on the left bank of the Drina River, near the town of Janja. The information we currently have is not sufficient to determine the location of the Gensis road station with certainty. However, two sites stand out as potential locations: Vidojevića Hill, east of Lešnica and Pačići, west of Janja.

Recent interest in the role of pandemics and epidemics in history has highlighted the burden of malaria in the ancient world. Nevertheless, no study heretofore has produced a spatial model for malaria risk in antiquity. Furthermore, the unique threat of malaria to ancient travellers and their threat to others has escaped serious study. To address these gaps for application to certain historical problems, a model for malaria risk in the Roman world is constructed and extended to project risk for travellers on Roman roads. The project is intentionally cross-disciplinary in bringing the technical capabilities of GIS to the task of evaluating nuanced textual sources for historical reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gradishteto hill site near Riben has been known for long in the scientific literature. Until most recent time, it has been often wrongly identified with the Roman road station Ad putea. The excavations in 2013-2015 brought about much new evidence about the site but it was, unfortunately, partly misinterpreted by the investigators. The archaeological campaign in 2016 considerably enlarged the database and made it possible to thoroughly reconsider the traditional views and statements. It was proved that the habitation of the site began already in the Early Chalcolithic. In the Late Iron Age, if not even earlier, regular cult practices started to be performed here and a rock-cut sanctuary came into being. In the Roman period it developed into an important cult complex that ceased functioning in the late-3rd c. A burgus was built over its ruins in Diocletianic times, which was integrated in the mid-4th c. in the defensive system of a newly established fortified settlement. The latter suffered a destruction in the late-70s of the 4th c. but was soon rebuilt and resettled by new population, maybe of Gothic origin. By the mid-5th c. the settlement was again destroyed. The life resumed in the 10th c. and went on until the end of the 12th c. at the earliest. In the late-14th c. a coin hoard was buried in its ruins.

The paper presents data on the positioning problems of Acruvium/Agruvium road stop on the Narona-Scodra road. The question of the position of ancient Acruvium/Agruvium starting from Risan to Budva is one of the unsolved ancient problems. Written historical sources do not state the exact location of the town/settlement. As we can see, there are two prevailing opinions on the position of this town in Boka Kotorska. The advocates of the first opinion put it where today's Kotor is while the advocates of the second opinion put it closer to the sea, on the territory of the Grbalj district. The question of positioning ancient Acruvium/Agruvium in Boka Kotorska from Risan to Budva presents one of the problems of ancient history and archeology in Montenegro. The contradictions will continue to exist as long as the claims continue to be based exclusively on written historical sources and their analyses without systematic archeological diggings and research. Besides significant number of findings (necropolis, epigraph statues, and other material cultural objects) found in Kotor that could support the claims that the ancient Acruvium/Agruvium was actually there, the lack of research in the city center is still an obstacle to fully proving or denying these claims. According to the aforementioned facts, it can be said that the life was ongoing in Kotor and in Grbalj from the ancient times till today. This is proved by archeological findings from both locations. Due to all the aforementioned reasons, it is believed that this question is still open and final conclusions cannot be made.

