Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 9 (2016) 416–426

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Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jasrep

Border surveillance: Testing the territorial control of the Andalusian

defense network in center-south Iberia through GIS
Jorge Canosa-Betés
Complutense University of Madrid. Facultad de Geografía e Historia. Calle Profesor Aranguren S/N, 28040 Madrid, Spain

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The Middle Ages were a high conflictive period in the Iberian Peninsula that left indelible traces in the landscape
Received 5 April 2016 translated in defensive networks which still extend hundreds of kilometers. However, it is not clearly defined yet
Received in revised form 12 July 2016 the operation of this fortified network in the Andalusian territory. In this paper we set out a series of GIS analyses
Accepted 18 August 2016
in order to help solving the existing questions. Thus, we will check the territorial control capabilities of this net-
Available online 27 August 2016
work over a vast area of central-south Iberia. To do this, it will be key to model two factors: the visibility of the
Keywords:
study sample and the general human displacement through the territory. After obtaining these products the cor-
Al-Andalus responding statistical analyses will be performed to try to integrate the results into the existing archaeological
GIS discourse.
Human mobility © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Defensive network
Intervisibility
Viewshed analysis
Extremadura

1. Introduction
Human mobility is a key question in Landscape Archaeology. Related
to this, the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for the study of
movement has become a constant that has been enriching the discourse
as new techniques are being developed and new theoretical frame-
works are defined (Bevan, 2011; Herzog, 2013a, 2013b; Llobera, 2000;
Mlekuz, 2014).
These techniques developed with GIS create movement models
from mathematical principles generally applied on raster surfaces
whose characteristics (topography, hydrography, vegetation…) are
the factors that will determine the final result. The most popular use
of these techniques is the Least Cost Path or LCP, paths generated be-
tween two points that correspond to the way in which the lower cost
of energy or time occurs depending on some parameters. The use of
LCP has been a constant in archaeological GIS studies. Their possible
uses are, among others, modeling commercial routes, locating new ar-
chaeological sites, defining location patterns or delimiting historical
roads (Fábrega-Álvarez and Parcero-Oubiña, 2010; Finke et al., 2008;
Güimil-Fariña and Parcero-Oubiña, 2015; Hazell and Brodie, 2012;
Howey, 2007; Lock et al., 2014; Verhagen et al., 2014; Verhagen and
Janeson, 2012; White and Surface-Evans, 2012). Nevertheless, the use
of LCP is still a reflected issue in a process of constant improvement
(Fábrega-Álvarez and Parcero-Oubiña, 2007; Fairén, 2004; Herzog,
2014a, 2013a, 2013b; Herzog and Posluschny, 2011; Richards-Rissetto
E-mail address: Jorgecan@ucm.es.
and Landau, 2014) whose debate and development also take place
among geographers (Antikainen, 2013; Collischonn and Pilar, 2000;
Pingel, 2010; Yu et al., 2003).
LCP are very extended and accepted analyses but they show some
limitations because they can only generate three types of output prod-
ucts: paths between one origin and a destination, paths between multi-
ple origins and one destination and paths between one origin and
multiple destinations (White and Barber, 2012, p. 2685). In conclusion,
the use of LCP is always subject to the existence of known points of or-
igin and destination. Despite these limitations, some authors have
known to take advantage of the possibilities and have developed differ-
ent ways of generating models that approximate human mobility
through a territory without fixed points of origin and destination
(Fábrega-Álvarez, 2006; Fábrega-Álvarez et al., 2011a; Howey, 2011;
Llobera et al., 2011; Murrieta-Flores, 2012; Murrieta-Flores et al.,
2014; Orengo and Livarda, 2016; Verhagen, 2013; White and Barber,
2012; Yubero-Gómez et al., 2015). The good results offered by this
kind of models make them an effective choice when trying to solve mo-
bility problems with samples distributed along large territories.
1.1. Archaeological context: the configuration of Andalusian landscape
Muslim kingdoms were present in the Iberian Peninsula between
711 CE and 1492 CE. The conquest of this land was immediate, bringing
with it important changes in Hispanic society that will be reflected in
the landscape. Against the decentralization of the Visigothic Kingdom,
the arrival of Muslims peoples meant the increase of state power, the

