Rethinking Roman perceptions of coastal landscapes : a case-study of the Levant
A recent resurgence of interest in the field of ancient geography and navigation has led to a need to re-evaluate the surviving corpus of ancient texts and archaeological evidence to seek alternative modes of perceiving space in the past. Links can be traced between ancient marinersâ practical experience and geographersâ conceptualisation of space, which present a complex âjigsaw puzzleâ of the oikoumene (known inhabited world). This research thus presents a case-study of the Levantine coast and explores alternative modes of perceiving space beyond the predominant linear approach. This is achieved through a comparative analysis of selected ancient sources, focusing on maritime archaeological evidence and geospatial analysis. The prime objective is to demonstrate the diverse nature and approaches of ancient authorsâ representation of the oikoumene, as a means of conceptualising spatial associations and navigating the seascape. This is investigated through two key themes that emerged in the data: (A) âStaticâ and (B) âMovementâ, within a multidisciplinary framework set in the Roman Levant. A âcommon sense geographyâ approach is adopted, in which themes are considered and explored through
Obied, Carmen
Rethinking Roman perceptions of coastal landscapes : a case-study of the Levant. A recent resurgence of interest in the field of ancient geography and navigation has led to a need to re-evaluate the surviving corpus of ancient texts and archaeological evidence to seek alternative modes of perceiving space in the past. Links can be traced between ancient marinersâ practical experience and geographersâ conceptualisation of space, which present a complex âjigsaw puzzleâ of the oikoumene (known inhabited world). This research thus presents a case-study of the Levantine coast and explores alternative modes of perceiving space beyond the predominant linear approach. This is achieved through a comparative analysis of selected ancient sources, focusing on maritime archaeological evidence and geospatial analysis. The prime objective is to demonstrate the diverse nature and approaches of ancient authorsâ representation of the oikoumene, as a means of conceptualising spatial associations and navigating the seascape. This is investigated through two key themes that emerged in the data: (A) âStaticâ and (B) âMovementâ, within a multidisciplinary framework set in the Roman Levant. A âcommon sense geographyâ approach is adopted, in which themes are considered and explored through
rethinking roman perception coastal_landscape case_study levant recent resurgence interest field ancient geography navigation lead need re_evaluate survive corpus ancient texts archaeological_evidence seek alternative mode perceive space past links trace ancient practical experience geographer conceptualisation space present complex puzzle know inhabit world thus present case_study levantine coast explores alternative mode perceive space beyond predominant linear approach achieve comparative_analysis select ancient_source focus maritime archaeological_evidence analysis prime objective diverse_nature approach ancient_author representation mean conceptualise spatial association navigate investigate two_key theme_emerge data static movement within multidisciplinary framework set roman levant common_sense geography adopt theme consider explore