This paper reports the discovery through aerial photography of a Roman fort at Thirkleby, near Thirsk in North Yorkshire. It appears to have two structural phases, and surface finds indicate that it dates from the Flavian period. The significance of its location on the intersection of routes north–south along the edge of the Vale of York and east–west connecting Malton and Aldborough is discussed in the context of Roman annexation of the North. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the spatial turn and the associated reassessment of geographic information systems, transport and mobility optimizations in particular can be solved with the help of spatial analysis toolboxes such as Transportation Network Analysis (in vector cases) or the Least Cost Path approach (LCP, in raster cases). In addition to its almost universal applicability, especially the LCP method shows some often discussed weaknesses due to its independence from given path networks. In particular, the apparent conceptual simplicity of the method (reduction to a single controlling factor, impedance) makes the result highly dependent on the selection and parameterization of the influencing factors like costs, capability or terrain. This paper tries to overcome the disadvantages of this method by proposing a new way in the terrain based determination of impedance. Using the example of the ancient highway called Via Egnatia (historical transport route that once connected the Adriatic Sea with the Bosporus) the parameterization of the Roman route is analyzed. The crossing of the Balkans and the Dinaric Mountains with the necessary overcoming of relatively large differences in relief makes this route particularly suitable for the investigation of the relationship between relief and parameters of the real transport route. Special attention is given to the statistical analysis of the optimal sampling distances for the respective terrain types as a crucial point for the parameterization of impedance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 1965 to 1966 a pioneering survey was carried out by Zeev Meshel and Yoram Tsafrir along the incense route between Oboda (Avdat) and the Nabataean caravansary at Sha'ar Ramon. They noted two segments of a wide, built road, along which were 11 milestone stations: 5 on the Nafha Plateau (south of Oboda) and 6 in Makhtesh Ramon. Meshel and Tsafrir dated the road and the milestones to the Nabataean period. These two scholars noted in their survey that the two segments of the road and their milestones were about 7 km apart in the area of Mount Grafon. They surmised that these segments were linked and proposed a route for that link, although they found no ancient remains along the presumed route. During the winter of 2018 the lost section was found and six milestone stations were detected. At four of those stations we found milestones with inscriptions. These are the first dated inscriptions from the incense route in the Negev. This article presents these inscriptions and evaluates their historical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Locating Roman transport infrastructures by a statistical approach. • Simple linear regressions for correlating WGS 84 and Ptolemy's coordinates. • New method for locating Roman cities based on a bivariate normal distribution. • Reconciliation of the archaeology and the historical sources in a controversial route. Roman cities and roads, once correctly identified, can be appropriately conserved. Moreover, the correct identification of Roman transport routes will vindicate the accuracy of recent studies on the network of Roman transport infrastructure and its connectivity, functionality, and impact. With this aim in mind, a novel method is presented for computing the most likely location, from among the various proposed locations that may exist, of any Roman city that is cited both in a Roman itinerary and in Ptolemy's Geographia. In the first phase, the geographical area where the city was located is demarcated by means of the itinerary. In the second phase, Ptolemy's coordinates of well-known Roman cities from the province of the Roman Empire that is under consideration are correlated with those of the WGS 84 reference system by means of simple linear regressions. Having confirmed the normality of the regression error distribution, the bivariate normal distribution is computed, and the confidence intervals are determined. This method is implemented, to identify the most probable location of the Vaccaean city of Intercatia in Hispania, and to propose a new route for the Roman road that once passed through it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the end of the first century and especially throughout the second century ad , a public building programme was largely responsible for the transformation of Saguntum's urban planning, especially, outside the walls of this well-known Hispano-Roman city. The aim of this article is to present the features of the monumental landscape outside the city walls, including an outstanding honorary construction, which strongly influenced the design of public architecture at a time of political and socio-economic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes that the Synoptic Gospels' pronouncements of Isa 40.3 (Matt 4.3; Mark 1.2–3; Luke 3.4–6) invite a comparison with the Roman road system and its extensive broadcast of Roman imperial ideology. Heralding the sovereignty of a coming king on newly constructed roads through difficult terrain, Matthew, Mark and Luke portray the coming of the kingdom of God in terms analogous to the laying of Roman roads followed by the enforcement of Roman rule throughout the Roman Empire. If Isa 40.3 heralded the arrival of the true God through the ministry of Jesus, as the Synoptic Gospels proclaim, then Rome's pretentions were by implication counterfeit. The engineering feats of raising ravines, levelling heights, smoothing terrain and making straight highways denoted Roman expansion, conquest and the standardisation of Roman imperial ideology. In contradistinction, the Synoptic Gospels' citations of Isa 40.3 presage the triumph of God, while simultaneously parodying Roman imperial ideology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Illyrica / Godišnjak Udruženja BATHINVS ACTA ILLYRICA is the property of Association for the Study & Promotion of Illyrian Heritage, Ancient & Classical Civilizations and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Banatica is the property of Museum of Highland Banat and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Espacio, Tiempo y Forma: Serie II, Historia Antigua is the property of Editorial UNED and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Roman Imperial Roads (highways) built, maintained and organized by the Roman army and provincial authorities were studied in the Golan Heights since Schumacher’s surveys in the 1880s. However, most of these were obliterated by building and agricultural activity since the beginning of the 20th century. Local ancient road system, linking individual communities and their agricultural land was never studied, since it barely leaves a trace in archaeological record. This paper presents reconstruction of inter-provincial highways passing through the southern Golan Heights, and local road system in GIS using cumulative focal mobility network (CFMN) analysis. The CFMN provides outline of natural corridors of movement in the region. From CFMN it is possible to extract path with higher mobility potential which will be tested against present evidence for Roman Imperial Highways, since it is assumed that corridors with high mobility potential would be suitable place for construction of (inter-)provincial road. Path with lower mobility potential might indicate local road system, so it would be possible to connect agricultural communities with the land they exploited; which in turn may have implications for site prediction and site-catchment analysis exploring quotidian movement of people and goods in the landscape. Two case studies in this respect are presented: the city of Hippos and settlement of es-Safuriyye.

