Knowing The Way : GIS-Based Modelling of the Amber Road and Shared Spatial Knowledge between the Baltic and the Roman World, AD 1–500

Sammanfattning

This thesis examines the shared spatial knowledge of communities in the southern Baltic and the Roman frontier during AD 0–500 by modelling potential movement corridors across central Europe. Using least-cost path (LCP) analyses based on topography and hydrology, the study identifies key corridors and gateways—including the Váh, Nitra, and Žitava rivers, the Moravian Pass and Ostrava region, and the Prosna–Warta watershed, among others—that likely structured long-distance interaction and overlapping microspaces. Comparisons with archaeological evidence, through previously suggested routes in prior scholarship, indicate that the modelled corridors plausibly reflect historical movement patterns while also highlighting areas where social or political factors may have influenced route choice. To the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to apply LCP modelling to this region and period while introducing a theoretical perspective linking movement corridors to shared spatial realities. By integrating quantitative environmental modelling with spatially-informed archaeological data in the form of previous research, it provides a framework for understanding how overlapping microspaces emerged across central Europe during the Roman Imperial period.