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Routes of Iron - Least Cost Path Analysis of the Possible Routes and Ways in which Iron was Transported during the Later Part of Iron Age in Scania, Halland and Småland

Rosborg, Simon LU (2018) ARKM21 20181
Archaeology
Abstract
Iron is an important material in the study of societies of the Iron Age and later periods. Not
only does it give its name to the period it was also an integrated part in every humans’ life
from the Iron Age and forward. And yet this material is many times just assumed to be there
without much consideration of how it got there. In this master thesis, the author thus tries
to bridge this gap in between the production of iron and the user. This is done using the
spatial analysis method of Least Cost Path Analysis in order to explore what energyconservation can tell us about routes and methods used for transportation and travel in the
north Scanian, south Halland and south Småland area during the latter part of the Iron Age.
The... (More)
Iron is an important material in the study of societies of the Iron Age and later periods. Not
only does it give its name to the period it was also an integrated part in every humans’ life
from the Iron Age and forward. And yet this material is many times just assumed to be there
without much consideration of how it got there. In this master thesis, the author thus tries
to bridge this gap in between the production of iron and the user. This is done using the
spatial analysis method of Least Cost Path Analysis in order to explore what energyconservation can tell us about routes and methods used for transportation and travel in the
north Scanian, south Halland and south Småland area during the latter part of the Iron Age.
The material is gathered from both archaeologic contexts and research as well as from
geological data collection and research. The study is conducted using five iron production
sites showing signs of production during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. From these
several paths are calculated to the destination using three different scenarios, one in which
water is assigned low values and thus making travel through water very attractive for the
algorithm used to calculate the paths. Then one scenario is used in which water has been
somewhat restrained. Lastly, one scenario is used in which water is given the highest values
possible forcing the algorithm to choose a terrestrial path. The results of the study are then
looked at against a background of Iron Age society and political centres in the landscape, and
what this might be able to tell us about where the iron was headed. As the calculation of
least cost paths indicates areas in which movement is likely to occur in the landscape the
possibility to use the results of studies like this for the prediction of unknown sites in the
landscape is explored. The results of the study show that there are strong reasons to believe
that the Scanian and Halland waterways have been used more extensively than previously
argued for. Further, the results obtained generate good possibilities for future research into
the prediction of unknown sites, and several interesting areas have been identified within
the scope of this project. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Rosborg, Simon LU
supervisor
organization
course
ARKM21 20181
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Least Cost Path, iron, Iron Age, waterways, roads, travel, transport, Early Medieval Period, boats, wagons, hollow way, landscape
language
English
id
8963113
date added to LUP
2020-05-26 17:37:51
date last changed
2020-05-26 17:37:51
@misc{8963113,
  abstract     = {{Iron is an important material in the study of societies of the Iron Age and later periods. Not
only does it give its name to the period it was also an integrated part in every humans’ life
from the Iron Age and forward. And yet this material is many times just assumed to be there
without much consideration of how it got there. In this master thesis, the author thus tries
to bridge this gap in between the production of iron and the user. This is done using the
spatial analysis method of Least Cost Path Analysis in order to explore what energyconservation can tell us about routes and methods used for transportation and travel in the
north Scanian, south Halland and south Småland area during the latter part of the Iron Age.
The material is gathered from both archaeologic contexts and research as well as from
geological data collection and research. The study is conducted using five iron production
sites showing signs of production during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. From these
several paths are calculated to the destination using three different scenarios, one in which
water is assigned low values and thus making travel through water very attractive for the
algorithm used to calculate the paths. Then one scenario is used in which water has been
somewhat restrained. Lastly, one scenario is used in which water is given the highest values
possible forcing the algorithm to choose a terrestrial path. The results of the study are then
looked at against a background of Iron Age society and political centres in the landscape, and
what this might be able to tell us about where the iron was headed. As the calculation of
least cost paths indicates areas in which movement is likely to occur in the landscape the
possibility to use the results of studies like this for the prediction of unknown sites in the
landscape is explored. The results of the study show that there are strong reasons to believe
that the Scanian and Halland waterways have been used more extensively than previously
argued for. Further, the results obtained generate good possibilities for future research into
the prediction of unknown sites, and several interesting areas have been identified within
the scope of this project.}},
  author       = {{Rosborg, Simon}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Routes of Iron - Least Cost Path Analysis of the Possible Routes and Ways in which Iron was Transported during the Later Part of Iron Age in Scania, Halland and Småland}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}