The excavation of a section of the Old path from Orleans to Paris at Massy has shown a real archaeogeographical textbook case outlining the different phases of the transformation of a gallic sunken road in a gallo-roman road, whose route was used until the Modern period. Outside this focus, the whole of the ancient road has been restituted by observing on the maps the traces left by the use of the Gallo- Roman (2222 m) and the Gallic (2535 m) leagues during the survey campaigns. The cartographic analysis was extended to routes between the cities of Paris, Chartres, and Orleans (fig. 1), and it shows the use of an identical gallic league in Carnute, Senon and Parisii territories and the use of common zero points established on the urban limits for the calculation of the distances. Beyond the restitution of the road networks, this study has revealed that many menhirs, supposedly Neolithic, were in fact standing on points established with the gallo-roman league metric and sometimes directly erected on the limits (Fines) of ancient cities. This data allows one to reconsider the dating of the erection of these megaliths, thereby advancing the idea of a terminus post quem from the ancient period.

This paper deals with the analysis of the ancient road network around the city of Padua, attempts to reconstruct its morphology and to define its genesis and development between the second Iron Age and Late Antiquity (6th/5th cent. BC to 6th cent. AD). The study follows a methodological approach that today we define as „archaeomorphological“, first proposed by E. Vion in the late 1980s. By applying this methodology to the Paduan territory, it was possible to identify a series of routes of probable ancient origin radially converging toward the center of Roman Patavium, and linking it to other urban centers in the region and to the minor centers located within its ager. The presence of Iron Age settlements along the path of many of these routes suggests that the development of such a road network likely begins in pre-Roman times, which also highlights the ancient strategic importance of Padua and its territory as a fundamental junction between the center and the North-East of the Italian peninsula. On the other hand, the Roman road network somehow survived into the Late Antiqueand Early Medieval times, always influencing the distribution of settlements and the orientation of churches, until it was for the greater part restored by the Commune of Padua over the 13th century.

The paper presents data concerning Sallunto-Bersumno-Scodra Roman roads (Riječani-Podgorica-Skadar) and intermediate communities in the southeastern parts of the province of Dalmatia. While researching ancient roads in the southeastern part of the province of Dalmatia (Montenegro), we relied on recorded oral sources, epigraph statues, milestones, bridge and road remains in the area. We discussed also contemporary historiographers' various opinions about the location of stations. Using the data obtained after visiting the area itself and the data from Peutingeriane and the Antonine Itinerary, we believe that the road led to the east from the Sallunto station (Riječani) to Anderba (Nikšić) and then to the Varis station (Povija), Halata (Spuž), Bersumno (Podgorica), across the Cinna station (Vuksan-Lekić) into Scodru (Skadar). Archaeological remains (the Roman settlement and road remains and the fragments of milestones) found in Riječani, Nikšić, Podgorica, Tuzi, Vuksan-Lekić and Skadar (the southeastern parts of the province of Dalmatia) point out that this area was connected by the network of Roman roads. However, it is believed today that Publius Cornelius Dolabella started building the road network and that it was finished during the rule of Claudius, i.e., in 48 AD. All the other dates (the 3rd and 4th centuries) and inscriptions are related to the road repair or renovation. We, however, do not have enough records which would enable us to determine easily reliable and precise location of these stations today. Therefore, the systematic research of this area, left to be done, will enable us to do that.

