Papers by Quentin Drillat
Open Archaeology, 2024
Rescue archaeology in urban contexts often opens small windows on ancient settlements that need t... more Rescue archaeology in urban contexts often opens small windows on ancient settlements that need to be combined to better perceive the history of these settlements. This article suggests that the same combinatory approach should be employed with survey data. Indeed, archaeological surveys can split single ancient settlements into multiple archaeological sites due to visibility changes. It implies that the perception we have of legacy datasets must change: errors in location data might occur in older, and especially pre-GPS, survey datasets, but the fact that more recent projects have not been able to find sites on the exact same spots might also be related to changes in visibility windows. Using a case study from central Crete, Greece, where two survey projects were conducted in the same area, this article suggests that the variability in location data of sites recorded during survey projects can provide new insights into settlement patterns and dynamics. Notably, evidence of grouped settlements is found, including for periods such as Late Minoan II and Late Minoan III C, previously known for a strong decrease in large settlements’ occupation.
BABESCH, 2022
This paper proposes to model historically coherent microregions in which long-term dynamics of sp... more This paper proposes to model historically coherent microregions in which long-term dynamics of spatial organization can be studied. Using published datasets from a 520 km2 catchment area in south-central Crete (Greece), settlement evolution is traced by evolutionary trajectories whose variability is then analyzed with State Sequence Analysis. Around diachronically major settlements from Early Iron Age to the Hellenistic period, microregions are modeled using Site Catchment Analysis based on a modeled road network. This enables us to observe the development of small rural city-states, and to date the start of their formation process to the 9th century BC.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2022
Least-Cost Site Catchment (LCSC) analysis is a common tool to model the territories of polities o... more Least-Cost Site Catchment (LCSC) analysis is a common tool to model the territories of polities of homogeneous size in a Geographical Information System (GIS) environment. With coexisting very small and larger city-states, the context of Hellenistic (323–66 BC) Crete, Greece, does not allow to model directly city-states’ territories with LCSC analysis. This paper proposes to model subunits of equivalent size within the Hellenistic territories with LCSC and combine them to delimit city-states’ territories. Based on the Normalpolis model, which describes early Greek city-states as autonomous villages that can grow and integrate neighbor cities as secondary centers, the archaic city-states of the 7th century BCE are tested as subunits of later Hellenistic city-states. The city-state of Lato (eastern Crete, Greece) appears to be a valuable case study to test such a modeling approach because late 2nd century BCE epigraphical documents provide information on its borderlines. Various cost functions from the archaeological GIS literature are tested to find the most suitable to model Greek city-states’ boundaries. The results of this study indicate that LCSC analysis applied to archaic city-states is an efficient tool to model the territories of Hellenistic city-states. This paper also suggests that the borders of city-states in the 2nd century BCE followed borders that delimited the territories of independent polities in the archaic period. Territorial units delimited at the birth of the city-state organization appear then to remain mostly in place until the end of the Hellenistic period, former archaic city-states becoming subunits of Hellenistic city-states assembled depending on successive conquests.
Conference organization by Quentin Drillat
INVITATION
The Institute of Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation a... more INVITATION
The Institute of Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation and the Department of Archaeology at Ghent University cordially invite you to the International Conference titled “GIS in Crete: Archaeological Questions and Computational Answers”. The conference will be held in Athens on May 30-31, 2024, at the National Hellenic Research Foundation ("Leonidas Zervas" Auditorium). This conference is dedicated to exploring the pivotal role of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and geospatial analyses in addressing archaeological and historical research challenges on the island of Crete.
We have now uploaded the program and abstracts to our conference webpage. Should you have any questions or require additional information feel free to visit our website at https://www.ugent.be/lw/archeologie/en/news-events/events/gis-in-crete or contact us directly at gisincrete@gmail.com.
For online attendance, please register at https://rb.gy/6pgs4n.
