Carmen Obied

Challenging maritime perceptions of the Classical world:  Roman imagination of coastal landscapes

Supervisor: Dr. Lucy Blue

Abstract:

This research challenges a prevailing notion that the Romans never made the “cognitive leap” of using maps as a way of defining spatial associations. With new advances in computer and digital technology, it is possible to integrate earlier Cartesian views with the more linear perspective.The study will combine and question such two-dimensional approaches and see how they are reflected in the semiotics and iconography of maritime data. This will be achieved by analysing ancient literature, cartography of harbours, trade routes and landscapes/seascapes in the Mediterranean and Red Sea regions, using GIS, Google Earth and landscape modelling. Deconstructing the way Romans perceived and mapped their coastal landscape, and creating a systematic model will provide compelling new evidence on ancient trading systems from a maritime perspective and will challenge misconceptions of Roman views of spatial awareness.

email: co206@soton.ac.uk