The Role of the Road in Settling a Mountainous Region

Abstract Although fertile soil is rare in central Slovakia, the region is rich in raw minerals, a resource exploited since the Palaeolithic. Maintaining trade through a reliable network of safe routes across the mountainous landscape was of vital importance, and the remains of roads that connected this mining area to the rest of the world can still be found. Furthermore, the south–north route connecting these resources with the Carpathian Basin in the south and the Vistula River Basin in the north may have played an important role as a possible bypass to the well-known Amber Road. By combining walkthrough surveys and high-resolution LiDAR data, the paths of single roads can be reconstructed and analysed in relation to the main routes. Furthermore, by applying the geographic information system-based spatial context of settlement structures, analyses can be performed on whether routes passing through certain areas caused the establishment of settlements or whether the routes were built to connect the established sites with the rest of the road network. Finally, defining ancient route planning strategies can help answer the question of how the main routes affect settlement patterns.