Preserving the Periphery: GIS Recording and Analysis of the Roman Kastra of Kalymnos, Greece (15 min)
Presenters
Drosos Kardulias, University of Michigan; P. Nick Kardulias, University of Michigan; Elliot Greiner, University of Michigan; and India Pruette, University of Michigan
Abstract
This report examines three
seventh-century Roman kastra on the Greek island of Kalymnos to elucidate the
dynamics of the island’s fortification scheme as a component of the empire’s
defensive strategy, through a balance of GIS analysis and extensive ground-truthing/informal
pedestrian survey.
GIS analysis of three Roman
fortifications attempts to elucidate ancient inhabitants’ responses to
conflict, including priorities of topographic selection, degrees of
autonomy/influence from the broader empire, battlefield dynamics, and tactical
aspects of community self-defense. GIS methodology such as viewsheds and
cost-path analyses are contextualized within the principles of contemporary
warfare, and then tested against conditions on the ground. This study has
implications for the maintenance of imperial hegemony through the
self-preservation actions of subjects, threat responses in insular communities,
the ways in which communities can survive cyclical violence, and the tactical
details of a civilian populace’s response to armed incursions.
This presentation on the
second season of field work will include invaluable new spatial data, the first
such high-precision work undertaken at these sites. The focuses of this season
are tracking resources acquisition and defensive positions, both within the
settlements themselves, and in the furthest, unsurveyed parts of the island.
This information brings us closer to understanding the defensive network of
Kalymnos, and from there the Aegean islands.
AIA-6E