Roads to Antiochia ad Cragum: Pedestrian Survey and a Least Cost Path Model of Roman Roads in the Vicinity of Antiochia ad Cragum, Southern Türkiye

Authors

• Alexander W. Pastor, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

LuAnn Wandsnider

Committee Members

Michael Hoff, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Date of this Version

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts

Major: Anthropology

Under the supervision of Professor LuAnn Wandsnider

Lincoln, Nebraska, May 2026

Comments

Copyright 2026, Alexander W. Pastor. Used by permission

Abstract

Antiochia ad Cragum, a Roman site located in modern southern Türkiye, has been intensively investigated through archaeological study. However, the surrounding landscape has received less attention. This thesis addresses this gap by examining how this past settlement might have been accessed, which is an important step in gaining a better understanding of how people and resources traveled overland and how infrastructure was made to accommodate this travel. Pedestrian survey was conducted along posited western and eastern segments of a Roman-era road, finding remains consistent with but not definitively establishing this interpretation. In addition, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was used to perform a Least Cost Path (LCP) analysis to identify potential road corridors to Antiochia ad Cragum. The LCP results did not predict the proposed Roman road but did identify that the fastest route (by foot) to the northwest leading to other Roman sites in the region initially traversed inland then veered north-northwest at Nephelion. The route followed the coast, heading inland again to Kestros. From there it turned northwest toward the coast until reaching Selanus. However, pedestrian survey recovered archaeological features indicating that the ancient road leading to Nephelion took a more northly route than predicted by the least cost analysis. Thus, while the least cost analysis did not accurately predict the ancient Roman road segment to Nephelion, it offers a comparative baseline to develop a more sophisticated least cost path model that integrates pedestrian survey data, historical sources, and more refined parameters tailored to southern Türkiye.

Advisor: LuAnn Wandsnider