The organizers,
Vyron Antoniadis, Senior Researcher, Institute of Historical Research, National Hellenic Research Foundation
Quentin Drillat, PhD candidate, Department of Archaeology, Ghent University – GIS manager, Eveha International
The Institute of Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation and the Departm... more The Institute of Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation and the Department of Archaeology at Ghent University are delighted to announce an upcoming International Conference entitled "GIS in Crete: Archaeological Questions and Computational Answers", which will take place in Athens on 30-31 May 2024. This conference aims to explore the significance of Geographic Information System (GIS) and geospatial analyses in addressing archaeological and historical inquiries specific to the island of Crete.
We cordially encourage researchers interested in participating in the conference to submit abstracts in English (maximum 250 words) for a 20-minute presentation by 27 October 2023. Please also include the title, name(s) of the author(s), affiliation(s), and contact information.
To submit your abstracts or direct any inquiries, please contact us at gisincrete@gmail.com or visit our website at https://www.ugent.be/lw/archeologie/en/news-events/events/gis-in-crete.
For further information, please see the attached poster.
We look forward to receiving your contributions and engaging in fruitful discussion on the use of GIS in the history and the archaeology of Crete.
Sincerely,
The organizers
Vyron Antoniadis, Senior Researcher, Institute of Historical Research, National Hellenic Research Foundation
Quentin Drillat, PhD candidate, Department of Archaeology, Ghent University
La Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene è lieta di invitarvi al Workshop Internazionale"Borders ... more La Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene è lieta di invitarvi al Workshop Internazionale"Borders in 1st millennium BC Crete", organizzato in collaborazione con la Scuola Belga di Atene e che si terrà il 20 e il 21 gennaio 2023.
Per partecipare al Workshop, sia in presenza sia a distanza, potete registrarvi al seguente link: https://forms.gle/P9Xcw3n7NZXDWrrN8
Per ulteriori informazioni, potete consultare il sito: https://www.ugent.be/.../new.../events/borders-in-crete-2023
Η Ιταλική Αρχαιολογική Σχολή Αθηνών με ιδιαίτερη χαρά σας προσκαλεί στο Διεθνές Συνέδριο «Borders in 1st millennium BC Crete», που διοργανώνεται σε συνεργασία με τη Βελγική Σχολή Αθηνών και θα πραγματοποιηθεί στις 20 και 21 Ιανουαρίου 2023.
Για να συμμετάσχετε στο Συνέδριο, ηλεκτρονικά ή σε ζωντανή μετάδοση, παρακαλείστε να εγγραφείτε στον ακόλουθο σύνδεσμο: https://forms.gle/P9Xcw3n7NZXDWrrN8
Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες, μπορείτε να επισκεφτείτε την ακόλουθη ιστοσελίδα: https://www.ugent.be/.../new.../events/borders-in-crete-2023
The Italian School at Athens is pleased to invite you to the International Workshop "Borders in 1st millennium BC Crete", organized in collaboration with the Belgian School of Athens, which will be held on January 20th and 21st 2023.
To attend (online or in person), please register here: https://forms.gle/P9Xcw3n7NZXDWrrN8
For further information on the workshop click below: https://www.ugent.be/.../new.../events/borders-in-crete-2023
🇮🇹 🇬🇷 🇧🇪 The Italian Archaeological School at Athens and the Belgian School at Athens are pleased... more 🇮🇹 🇬🇷 🇧🇪 The Italian Archaeological School at Athens and the Belgian School at Athens are pleased to share the Call for Papers of the:
📌 "International Interdisciplinary Workshop on Borders in the first millennium BC Crete".
📅 It will be held in Athens on January 20th and 21st, 2023, under the auspices of the Belgian School at Athens (EBSA) and of the Italian Archaeological School at Athens (SAIA).
⚠️ Abstract Submission: please submit a max. 250 words abstract in English together with the title of the presentation, name(s) and affiliation(s) of Author(s) to giacomo.fadelli@univr.it and quentin.drillat@ugent.be ➡️ until October 14th, 2022 ⬅️.
