Investigating connectivity in the Metapontine chora using Least Cost Path

Bibliographic Data

ID13097253
AuthorsChristine Davidson (0000-0003-0308-8792, McMaster University, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume59
Pages104755-104755
Publication date2024-09-23
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Archaeological Science Reports (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2352-409X • E-ISSN: 2352-4103
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104755
OpenAlexW4402740305
LanguageEN
References cited19

Landscape archaeology helps to characterize ancient Greek territories. • Several linear anomalies in the landscape of Metaponto were likely ancient roads. • Digitized path-finding (Least Cost Path) allows us to visualize ancient travel. • Sanctuaries in the countryside acted as spaces for assembly and administration. • Communities formed in the countryside, using sanctuaries as places of interaction. Ancient sites identified through the surface-level collection of artifacts in the countryside of the Greek settlement of Metaponto reveal a collection of extra-urban necropoleis, sanctuaries, and farmsteads. Topographical anomalies identified in aerial photography of this area also suggest a possible system of land division. Using Least Cost Path, routes most likely used for travel are identified, many of which overlap the anomalous “division lines.” These routes represent potential roads between farmsteads and rural sanctuaries of Metaponto in the 5th-3rd centuries BCE, and their interaction with the “division lines” reveals their potential use within a system of property delineation in the chora (‘countryside’). The formation of rural communities centered upon these rural sanctuaries is also explored

Archaeology · Computer network · Economic geography · Geography · Path (computing · Computer Science · Diffusion and Search Dynamics · Geology

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