Analysing Roman itineraries using GIS tooling

Summary

The spatial arrangement of the main stops considered by the previous authors, reveals a significantly different distribution of sites in the territory. In our analysis, we have omitted some points that were considered very close to others, such as the case of Puente de Meyjaboy with Marzán or Iría Flavia with Padrón (Fig. 2).Fig. 2Positions for each of the mansions in the Antonine Itinerary according to the various published studies. The position of each of the mansions can be found in different colors according to the authors consulted. Hence, the positions differ and there is no agreement in the study of the Road XI from Tude in Pontevedra province to Lucus Augusti in Lugo provinceIf we compare these results with the starting MADO analysis, we can notice how the optimal paths connecting the territory only match with specific segments of the proposed stops. This is due to two issues: The first one is the slope of the terrain, which rises from barely 50 m at Tui to 650 m at Lugo. It is essential to consider that only 24% of the terrain is flat, with less than a 4º slope, 42% with a 4–12º slope, 21% with a 12–20º slope, and 14% of the territory with slopes higher than 20º. This general trend in the Galician territory, the heart of the area under study, makes mobility difficult, with only a few natural paths. Additionally, this implies that the MADO analysis shows indirectly the three main corridors to connect the three cities that controls the territory: Bracara Augusta, Brigantium, and Luco Augusti (as noted above) (Fig. 3). This means that the MADO model used here, provides us with the main corridors, because the geography of the terrain is quite variable in both topography and slope. The natural passes are what they are and, therefore, the chosen communication routes must be within these areas.Fig. 3Optimal routes on Gallaecia territory (Pontevedra, Coruña, Lugo), using MADO tool. This figure represents indirectly the three main corridors to connect the three citi...