Remote Sensing and GIS Modelling of Roman Roads in South West Britain

The recent availability of a systematic airborne LiDAR coverage for England in the scope of the Environment Agency’s ‘National LiDAR Programme’ has enabled the mapping of a new Roman road network system in South West Britain, an area where there was little solid evidence for a system of long-distance roads. To understand the rationale behind their construction, a GIS spatial analysis approach to model movement was developed. The results indicate that this network privileged the movement of animal-drawn wheel vehicles, avoiding where possible areas subject to flooding risks. This road network is possibly the result of an evolutionary model, integrating pre-existing Prehistoric routeways with Roman military and civilian roads, most of which probably still in use in Medieval times.

Roman roads. Airborne LiDAR. GIS modelling. South West Britain.