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This chapter presents and discusses current approaches and trends in computer-based modelling of pathways and movement networks in archaeology. After an introduction to the theoretical concepts involved, we present a state of the art of methodologies applied for reconstructing pathways and movement in ancient landscapes and discuss the various difficulties in using these methods as well as the most important technical hurdles involved. The problems of integrating optimal pathfinding algorithms with ‘softer’ socio-cultural variables are highlighted, as well as the limitations of modelling connections between places using least-cost path techniques. Network analysis reconstruction and analysis approaches are then reviewed as tools to better understand the overall structure of movement and communication in ancient landscapes. It is concluded that, while the potential of current approaches for understanding ancient movement is considerable, improvement is still needed in three main areas: the integration of approaches, sensitivity analysis and validation, and the theoretical underpinning of models of ancient movement.

The aim of the PhD research on which this chapter is based is to reconstruct and analyse the cultural landscape of the Dutch area using computational approaches, specifically to model and analyse transport networks, settlement patterns and their relationship with the natural environment, to better understand the interactions between the Roman military population and the local population that lived in this frontier region. The goal of this chapter is to present the general results of this study and showcase the technical, methodological and interpretative aspects that it has contributed to the research field of computational archaeology and to the archaeological understanding of the Dutch part of the Roman .

The analysis of Roman infrastructures, which helps to understand the transport costs, the commercial routes and the territorial configuration, is an indispensable way to know the benefits and shortcomings of the transportation system created in Roman times. It is well known that the Roman Empire built the first big transport network in Western Europe, parts of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa. In this paper, we show our attempt to reconstruct the Roman transport conditions in Hispania by valuating its connectivity and by modelling the travel costs and times. All of these calculations have been made based in a highly digitized transport network and Network Science applications. The results of such methodologies provide us with new information to understand the Iberian territorial organisation, the distribution of commodities, product competition and problems of stagnation in ancient economies such as that of Ancient Rome.

GIS-based digital modelling tools, such as the well-known least cost paths (LCP), have been widely used in archaeology in recent years as ways of approaching forms of mobility in the past. Roman roads are among the best-known examples of ancient networks of paths and have been widely studied using such approaches. In this paper, we shall make a general reflection on the applicability of those tools for the modelling and analysis of ancient routes, with a special focus on Roman roads. Drawing from a case study in the NW Iberian Peninsula, we shall discuss certain aspects related to the potential and limits of Cumulative Costs, LCP and other related tools for the modelling and analysis of ancient roads. We will illustrate how the use of tools which explore potential mobility in less restricted ways can help to overcome some of the limitations of LCP.

Despite a range of existing approaches for examining movement within ancient cities, the study of movement intent has received limited attention. This paper begins to address this gap by considering how pedestrian movement can be studied at Ostia, Rome’s ancient port, by transitioning focus to what structured movement routes, namely the built environment and social activity. Using the UNA (Urban Network Analysis) Toolbox developed for ArcGIS, betweeness centrality is calculated in relation to different types of buildings. The results, when associated with Ostia’s streets, provide a visualization of potential areas of movement specific to certain social activities that occurred within the urban landscape. This provides a novel methodological approach for assessing different forms of directed movement within ancient urban landscapes.