Network Anaylisis of Roman Transport Routes in the Imperial Roman Mediterranean

David Potts

This research is designed to explore the nature of the relationships between Portus, Rome, and other selected ports in the Mediterranean and to establish patterns and the changing nature of trading networks derived from the distribution of known Roman artefacts.

It is envisaged that the project will produce useful information about possible Roman trading routes and contacts in the Mediterranean, with respect to seasonal changes and external trade relationships which will provide a basis for future theoretical and practical research in the area.

The current generation of network analysis of transportation networks within the archaeological sphere focuses on a methodology derived from the centrality and closeness of the individual locations within a static network representation. In this analysis the purpose of the locations is often overlooked, possible interactions omitted and changes to network configuration ignored. For example it often assumed that networks remain unchanged through out time, this not normal case.

This research proposal suggests that networks should be examined within the concept of a software agent which can be programmed to mimic the different actions of a theoretical population, in the context of changes of season and movement of resources abstracted from known sources, to quantify and characterise the inter node relationships.

Software agents are derived from the concept of the finite state machine, which is often used in gaming technologies to create the concept of an intelligent opponent which reacts to input states and responses from a preconfigured set of output actions. The interaction between multiple instances of different software agents may illuminate aspects of network analysis that may not be obvious when using traditional analytical methodologies.

Some examples of issues that could be examined to see if variations are significant to trading patterns are given below:

1. Was the Roman trading network a static system or did it develop over time with different ports becoming more significant and other port losing their status? For example London was once an important port, but is now considered insignificant.
2. Which ports could became significant in terms of possible maximum and minimum trade flow? Portus was the port for Rome, the principal city of the empire. From the status of the city it may be tempting to assume that the maximum traffic was routed via this port, but was that the case?
3. Was the aggregation of a series local trading routes into a long distance route the result of series or random probabilities of a reflection of deliberate act of organisation?
4. Was the placement of ports related significantly to physical geography or the development or availability of other resources?
5. Did individual ports act as final destination for goods or did they merely form part of a distributive system for trading of Roman artefacts? For example where all good consume in a given city or were they forwarded by another boat elsewhere?
6. Could a different pattern of interconnectivity between the different ports of affect the development of trading networks?
7. Was the size of boat important? Roman boats came in many different sizes and required different designs of harbour to service them
8. Did the speed of transport affect the development of trade?
9. The effects of adverse weather, the change in the season?