Within the framework of the new environmental history, this article focuses on the interaction between historical human societies and a given natural environment. Specifically, we study the spatial relationships between wetlands, Roman roads, and contemporary livestock trails, with the aim of verifying the role of wetlands as a support of territory planning since antiquity to the present. The documentation used includes geographical and ecological manuscripts together with ancient sources (texts, archaeology). Our results demonstrate an overlapping that remarks the importance of wetlands in the study area's territorial ordering during various historical moments. This result also opens the possibility of applying this reality to others parts of the Mediterranean region with the same climatological conditions and a similar history. The clear heritage value of the wetlands are compelling enough to take the necessary protection measures for their conservation in the face of the growing threat of their deterioration and disappearance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Illyrica / Godišnjak Udruženja BATHINVS ACTA ILLYRICA is the property of Association for the Study & Promotion of Illyrian Heritage, Ancient & Classical Civilizations and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Contributions / Prilozi is the property of Institute for History, University of Sarajevo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper reports on geochemical data collected using a He‐enabled handheld portable XRF (HHpXRF) from lava paving stones in Trajan's Forum (Hemicycle) and the Via Biberatica (Rome). Issues relating to HHpXRF field use and calibration are also addressed in detail. By means of this instrument, 355 analyses of the paving stones were collected and the data were processed using the standard techniques of igneous petrology and petrography. Provenancing was based on comparisons between the HHpXRF data and geological data from the abundant literature on Roman volcanic rocks. These comparisons placed the provenance of the paving stones in the Colli Albani, south‐east of Rome. Further analysis using Zr/Y versus Nb/Y discriminant diagrams suggests that the paving stones were quarried from two sources, both of which are represented in Trajan's Forum and the Via Biberatica. The diagrams suggest that the sources lie within the Faete and Vallerano lava complexes. The latter were probably transported to the construction site by barge on the River Tiber and the former were easily accessible by carts along the Via Appia. The study establishes the potential of HHpXRF equipment for non‐destructive analysis of paving stones both in Rome and at other sites in central Italy, and challenges a number of assumptions about the supply of building materials to Rome based on intuition alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this contribution the author discusses three issues relating to the course of the roads and settlements mentioned in the Stadiasmus Patarensis (SP): 1- All the roads recorded on the SP were measured from within the borders of town centres, except for those settlements given with the preposition διά. 2- The territories of the settlements were observed in the composition of the road list and indicated through διά when required. 3- All the settlements recorded on the SP had an autonomy with reference to fiscal basis and possessed territorial rights. The author begins the discussion with the use of the prepositions διά, εἰς and ἐπί, which relate to territories or natural formations, town zones and borders respectively, and the articles that were not used for the settlement names, but for the regions or natural formations recorded on the SP. The author understands the SP was not constructed as a route guide for travellers, as it does not provide “routes” (itinera) but “roads” (viae) and, in consequence, it should be regarded as an official inventory of the roads, and consequently it is suggested that the recorded distances indicate the actual lengths of the roads between town-zones of settlements. Finally, based upon the argumentation outlined above, the author points out the autonomous nature of the settlements recorded in the SP. He also discusses the possible reasons for the omission of some ports, and concludes that it was because they were either, not poleis at the time or, they were ports under the control of other settlements, such as Andriake of Myra, with the roads given to the cities to which these ports belonged.