Research introduction by Quentin Drillat
TMA64, 2020
PhD research (Ghent University)
Talks by Quentin Drillat
GIS in Crete: Archaeological questions and computational answers, 2024
29th EAA annual meeting, 2023
In the modern Heraklion prefecture, central Crete, Greece, multiple city-states emerged and evolv... more In the modern Heraklion prefecture, central Crete, Greece, multiple city-states emerged and evolved during the first millennium BC within an area bounded by mountains: the Psiloritis to the West, the Lasithi to the East, and the Asterousia to the South. This highly compartmentalized landscape, split between multiple city-states, was, as a result, composed of many borderlands, areas at the frame of each independent territory. This paper aims to study these borderlands with a special focus on economic and social practices in relation to geo-environmental constraints. Since these marginal areas provided city-states with specific ecosystems interesting for specific activities such as pastoralism, their control and access were crucial for the economic sovereignty of polities. This paper will apply spatial analyses and modeling technics to define and characterize border zones, their access and their use. First, Least-Cost Site Catchment analysis enables to model city-states' border lines. Around them, border zones will be characterized based on terrain analysis and paleoenvironmental data, to estimate their agricultural and economic potential. These marginal landscapes will then be rehumanized by analyzing the accessibility of these zones from city centers with cost-based analyses. Finally, settlement patterns will be explored as a proxy of the social organization in borderlands. Combined with historical documents that describe borders and mention shared grazing rights among some city-states, this study will emphasize the importance of borderlands that were not only marginal areas but also zones of economic activities and places of both social opposition and cooperation.
13th International Congress of Cretan Studies, 2022
The end of the palatial organization in Crete implies a major rupture in the spatial organization... more The end of the palatial organization in Crete implies a major rupture in the spatial organization of the island. Out of the ruins of large Bronze Age territorial states, multiple small-scale territories rose in Early Iron Age. This paper aims to study the evolution until the Hellenistic period of these newly constituted territorial units in the Anapodaris catchment, south-central Crete, which remains an under-researched area despite its location close to the major sites from the Mesara plain and north-central Crete. A two-step methodology is developed to model territorial units from legacy data and to perceive the evolutions in the spatial organization during the development of city-states. First, evolutionary trajectories of settlements are described and State Sequence Analysis, a social science methodology, is employed to quantify the variability of evolutionary trajectories and to build a typology of settlements depending on their entire history. It enables to extract from the settlements dataset the stable Central Places, which structured durably the landscape. Around them, territorial units are then modeled employing Least Cost Site Catchment analysis in a Geographical Information Systems environment. This suggests the existence of 6 durable territorial units that organized the Anapodaris catchment around Kasteriotes-Melidochori, Kephala-Rotasi, Kephala-Ligortynos, Kastellos-Ano Kastelliana, Kephala-Ini and Profitis Ilias-Afrati. The evolution of the settlement patterns in the two last territories suggests they were closely related, probably in the same polity, namely Arkades, which city-center was relocated from Afrati to Ini in the Archaic period. Other territories were controlled each by independent proto-poleis, and 3 of them (Arkades, Priansos at Kastellos-Ano Kastelliana, and possibly Kasteriotes-Melidochori) reached the state of poleis in the Classical and Hellenistic periods. The modeling of territorial units also indicates the existence of border sites, such as the Classical-Hellenistic settlement of Vakiotes-Sokaras, which role can thus be questioned. Altogether, from the examination of the spatial organization proposed in this study, proto-poleis were already organized since the 9 th century BC. Their territories and boundaries already define those of later poleis. Hence, the spatial reorganization that occurs after the end of the Bronze Age had a strong and durable influence on the Anapodaris catchment landscape during the whole development of city-states.
This paper aims to study the link between the road network and the settlement network in Central ... more This paper aims to study the link between the road network and the settlement network in Central Crete and its evolution from the Late Minoan II to the end of the Hellenistic period. A “natural” movement network is first modeled based on a GIS procedure that uses only topographic and geomorphologic inputs. Network analysis then provides quantitative data on the modeled movement network structure. Settlement patterns, finally, are studied given the possibilities of exchange, control and communication that the movement network offers. The combined study of the settlements’ dynamics and of the movement network also gives the possibility to date the transformation of some natural corridors into actual roads that increased the connectivity of concerned areas in the following chronological periods. Settlement dynamics are therefore linked to socioeconomic changes that take advantage of the movement network, transforming it into a road network.
