Maps 2 Assignment

Due: Thursday at 8

Big question: How does historical GIS help us answer questions about the ancient Roman world?

Learning objectives. By the end of this lesson you will:

  1. demonstrate familiarity with robust historical GIS interfaces.

  2. calculate distance and speed using historical GIS.

  3. analyze information you learn from historical GIS.

  4. be able to evaluate the usefulness of GIS metadata on historical GIS maps.

Background Information and Step 1

For this lesson you are going to be using, rather than building, GIS maps. You will use the Orbis map and the Augustan Rome map. Please note that these are interactive maps, so if a map doesn’t work at first, please try your secondary browser.

NOTE: Augustan Rome is built with Flash. To access this, use the Chrome browser, click on the “not secure” text on the left-hand side of the URL, go to “settings” and turn on flash and pop ups for this site. After reloading the website, it should work. You do not need to download flash.

The lesson is in two parts. The first part asks you to use Orbis to answer questions about travel from Memphis (Egypt) to Melita (Malta) to Argentorate (France). The second part asks you to evaluate the Augustan Rome map for its use of metadata (information attached to map points).

Please post your answers to the Experiment 9 discussion board.

Criteria
For this exercise, you are a male merchant, carrying a valuable package of silk from Memphis to Argentorate (current-day Strasbourg, France). You have promised your sister-in-law to stop in Melita (current day Malta) to deliver a letter to her husband. You are have enough money to travel by foot or by oxcart. Although you are willing to sail on a boat, your can only afford a slow boat or a boat that only travels during daylight. It is currently fall, and you must reach Argentorate by Spring in order to sell your silk.

Please read the following directions carefully. There are multiple questions in each section to answer.

Background Information and Step 1
Background Information and Step 1

Set your base information.

  1. Set your departure town.

  2. Set your arrival town.

  3. Set the season to fall.

  4. Set your “Network Modes” and the “Mode” based on the scenario given above.

Questions:

Set your base information.
Set your base information.

Zones of influence

  1. Click on the “Network” tab.

  2. Center on Argentorate and then Memphis.

  3. Click “Calculate Network”

  4. Click on “Zones”

Questions:

Zones of influence
Zones of influence

Calculating flow in the Roman empire

  1. Reset the map (on the right hand side.

  2. Set a route from Memphis to Melita.

  3. Click on “Flow” and then “Calculate Flow.”

Questions

Calculating flow in the Roman empire
Calculating flow in the Roman empire

What is the best season to travel in the Roman empire?

Rest the map.

  1. Calculate the fastest route from Memphis to Argentorate, with the necessary stop in Melita, given your constraints?

  2. Click on Months.

Question

What is the best season to travel in the Roman empire?
What is the best season to travel in the Roman empire?

Digital Augustan Rome: http://digitalaugustanrome.org

  1. Choose two points on the Augustan Rome map your find interesting.

  2. Write a single paragraph about each point relating what is included in the metadata attached to the point to what you read in our background reading of last week. Specifically, who do your GIS points help, hinder, confuse or clarify the story of Augustus and the city of Rome?

Digital Augustan Rome: http://digitalaugustanrome.org
Digital Augustan Rome: http://digitalaugustanrome.org