A wall or a road? A remote sensing-based investigation of fortifications on Rome's eastern frontier

Bibliographic Data

ID3175376
AuthorsJ Casana (0000-0002-4445-1802, Dartmouth College, corresponding author), David D Goodman (Dartmouth College), Carolin Ferwerda (0009-0009-8498-6711, Dartmouth College)
Year2023
Volume97
Issue396
Pages1516-1533
Publication date2023-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAntiquity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-598X • E-ISSN: 1745-1744
PublisherAntiquity Publications (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.15184/aqy.2023.153
OpenAlexW4387958889
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited31

During a pioneering aerial survey of the Near East in the 1920s, Father Antoine Poidebard recorded hundreds of fortified military buildings that traced the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire. Based on their distribution, Poidebard proposed that these forts represented a line of defence against incursions from the east. Utilising declassified images from the CORONA and HEXAGON spy satellite programmes, the authors report on the identification of a further 396 forts widely distributed across the northern Fertile Crescent. The addition of these forts questions Poidebard's defensive frontier thesis and suggests instead that the structures played a role in facilitating the movement of people and goods across the Syrian steppe

Ancient history · Archaeology · Distribution (mathematics) · Empire · Frontier · Geography · Identification (biology) · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeological Research and Protection · Archaeology and Historical Studies · History

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