From archaeological data to statistical analysis

A doctoral research project, discussed in May 2022, has led to a greater understanding of the settlement dynamics that took place in the Mignone Valley over the long chronological period between the 6th and 11th centuries AD. This understanding has been achieved through the recent topographical investigations conducted in the context of the Mignone Valley. The research employed the ancient land uses, the road system and the exploitation of the rich mineral deposits of the ‘Monti della Tolfa’ as 'keys' for understanding the change, employing a statistical analysis method for the evaluation of the input data on which the overall assessment of the settlement dynamics in the area was based. The contribution that will be presented here is intended to analyse the type of statistical method that underlies the evaluation of the data collected and the preliminary results that have been arrived at through the realisation of particular spatial analyses calculated in a GIS environment on the data to which the logic-statistical process has attributed the greatest 'weight'.