THE BERYTUS-HELIOPOLIS BAALBAK ROAD IN THE ROMAN PERIOD: A LEAST COST PATH ANALYSIS
Authors/Creators
- 1. Department of Arts and Archaeology, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences-Branch 2-Fanar, Lebanese University, Lebanon
- 2. Department of Geography, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences-Branch 2-Fanar, Lebanese University, Lebanon
Description
The Mount Lebanon range has permanently formed a main barrier to communication between the coast and the Bekaa valley. During the Roman period, official authorities were confronted to a significant challenge in establishing an efficient route joining the colony of Berytus to its territorial possessions in the northern Bekaa which included the town of Heliopolis Baalbak. This case study aims to find the least cost path for the road between both cities based on slope dependent functions using GIS technologies. Three generated models are cross-referenced to historical and archaeological data for validation purposes. The validated path indicates that the planning of the Berytus-Baalbak Heliopolis road seems to have been primarily based on minimizing energy cost by reducing the crossing distance over steep slopes.