Settlement patterns and networks are traditionally studied as snapshots of a landscape organizati... more Settlement patterns and networks are traditionally studied as snapshots of a landscape organization. Their structure is described based on the hierarchical levels of each settlement at a given period. These hierarchical levels are attributed considering a number of variables including characteristic artifacts, settlement size and functions, that are studied in a pure archaeological or statistical approach. Some projects already introduced the time-component including chronological variables such as total duration of occupation and date of first implantation in the considered variables when clustering settlements. However, the resulting typologies do not consider chronological variation. This paper explores the way traditional archaeological classifications of settlements can be reemployed in a quantitative approach to study the evolutionary trajectories of settlements in a long-term perspective. Evolutionary trajectories are built compiling hierarchical levels determined for each occupation period of settlements (with either a traditional or a statistical approach), and State Sequence Analysis based on Optimal Matching is proposed as a tool to measure their variability. A cluster analysis finally groups trajectories and detects trends in the long-term development of settlements. Applied to the case-study of the Anapodaris river catchment (Crete, Greece), this novel approach enables to study the trajectories of 6 cities known from the 9th century BC, among which 2 or 3 become independent city-states after the 6th century. Hence, State Sequence Analysis offers a new perspective in the study of the evolution of landscape organization and allows to improve the modelling of city-states territories.
La plaine agricole de la Messara, au sud de la Crète centrale, est séparée de la mer de Libye par... more La plaine agricole de la Messara, au sud de la Crète centrale, est séparée de la mer de Libye par une chaine de montagnes, les Asterousia, qui culmine au mont Kofinas à 1231 mètres d’altitude. Bien qu’à seulement quelques kilomètres à vol d’oiseau de la mer, les communautés de Messara semblent s’être largement tournées vers l’exploitation des terres. En se concentrant sur la partie orientale de la plaine, la nature de la frontière naturelle que constituent les Asterousia sera interrogée, afin de déterminer s’il s’agissait d’une barrière représentant l'extrémité de la zone exploitable par les communautés rurales de Messara ou d’une interface perméable entre le monde agricole et la mer, de la fin de l’Age du Bronze à l’époque romaine.
Après avoir caractérisé le potentiel des Asterousia du point de vue des agriculteurs et de celui des marins, différentes approches archéologiques seront proposées. D’abord, une analyse multiple des chemins de moindre coût devra permettre de repérer les points de passage probables à travers les Asterousia, dont le contrôle sera discuté. L’étude de deux sites de sommet, au Kofinas et à Korifi (Analipsi) Rotasi, occupés à plusieurs reprises de la fin de l’Age du Bronze à l’époque romaine, permettra ensuite de combiner analyse spatiale et données purement archéologiques, en s’intéressant à la visibilité, à l’accessibilité, à la nature de ces sites et à leurs liens avec la plaine et/ou la mer.
Master's thesis by Quentin Drillat
Master's thesis (in French), 2018.
Uploads
Papers by Quentin Drillat
Conference organization by Quentin Drillat
The Institute of Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation and the Department of Archaeology at Ghent University cordially invite you to the International Conference titled “GIS in Crete: Archaeological Questions and Computational Answers”. The conference will be held in Athens on May 30-31, 2024, at the National Hellenic Research Foundation ("Leonidas Zervas" Auditorium). This conference is dedicated to exploring the pivotal role of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and geospatial analyses in addressing archaeological and historical research challenges on the island of Crete.
We have now uploaded the program and abstracts to our conference webpage. Should you have any questions or require additional information feel free to visit our website at https://www.ugent.be/lw/archeologie/en/news-events/events/gis-in-crete or contact us directly at gisincrete@gmail.com.
For online attendance, please register at https://rb.gy/6pgs4n.
The organizers,
Vyron Antoniadis, Senior Researcher, Institute of Historical Research, National Hellenic Research Foundation
Quentin Drillat, PhD candidate, Department of Archaeology, Ghent University – GIS manager, Eveha International
We cordially encourage researchers interested in participating in the conference to submit abstracts in English (maximum 250 words) for a 20-minute presentation by 27 October 2023. Please also include the title, name(s) of the author(s), affiliation(s), and contact information.
