Özbalaban, O.S., Peker, M. (2025). “This Place Is Not What It Used To Be”. The Everchanging Road Networks Through the Ages on Mount Nif and Its Surroundings. In: Pavlidis, G., Sylaiou, S. (eds) Transforming Heritage Research in a Transforming World: 5th CAA-GR Conference 2024. CAA-GR 2024. Springer Proceedings in Archaeology and Heritage. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-06389-2_3

The ancient road network analysis provides useful information for interpreting the historical dynamics of ancient times. Furthermore, the ancient road networks assist us in localizing the ancient places and understanding their utilization over time. However, those analyses have a pair of structural risks due to the nature of current topographical datasets and the effects of modern settlements and constructions. In this research, as a case study, it is planned to bring into question about how we can achieve more coherent road networks.

Therefore, more accurate localization of ancient networks of places will lead us to generate more efficient datasets that can be used in modern urban planning. The research area is the eastern side of Mount Nif (Olympos) in Izmir which lies between chorai of Smyrna and Ephesos in Antiquity. This land controls the roads from Sardeis to Ephesos via the mountain pass in Karabel which hosts the Hittite rock monument with the same name. Thus, it is aimed to reproduce a more precise route map based on the remains of ancient roads, bridges, defensive buildings, tumuli, rural settlements, mines, quarries, and historical maps, each of which is a tangible element of cultural heritage. With this research, it is prospected to re-elaborate and refine the transportation and land use dynamics in this area, especially between the fourth century B.C. and the second century A.D.

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