Reconstructing historical road landscapes along the corridors of early 20th-century road networks in Northern Greece

Abstract

The paper aims to reconstruct historical road networks, focusing on an area of South-Eastern Europe (specifically on a part of northern Greece) and to contribute to the research for cultural heritage landscapes promotion. By the proposed approach, ignored cultural corridors would be revealed, paving the way for significant management and the emergence of cultural landscapes. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) tools, textual references and historical maps are utilised to identify the historical roadways. The spatial information is mined from the historical maps, whilst the descriptive information is mined from both the textual sources and the maps as well. The combination of the maps and the narratives supported an integrated classification of the roads for all periods, according to the construction style/technique, allowing the interpretations of the historical roads’ landscapes. The suggested approach and the consequent maps could serve as a valuable contribution to the enhancement of heritage management of historical landscapes.