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.08.026
2352-409X/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 J. Canosa-Betés / Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 9 (2016) 416–426
cities were occupied by Arab people and started to grow while the Ber-
bers were relegated to the rural areas (Franco Moreno, 2005).
The organization of the territory began to be nested and divided
in different categories. Andalusian geographers distinguished three
kinds of settlement: mudūn (capitals, normally cities), ḥuṣūn (forti-
fied places) and qurà (hamlets) (Gibello, 2006, p. 57). Mudūn and
ḥuṣūn are relatively well identified but the case of the qurà is differ-
ent. Although they were the basis of the rural space little is known
about them besides the existence of emergency digs derived from
infrastructures construction (Cordero and Franco Moreno, 2012,
pp. 159–166; Eiroa, 2012). Thus, the use of qurà in GIS studies is al-
most impossible.
In relation to the ḥuṣūn, they appeared immediately after the Mus-
lim conquest due to the rise of conflicts, becoming an essential part of
the Medieval landscape (Franco Moreno, 2014, p. 124). The dimensions
of ḥuṣūn were very variable as well as their functionality. Thus, some
ḥuṣūn could act as iqlīm (district) capitals while others were merely ref-
uges for peasants. Regarding their management, it is usually considered
that their construction was done by initiative of the local population to
ensure their defense, but we also know that sometimes the central state
ordered the construction of fortifications for specific purposes (Malpica,
2003, p. 77). In conclusion, nowadays we still do not know the real op-
eration of the Andalusian rural landscape and the degree of autonomy
that many of these ḥuṣūn could have.
Neither do the defensive capabilities that the network of ḥuṣūn
could have had seem clear. Thus, the romantic idea of a unified defense
network to protect the border is strongly ingrained in the collective
imagination but the historical and archaeological records do not give it
enough credit. In fact, during the last years, scholars have proposed a
more passive operation of this network. According to them, it did not
work like a barrier (as in current conflicts). It would have rather serve
to protect the local population until the enemy was gone, keeping this
way the right over the territory and the resources around (García Fitz,
2004, 2000).
Fig. 1. Study area in the Iberian context.
417
The following paper fits within the previous debate. Thus, from the
modeling of human mobility in one part of the Iberian Peninsula we
want to analyze the capacity of control of the territory by the Andalusian
fortifications network as well as the relationship that may exist between
the location of its elements and the areas that register a greater dis-
placement. The results of this work will aim to provide more data to ex-
plain the operation of the Andalusian defense network.
2. Creation of workspaces
2.1. Work surface
The space where the analyses will take place (Fig. 1) corresponds to
a rectangular area from the Iberian Peninsula that comprises Extrema-
dura, the west half of La Mancha and the northwest of Andalucía, re-
gions heavily fortified where the main progress of the Christian
kingdoms took place between the battle of Navas de Tolosa (1212)
and the conquest of Córdoba (1236).
During the creation of the DEM we discarded the use of the ASTER
GDEM due to some inaccuracies observed inside the study area
(Gómez-Gutiérrez et al., 2011). Instead we preferred to create a big mo-
saic with multiple 25 m/px DEM supplied by the Spanish National Geo-
graphic Institute (IGNE). The study area comprises some parts of
Portugal in the west and the IGNE DEM only comprises the Spanish na-
tional territory. Because of this, we “filled” the Portuguese gaps with the
ASTER GDEM leaving a small overlapping area between them to avoid
abrupt changes. After some tests we decided that the best choice was
to maintain the original 25 m/px resolution in this new DEM, assuming
the small alterations from the Portuguese resizing.
The study area corresponds to a highly anthropized space due to the
number of big reservoirs. To mitigate this constraint, we recreated the
original surface of the biggest reservoirs using data from old topograph-
ic maps and a photogrammetric restitution (Canosa-Betés, 2016).
418 J. Canosa-Betés / Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 9 (2016) 416–426
2.2. Creation of cost surfaces
In this paper we have done different types of mobility analyses that
