Modelling seafaring in Iron Age Atlantic Europe
<p>The extent to which a European ‘Atlantic Zone’ was connected by maritime links in the Iron Age is debatable, as direct evidence is fragmentary and no accounts from contemporary inhabitants of Atlantic Europe survive. This thesis contributes to this debate by developing a new navigation mode...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2020
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| _version_ | 1826277604764680192 |
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| author | Smith, KJ |
| author2 | Schulting, R |
| author_facet | Schulting, R Smith, KJ |
| author_sort | Smith, KJ |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>The extent to which a European ‘Atlantic Zone’ was connected by maritime links in the Iron Age is debatable, as direct evidence is fragmentary and no accounts from contemporary inhabitants of Atlantic Europe survive. This thesis contributes to this debate by developing a new navigation model and deploying the model in the western English Channel. This thesis seeks to understand (1) whether proposed routes across the Channel would have been viable and whether other alternatives may have existed, (2) whether or not promontory forts could have been used as landmarks for navigator, and (3) how aspects of navigation – such as speed potential, landmarks, and ability to read conditions – may have affected Channel crossings. The model developed for this analysis is a fully agent-based model, in which simulated navigators follow a set of instructions without input from a human operator. A model that allows simulated ships to go off-course and potentially not reach their destinations can be used to evaluate routes in terms of risk and reliability.</p>
<p>The main analysis here consists of a comprehensive survey of simulated Channel crossings from March-September 2018. The results of this analysis suggest that crossings were most successful in brief windows, critique pre-existing schemes of Channel crossing, and evaluate whether certain coastal ‘nodes’ may have been more or less useful as points of departure across the Channel. Case studies focus on (1) the identification of a Continental node ‘corresponding’ to Hengistbury Head, and the potential of Guernsey as a ‘staging port’ for northbound voyages; (2) the connection between Iron Age settlements at Le Yaudet and Mount Batten, and the relative effects of parameter inputs to the model; and (3) the visibility of landmarks at the end of the Cornish and Breton peninsulas. These results demonstrate the value of the model for future analysis and its potential for further development.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T23:31:25Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:6c266b3d-1cb4-4b43-9592-2a0db3cbe924 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T23:31:25Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:6c266b3d-1cb4-4b43-9592-2a0db3cbe9242022-03-26T19:08:57ZModelling seafaring in Iron Age Atlantic EuropeThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:6c266b3d-1cb4-4b43-9592-2a0db3cbe924Navigation, PrehistoricGeographic information systemsArchaeologySpatial analysis (Statistics) in archaeologyEnglishHyrax Deposit2020Smith, KJSchulting, RPouncett, J<p>The extent to which a European ‘Atlantic Zone’ was connected by maritime links in the Iron Age is debatable, as direct evidence is fragmentary and no accounts from contemporary inhabitants of Atlantic Europe survive. This thesis contributes to this debate by developing a new navigation model and deploying the model in the western English Channel. This thesis seeks to understand (1) whether proposed routes across the Channel would have been viable and whether other alternatives may have existed, (2) whether or not promontory forts could have been used as landmarks for navigator, and (3) how aspects of navigation – such as speed potential, landmarks, and ability to read conditions – may have affected Channel crossings. The model developed for this analysis is a fully agent-based model, in which simulated navigators follow a set of instructions without input from a human operator. A model that allows simulated ships to go off-course and potentially not reach their destinations can be used to evaluate routes in terms of risk and reliability.</p> <p>The main analysis here consists of a comprehensive survey of simulated Channel crossings from March-September 2018. The results of this analysis suggest that crossings were most successful in brief windows, critique pre-existing schemes of Channel crossing, and evaluate whether certain coastal ‘nodes’ may have been more or less useful as points of departure across the Channel. Case studies focus on (1) the identification of a Continental node ‘corresponding’ to Hengistbury Head, and the potential of Guernsey as a ‘staging port’ for northbound voyages; (2) the connection between Iron Age settlements at Le Yaudet and Mount Batten, and the relative effects of parameter inputs to the model; and (3) the visibility of landmarks at the end of the Cornish and Breton peninsulas. These results demonstrate the value of the model for future analysis and its potential for further development.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Navigation, Prehistoric Geographic information systems Archaeology Spatial analysis (Statistics) in archaeology Smith, KJ Modelling seafaring in Iron Age Atlantic Europe |
| title | Modelling seafaring in Iron Age Atlantic Europe |
| title_full | Modelling seafaring in Iron Age Atlantic Europe |
| title_fullStr | Modelling seafaring in Iron Age Atlantic Europe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Modelling seafaring in Iron Age Atlantic Europe |
| title_short | Modelling seafaring in Iron Age Atlantic Europe |
| title_sort | modelling seafaring in iron age atlantic europe |
| topic | Navigation, Prehistoric Geographic information systems Archaeology Spatial analysis (Statistics) in archaeology |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT smithkj modellingseafaringinironageatlanticeurope |