Natural terrestrial corridors have been shown to have influenced the positioning of past settlements. The scale at which this pattern-process relationship operates is often un-estimated and thus remains unclear. This paper proposes the comparison of multiple point process models as an approach for estimating the optimal scale at which this relationship is strongest. With this approach, it is revealed that the positioning of Roman forts used during the conquest of Wales was most influenced by natural terrestrial corridors at a scale of 1,100m. At this scale, the Roman army stationed at these forts could control natural corridors – both via on-the-ground response as well as through overseeing movements by the native communities of Wales. Comparing multiple scenarios, it is also shown that the control of river-systems did not influence the positioning of Roman forts at the expense of controlling these natural terrestrial corridors used by those on foot. With archaeological interpretations susceptible to change as a result of the scale at which this pattern-process relationship is measured, the estimation of the optimal scale is pivotal for non-biased inferences on the processes thought to have influenced the positioning of settlements in the past.

中文翻译：

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估计自然陆地走廊对定居点定位的尺度依赖性影响：威尔士罗马堡垒的多尺度研究


天然陆地走廊已被证明影响了过去定居点的定位。这种模式-过程关系的运作规模通常是未估计的，因此仍然不清楚。本文提出了多点过程模型的比较，作为估计这种关系最强的最佳尺度的一种方法。通过这种方法，可以揭示征服威尔士期间使用的罗马堡垒的位置受 1,100m 规模的天然陆地走廊的影响最大。在这种规模下，驻扎在这些堡垒的罗马军队可以控制自然走廊——既可以通过地面响应，也可以通过监督威尔士土著社区的行动。比较多种情景，还表明河流系统的控制并没有以控制步行者使用的这些天然陆地走廊为代价来影响罗马堡垒的位置。由于考古学解释容易因测量这种模式-过程关系的尺度而发生变化，因此对最佳尺度的估计对于对被认为影响过去定居点定位的过程进行无偏见推断至关重要。