have been preceded by the creation of cost surfaces. Regardless of the
cost function used in each occasion the cost factors have always been
the same: slope and hydrography. Regarding the latter, we have calcu-
lated the flow accumulation and then ranked the water courses careful-
ly in four categories with a thickness of 200 m, 150 m, 50 m and 25 m.
These thicknesses were chosen observing their results on the DEM.
That of 200 m was reserved for rivers Tajo, Guadiana and Guadalquivir,
the main water courses of the study area, and the 150 m for their main
tributaries. However, the majority of the water courses were classified
with a thickness of 50 and 25 m, enough to cover both the river and
its alluvial plain.
Nevertheless, we know that in the real world there are places like
fords and bridges where rivers can be easily crossed so a realistic
model of human mobility should consider these facts. Thus, using old to-
pographic maps and cattle trail maps, we marked cross points upon the
hydrographic network considering three criteria: bridges unrelated to
modern infrastructures, fords crossed by cattle trails, and boats. We
marked 769 different cross points around which we removed the rivers,
creating passages without additional cost. After modeling the hydrogra-
phy we applied an homogeneous cost penalty to all its cells equivalent
to a cost increase of 0° to 15°, following the method of the Spanish
Instituto de Ciencias del Patrimonio (Fábrega-Álvarez et al., 2011a,
p. 255; Güimil-Fariña and Parcero-Oubiña, 2015, p. 34).
Based on these criteria, all the cost surfaces used during this paper
were obtained with the Path Distance tool from ArcMap 10.2.1
(Tripcevich, 2009) given its capacity for combining isotropic (hydrogra-
phy) and anisotropic (slope) factors.
2.3. Origin and characteristics of the study sample
The study sample is composed of 167 fortifications put in a point
layer including watchtowers (9), ḥuṣūn (151) and fortified mudūn
(7). Due to the territorial configuration of the Spanish state, there
were several differences between communities when trying to create
a single study sample. Thus, we used different sources depending on
the territory. For Extremadura, the main region in the study area, the
Fig. 2. Intervisibility network of the study sample. The lines represent existent intervisibilities between fortifications (circles).
sample is well defined thanks to Bruno Franco Moreno's (2008, 2007)
and Victor Gibello's (2006) inventories. In the case of Andalucía, we
used the heritage online database of the government of Andalucía,
complemented with bibliography for some poorly documented regions
(Córdoba de la Llave, 2001; García-Vuelta and Moyano, 2000). The case
of La Mancha was more problematic because no unified catalog for the
region exists. Thus, we used different bibliographic sources (Melero
Cabañas, 2003; Ruibal, 2004; Schnell and Moreno García, 2005) and on-
line catalogues done by cultural associations such as the Asociación
Española de Amigos de los Castillos (Spanish Association of Friends of
the Castles).
Nevertheless, we have to admit that the study sample has some
shortcomings to consider when interpreting the future results. Thus,
due to the heterogeneity of sources, some ḥuṣūn have probably been
classified as watchtowers and vice versa. Besides, the little interest
shown by the archaeological community in some places has translated
into chronological characterization problems and we do not know the
period of foundation and abandonment of most of the fortifications. Be-
cause of this, in the present paper we will consider a hypothetic situa-
tion in which all the fortifications are in use.
3. Methods
As it was previously indicated, the aim of this paper revolves around
the control over the territory and the human mobility performed by the
Andalusian defense network. Giving it the role of a passive subject, we
will consider that the main control that can be performed by a
fortification to the territory is visual. Therefore, the future analyses
will be preceded by the creation of viewsheds and human mobility
models. Combining these products, we will reach the results of this
investigation.
3.1. Viewshed analysis
Over the last 25 years, viewsheds analyses have probably been the
most popular application of GIS in archaeology due to their simplicity
and the important role played by visual perception in Landscape Ar-
chaeology. Nowadays, there is a high number of developed methodolo-
gies for its application (Bernardini et al., 2013; Fisher, 1994; Gillings,
 J. Canosa-Betés / Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 9 (2016) 416–426 419

