Beyond Least Cost Paths: Circuit theory, maritime mobility and patterns of urbanism in the Roman Adriatic

Abstract

Traditionally, Least Cost Paths (LCP) are used for exploring mobility across archaeological landscapes. However, LCPs only highlight optimal paths, and implementing maritime mobility is arduous. In this paper, Circuit Theory (CT) analysis is used to analyse potential mobility. Key to this is the effect of wind patterns, dependent on the month and direction of travel, on maritime mobility. This analysis is applied to the case study of urbanism in the Roman Adriatic, and it is shown that CT provides considerably more quantitative data than LCP. These data can then be used in deeper analysis of the archaeological landscape, showing the impact of potential mobility on various factors. The impact on site distribution appears to be significant, with urban centres consistently being located in areas with above average potential mobility values, particularly those in the Northern Adriatic. The impact on population hierarchy is more complex, and while the urban centres with the largest populations generally have higher potential mobility values, there is no straightforward correlation between the two, and so additional factors must have played a more significant role in determining this hierarchy, than in site distribution.