Spatial analysis of settlement patterns in Bithynia

This thesis examined the economic development in NW Asia Minor, i.e. Bithynia, during the Hellenistic, Roman and Early Byzantine periods. Based on the available historical and archaeological data, the thesis demonstrates the development in the territory using as the main tool quantified spatial and temporal analyses. The analyses take an advantage of a multi-scalar approach, studying the data in the entire NW Asia Minor described as a macro-region and in one micro-region within, limited to the hinterland of Nicaea.

The thesis demonstrates the applicability of several analytical tools, lately frequently applied to assess the archaeological record. The tools include the Voronoi diagram / Thiessen polygons for the division of the territory, Ring buffers for the determination of an urbanized area, the Least cost path analysis for the prediction of the most feasible roads, the Line of sight and the Viewshed analysis for the visibility between monuments.

This dissertation project was successfully completed within the research group A-6 Economic space of the Excellence Cluster 264 Topoi.

[see also: http://www.topoi.org/project/a-6-6-1/]