To submit your abstracts or direct any inquiries, please contact us at gisincrete@gmail.com or visit our website at https://www.ugent.be/lw/archeologie/en/news-events/events/gis-in-crete.
For further information, please see the attached poster.
We look forward to receiving your contributions and engaging in fruitful discussion on the use of GIS in the history and the archaeology of Crete.
Sincerely,
The organizers
Vyron Antoniadis, Senior Researcher, Institute of Historical Research, National Hellenic Research Foundation
Quentin Drillat, PhD candidate, Department of Archaeology, Ghent University
Per partecipare al Workshop, sia in presenza sia a distanza, potete registrarvi al seguente link: https://forms.gle/P9Xcw3n7NZXDWrrN8
Per ulteriori informazioni, potete consultare il sito: https://www.ugent.be/.../new.../events/borders-in-crete-2023
Η Ιταλική Αρχαιολογική Σχολή Αθηνών με ιδιαίτερη χαρά σας προσκαλεί στο Διεθνές Συνέδριο «Borders in 1st millennium BC Crete», που διοργανώνεται σε συνεργασία με τη Βελγική Σχολή Αθηνών και θα πραγματοποιηθεί στις 20 και 21 Ιανουαρίου 2023.
Για να συμμετάσχετε στο Συνέδριο, ηλεκτρονικά ή σε ζωντανή μετάδοση, παρακαλείστε να εγγραφείτε στον ακόλουθο σύνδεσμο: https://forms.gle/P9Xcw3n7NZXDWrrN8
Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες, μπορείτε να επισκεφτείτε την ακόλουθη ιστοσελίδα: https://www.ugent.be/.../new.../events/borders-in-crete-2023
The Italian School at Athens is pleased to invite you to the International Workshop "Borders in 1st millennium BC Crete", organized in collaboration with the Belgian School of Athens, which will be held on January 20th and 21st 2023.
To attend (online or in person), please register here: https://forms.gle/P9Xcw3n7NZXDWrrN8
For further information on the workshop click below: https://www.ugent.be/.../new.../events/borders-in-crete-2023
Information: https://www.ugent.be/lw/archeologie/en/news-events/events/borders-in-crete-2023
📌 "International Interdisciplinary Workshop on Borders in the first millennium BC Crete".
📅 It will be held in Athens on January 20th and 21st, 2023, under the auspices of the Belgian School at Athens (EBSA) and of the Italian Archaeological School at Athens (SAIA).
⚠️ Abstract Submission: please submit a max. 250 words abstract in English together with the title of the presentation, name(s) and affiliation(s) of Author(s) to giacomo.fadelli@univr.it and quentin.drillat@ugent.be ➡️ until October 14th, 2022 ⬅️.
Research introduction by Quentin Drillat
Talks by Quentin Drillat
Après avoir caractérisé le potentiel des Asterousia du point de vue des agriculteurs et de celui des marins, différentes approches archéologiques seront proposées. D’abord, une analyse multiple des chemins de moindre coût devra permettre de repérer les points de passage probables à travers les Asterousia, dont le contrôle sera discuté. L’étude de deux sites de sommet, au Kofinas et à Korifi (Analipsi) Rotasi, occupés à plusieurs reprises de la fin de l’Age du Bronze à l’époque romaine, permettra ensuite de combiner analyse spatiale et données purement archéologiques, en s’intéressant à la visibilité, à l’accessibilité, à la nature de ces sites et à leurs liens avec la plaine et/ou la mer.
Master's thesis by Quentin Drillat
The Institute of Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation and the Department of Archaeology at Ghent University cordially invite you to the International Conference titled “GIS in Crete: Archaeological Questions and Computational Answers”. The conference will be held in Athens on May 30-31, 2024, at the National Hellenic Research Foundation ("Leonidas Zervas" Auditorium). This conference is dedicated to exploring the pivotal role of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and geospatial analyses in addressing archaeological and historical research challenges on the island of Crete.
