Social relevance

Every city tells a story through its streets, buildings, and monuments. Yet one of the most fundamental aspects of urban life—the intensity of human movement—remains largely invisible in the archaeological record. This project seeks to reveal how people moved through ancient cities by studying the wear preserved on stone pavements and thresholds.
The research has implications far beyond archaeology. Understanding long-term patterns of movement can contribute to modern discussions on urban design, crowd management, and heritage conservation. The project can also provide new tools for predicting and mitigating visitor-related wear at archaeological sites, helping heritage managers protect vulnerable monuments for future generations.

Scientific relevance

Archaeologists can often identify routes and spaces used in the past, but rarely can they empirically estimate how intensively those spaces were used. This project addresses that gap by introducing a new methodology that combines rock mechanics, tribology, use-wear analysis, and computational modelling.
By transforming abrasion traces into measurable archaeological data, the project aims to establish a quantitative approach to movement studies. The research will also expand the scope of use-wear analysis beyond traditional artefacts such as tools and grinding stones to include architectural elements, potentially opening entirely new directions for archaeological interpretation.

Why Leiden University?

A Unique Environment for Interdisciplinary Innovation
Leiden University offers one of the world's strongest research environments for digital archaeology and computational modelling. The Faculty of Archaeology combines expertise in spatial analysis, movement studies, experimental archaeology, and agent-based modelling.
The project will particularly benefit from:
• Advanced expertise in Computational Archaeology and Agent-Based Modelling (ABM).
• Access to international archaeological networks and research infrastructure.
• Close collaboration between archaeologists, heritage scientists, and digital humanities specialists.
The project also strengthens Leiden's growing profile in quantitative archaeology by integrating engineering-based analytical methods applied in archaeological research.

From Abraded Stones to Movement Data

The project investigates archaeological thresholds and paving stones from two contrasting case studies:
• Kerkenes — a short-lived Iron Age urban settlement.
• Ephesus — one of the largest cities of the ancient Mediterranean.
 

The research workflow consists of four stages:

1. Archaeological Context Analysis
• Integrating archaeological, environmental, and historical datasets.

2. Material Characterisation
• Petrographic analysis of stone materials.
• Identification of quarry sources where necessary.

3. Experimental Testing
• Böhme abrasion resistance testing.
• Schmidt hammer test.
• Ultrasonic pulse velocity measurements.
• Unit weight test.
• Experimental archaeology and use-wear replication studies.

4. Modelling
• Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) simulations.
• Testing different ancient traffic scenarios.
• Estimating pedestrian and vehicle densities through time.
Together, these methods will allow the project to quantify relationships between stone wear and urban movement.

Expected Outcomes

(To be updated as the project progresses)

The project is expected to:
• Develop a replicable methodology for estimating ancient traffic intensity from stone wear.
• Produce quantitative models of movement in ancient cities.
• Improve understanding of urban organisation and public space use.
• Generate new datasets linking archaeological observations with engineering measurements.
• Provide practical tools for cultural heritage management and visitor impact assessment.

The results will demonstrate how architectural stones can serve as long-term archives of human behaviour and urban activity.

The methodology developed during the project has applications far beyond the initial case studies.
Future work may include:
• Application to other archaeological sites worldwide.
• Development of digital tools for heritage managers.
• Creation of conservation strategies based on predicted visitor impact.
• Expansion into modern urban environments to study pedestrian dynamics and infrastructure wear.
Ultimately, the project aims to build an interdisciplinary outlook connecting archaeology, engineering, heritage science, and urban studies through the study of movement preserved in stone.