@phdthesis{01K80GX4A5YJ3S53SRZXVN3WF2,
  abstract     = {{This dissertation investigates the long-term spatial organization of city-state territories in central Crete from the Late Minoan II period (ca. 15th century BC) to the Roman conquest in 67/66 BC. Focusing primarily on the first millennium BC, it develops an integrative framework that combines archaeological survey data with spatial modeling and network analysis to reconstruct territorial boundaries and explore the dynamics of settlement, hierarchy, and borderlands.
At the core of this research lies the harmonization of heterogeneous legacy datasets derived from extensive and intensive surveys conducted across the modern Heraklion prefecture. A systematic approach is proposed to reconcile discrepancies and merge overlapping records of ancient settlements, correcting for spatial and chronological fragmentation. This harmonized dataset provides the foundation for a multi-scalar exploration of settlement trajectories and the territorial logic of ancient polities.
Building upon this base, the dissertation employs State Sequence Analysis to classify settlement evolutionary trajectories and identify persistent Central Places that played structuring roles in the regional landscape. Least-Cost Site Catchment Analysis is then used to model city-state territories around these Central Places, with the approach tested against epigraphic and archaeological evidence. Further, a network analysis of modeled corridors of movement, generated using the Focal Mobility Network procedure, evaluates how accessibility influenced site hierarchies and location choices over time.
The concluding synthesis centers on the role of borderlands as economically and strategically significant spaces. Rather than passive peripheries, they emerge as active areas hosting pastoral and agricultural resources, sanctuaries and routes of inter-polity connectivity. By analyzing these marginal areas, the study repositions borderlands as key elements in the spatial and political geography of ancient Crete.
Through its combination of methodological innovation and historical insight, this dissertation contributes to the broader field of Mediterranean landscape archaeology. It demonstrates the interpretive potential of integrating spatial analysis with archaeological datasets to understand long-term territorial dynamics and the socio-political structuring of ancient landscapes.}},
  author       = {{Drillat, Quentin}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{204}},
  publisher    = {{Ghent University. Faculty of Arts and Philosophy}},
  school       = {{Ghent University}},
  title        = {{Spatial organization, fragmentation and development of city-states in Central Crete (Late Minoan II – Hellenistic period)}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}