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Highlights

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Evaluated Mycenaean road networks using least-cost path modelling with R and Movecost.

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Tested five cost functions across varied parameters to model ancient movement routes.

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Identified wheeled-vehicle cost functions as optimal for Mycenaean road modelling.

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Demonstrated the importance of DEM and parameter selection for accurate reconstructions.

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Proposed new insights into the Mycenaean transport infrastructure and trade networks.

Abstract

This study evaluates multiple methodologies and their variants for Least Cost Path (LCP) modelling, applied in combination with different Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), to explore the broader applicability of the Movecost package, using the Mycenaean Road networks of the Peloponnese (Greece) as case studies. Using a geographic information system (GIS) and the R programming environment, this paper employs the Movecost package for the R statistical package to simulate ancient routes based on existing road segments. By integrating a variety of functions and parameters, this study evaluates their effectiveness across different DEMs, including both Shuttle Radar Topography Mission DEM (SRTM-DEM) and Copernicus DEM (COP-DEM) at 30 m spatial resolution. The study also examines how varying these parameters can lead to different modelling outcomes, underscoring the necessity of calibrating least-cost analysis to specific regional contexts. The road segments around Nichoria (Messenia), Ayios Ioannis Kazarma (Argolis), and in the Berbati Valley (Argolis), provide a historical canvas against which these methodological innovations are tested with the ultimate aim of exploring the capabilities of the Movecost package and how different combinations of DEM, function, parameter, and path points can effectively model the route through the existing road remains, highlighting the variability and context-specific nature of LCP modelling. The results suggest that the ‘Wheeled-vehicle critical cost function’ (WCS) was effective in modelling the roads through the extant remains based on start and endpoints suggested by previous research and posited by this paper. These results further suggest that Mycenaean roads likely served as key infrastructure links between major centres and ports or harbours, underscoring their role in facilitating regional trade and communication. However, this outcome represents one of several possible results, as the appropriateness of functions and the parameters tested depend on the specific landscape and archaeological context. This underscores the importance of careful parameter selection, providing insights into the economic and social landscapes of Mycenaean Greece, while also highlighting the potential of integrating spatial data with robust computational tools to enhance our understanding of ancient infrastructure.

Keywords

GIS and R

Least-cost modelling

Movecost

Mycenaean Greece

Ancient roads

Data availability

The data and R code that support this work have been deposited under “Appendix: Mycenaean roads in the Peloponnese, Greece: least-cost path modelling using R and Movecost” and can be accessed via https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12570128.

© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.