GIS application in archaeology for geospatial information management: the ancient Hybla Heraia road networks

Abstract

This paper is based on the master thesis work in Archaeology titled “Dinamiche insediative e viabilità nella regione iblea dalla preistoria
all'epoca tardoantica”. This thesis has been discussed at the University of Pisa and is concerned with the reconstruction of the ancient
road system here hypothesized and responsible for linking the main human settlements, resources and the rich and celebrated territory
of the south-western sector of the Iblei. Indeed, this ancient road network is linked to prehistoric and historical frequentation of Hybla
Heraia, now Ragusa, and its territory. In this study, geo-spatial data have been employed using Quantum GIS: a free and open source
Geographic Information System.
The archaeological evidence and the pre-existing routes, identified in south-eastern Sicily, have contributed to enriching our knowledge
and our understanding of the phenomena related to the dynamics of settlements, particularly about the area of the middle course of the
Irminio river, and its historical, social, political, and economic transformations, that have evolved over the centuries in this portion of
the western and southern district of the Iblei, taken as a case study.
The collection and analysis of new data from the ancient urban roadways of Ragusa and the connective tissue between this city, the
course of the Irminio river and the valleys of San Leonardo in the north and of Santa Domenica in the south, have allowed a new
reading of the historical landscape and the changing relationship between the center and its hinterland.