Genetic Algorithms based road network in Cappadocia, Turkey. A GIS post-dictive approach

This paper focuses on a GIS-based spatial analysis aimed at reconstructing the Roman-Byzantine routes of central Cappadocia, Anatolia. Taking into consideration the various typologies of settlements and their distribution within that region, we approached the issue from an operational research perspective. The spatial analysis started from a meta-heuristic algorithm, based on Genetic Algorithms, implemented to find the 'best' path from the site of Tyana (modern Kemerhisar) to the site of Koloneia (today Aksaray). The algorithm was applied to a cost weighted map, that was elaborated overlaying the ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model and other raster maps with journey 'friction' or 'facilitation' factors. In this way, depending on the presence/absence of water sources, physical obstacles, or on a better level of visibility 'from the roads' or 'of the roads', each cell of the weighted map was defined by a specific value: the higher the values of the cells, the more expensive the track passing through them. The algorithm was also controlled by limiting the maximum journey distance between each pair of settlements and setting the maximum degree of slope along the track. The results of the spatial analysis were compared with the routes previously recreated on the basis of archeo-historical data.