We have now uploaded the program and abstracts to our conference webpage. Should you have any questions or require additional information feel free to visit our website at https://www.ugent.be/lw/archeologie/en/news-events/events/gis-in-crete or contact us directly at gisincrete@gmail.com.
For online attendance, please register at https://rb.gy/6pgs4n.
The organizers,
Vyron Antoniadis, Senior Researcher, Institute of Historical Research, National Hellenic Research Foundation
Quentin Drillat, PhD candidate, Department of Archaeology, Ghent University – GIS manager, Eveha International
We cordially encourage researchers interested in participating in the conference to submit abstracts in English (maximum 250 words) for a 20-minute presentation by 27 October 2023. Please also include the title, name(s) of the author(s), affiliation(s), and contact information.
To submit your abstracts or direct any inquiries, please contact us at gisincrete@gmail.com or visit our website at https://www.ugent.be/lw/archeologie/en/news-events/events/gis-in-crete.
For further information, please see the attached poster.
We look forward to receiving your contributions and engaging in fruitful discussion on the use of GIS in the history and the archaeology of Crete.
Sincerely,
The organizers
Vyron Antoniadis, Senior Researcher, Institute of Historical Research, National Hellenic Research Foundation
Quentin Drillat, PhD candidate, Department of Archaeology, Ghent University
Per partecipare al Workshop, sia in presenza sia a distanza, potete registrarvi al seguente link: https://forms.gle/P9Xcw3n7NZXDWrrN8
Per ulteriori informazioni, potete consultare il sito: https://www.ugent.be/.../new.../events/borders-in-crete-2023
Η Ιταλική Αρχαιολογική Σχολή Αθηνών με ιδιαίτερη χαρά σας προσκαλεί στο Διεθνές Συνέδριο «Borders in 1st millennium BC Crete», που διοργανώνεται σε συνεργασία με τη Βελγική Σχολή Αθηνών και θα πραγματοποιηθεί στις 20 και 21 Ιανουαρίου 2023.
Για να συμμετάσχετε στο Συνέδριο, ηλεκτρονικά ή σε ζωντανή μετάδοση, παρακαλείστε να εγγραφείτε στον ακόλουθο σύνδεσμο: https://forms.gle/P9Xcw3n7NZXDWrrN8
Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες, μπορείτε να επισκεφτείτε την ακόλουθη ιστοσελίδα: https://www.ugent.be/.../new.../events/borders-in-crete-2023
The Italian School at Athens is pleased to invite you to the International Workshop "Borders in 1st millennium BC Crete", organized in collaboration with the Belgian School of Athens, which will be held on January 20th and 21st 2023.
To attend (online or in person), please register here: https://forms.gle/P9Xcw3n7NZXDWrrN8
For further information on the workshop click below: https://www.ugent.be/.../new.../events/borders-in-crete-2023
Information: https://www.ugent.be/lw/archeologie/en/news-events/events/borders-in-crete-2023
📌 "International Interdisciplinary Workshop on Borders in the first millennium BC Crete".
📅 It will be held in Athens on January 20th and 21st, 2023, under the auspices of the Belgian School at Athens (EBSA) and of the Italian Archaeological School at Athens (SAIA).
⚠️ Abstract Submission: please submit a max. 250 words abstract in English together with the title of the presentation, name(s) and affiliation(s) of Author(s) to giacomo.fadelli@univr.it and quentin.drillat@ugent.be ➡️ until October 14th, 2022 ⬅️.
Après avoir caractérisé le potentiel des Asterousia du point de vue des agriculteurs et de celui des marins, différentes approches archéologiques seront proposées. D’abord, une analyse multiple des chemins de moindre coût devra permettre de repérer les points de passage probables à travers les Asterousia, dont le contrôle sera discuté. L’étude de deux sites de sommet, au Kofinas et à Korifi (Analipsi) Rotasi, occupés à plusieurs reprises de la fin de l’Age du Bronze à l’époque romaine, permettra ensuite de combiner analyse spatiale et données purement archéologiques, en s’intéressant à la visibilité, à l’accessibilité, à la nature de ces sites et à leurs liens avec la plaine et/ou la mer.