Testing models for medieval settlement location

Abstract

This contribution investigates two models for the spread of Medieval settlements in the landscape known as Bergisches Land in Germany. According to the first model, the spread was closely connected with the ancient trade routes on the ridges. The alternative model assumes that the settlements primarily developed in the fertile valleys. The models are tested in a study area for which the years are known when the small hamlets and villages were first mentioned in historical sources. It does not seem appropriate to apply straight-line distances in this context because the trade routes of that time include curves. Instead an adjusted distance metric is derived from the ancient trade routes. This metric is applied to generate a digital raster map so that each raster cell value corresponds to the adjusted distance to the nearest trade route (or fertile valley respectively). Finally, for each model a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test is applied to compare the adjusted distances of the Medieval settlements with the reference distribution derived from the appropriate raster map.