Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, Vol. 17, No 3, (2017), pp. 163-189 Copyright © 2017 MAA Open Access. Printed in Greece. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1005562 A GIS-BASED ANALYSIS OF THE RATIONALE BEHIND ROMAN ROADS. THE CASE OF THE SO-CALLED VIA XVII (NW IBERIAN PENINSULA) João Fonte1, 2, César Parcero-Oubiña1 and José Manuel Costa-García3, 4 1 Instituto de Ciencias del Patrimonio (Incipit), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Spain 2 Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, UK 3 Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain 4 Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands Received: 06/07/2017 Accepted: 01/10/2017 Corresponding author: César Parcero-Oubiña (
[email protected]) ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to dig deeper in order to gain a better understanding of the territorial logic of Roman roads, following some recent approaches based on the use of digital modelling tools. Taking the case of the so-called via XVII (a ca. 330 km itinerary which joined Bracara Augusta and Asturica Augusta, NW Iberian Peninsula), the paper explores various factors, both natural and cultural, which may have been determinant in the layout of main roads in the Roman period. This study has followed a non-reconstructive methodology based on the theoretical idea of "least-cost paths" implemented by way of GIS tools. The analysis combines different variables which have an impact on human mobility (such as terrain slope and altitude, and the a priori existence of some primary nodes) and different spatial scales of analysis. As an outcome, we have achieved a detailed understanding of the factors behind the layout of this road and, in doing so, we have also drawn some conclusions regarding the historical context of its origin and development.