30 27 28 Table 1
25 Number of fortifications per buffer depending on the cost function. In the first buffer we
have eliminated the 7 mudūn that act as origin and destination of the LCP.
25
Function\Distance 0–500 m 500–1000 m 1000–2500 m
20 18
16 Tobler 9 13 27
Llobera-Sluckin 7 10 29
15 Herzog 10 18 21

10 8 7
5 3 2 2 2 control type and 2) A vector layer with all the control viewsheds indi-
0 tween all the elements of the sample and we have drawn the possible
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Fig. 3. Histogram of intervisibility frequencies. X-axis represents the number of
intervisibilities per fortification. Y-axis represents their frequency.
2015; Llobera, 2007; Ogburn, 2006) as well as reflections about their
proper use and significance (Frieman and Gillings, 2007; Wheatley,
2012; Wheatley and Gillings, 2000; Zamora, 2006) that have been pro-
gressively enriching the social and theoretical load of this kind of
analyses.
We have generated viewsheds from all the sample fortifications con-
sidering an observer height of 4 m (A human standing on a small tower)
and 2 m for the observed objects (A human on horseback). We have
ranked the viewsheds following Tadahiko Higuchi (1983), considering
a maximum height of 6 m for the vegetation and a maximum distance
of visibility of 30 km. However, the aim of this paper is to model the con-
trol of the territory. Thus we reclassified the two first rings of visibility
(0 to 6600 m) in a new category called “effective control zone” and let
the third ring (6600 to 30,000 m) as “remote control zone”. The control
exercised in the latter area was not de facto but symbolic, although long
distance communications would be possible.
After defining these variables we have generated two different prod-
ucts: 1) A collective raster layer whose cell values indicate their higher
vidualized. From the latest, we have calculated the intervisibility be-
remote communication network (De Montis and Caschili, 2012;
Earley-Spadoni, 2015; Rua et al., 2013) that extends hundreds of kilo-
meters (Fig. 2). Nevertheless, it can be seen that there is some border ef-
fect in this graph so, regarding the future analyses, we will only consider
the intervisibility data from 137 fortifications included in a reduced
study area (Fig. 3).
3.2. Communication routes between mudūn
As we previously said, LCP are the most popular mobility analyses in
archaeology. The emphasis of this paper is to generate a model of gener-
al human mobility but we have also generated a road network between
the mudūn because they were, technically, the main communication
nodes in Andalusian society. We have generated some “one to many”
LCP using three different slope-dependent cost functions: Tobler
(1993); Llobera and Sluckin (2007) and Herzog (2013a, based on
Minetti et al., 2002) (Fig. 4). The first of them is the most commonly
used by archaeologists and calculates the displacement cost in terms
of time while the last two calculate it in terms of energetic waste.
There have been some comparative studies of these and other cost func-
tions (Güimil-Fariña and Parcero-Oubiña, 2015; Herzog, 2013b) but the
archaeological community has not opted for one in particular yet. For

Fig. 4. LCP generated between the mudūn of the study sample using different cost functions.
420 J. Canosa-Betés / Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 9 (2016) 416–426
Table 2
Density of fortifications per km2 based on data of Table 1.
Fortifications per km2
Function\Distance 0–500 m 500–1000 m
Tobler 0.00215 0.003
Llobera-Sluckin 0.00194 0.00267
Herzog 0.00272 0.00473
this reason we decided to make the analysis with more than one
function.
We have created buffers of 500 m, 1000 m and 2500 m and have cal-
culated the presence of fortifications within it (Tables 1 and 2). Compar-
ing the results of the different cost functions we can make some
remarks. First, differences do not seem very remarkable between func-
tions and even between intervals, keeping generally a density of
0.002–0.003 fortifications/km2. However it can be seen that Herzog's
function numbers are higher in the first intervals, highlighting its high
density value between 500 and 1000 m. In this regard, it is the only
function whose density values are higher in the first two intervals
than in the third, so we can look upon it as the “most efficient” if we con-
sider that the logical routes between cities should pass close to other
settlements.
However, these calculations have been done with buffers deployed
in an XY plane without considering the topography and, with it, the
real displacement distance from the LCP. Taking this into account, we
have to consider the possibility that the results would vary if we used
more realistic distances.
3.3. Model of general human mobility
We have previously indicated some ways for modeling the human
mobility through a territory independently of the origin or destination.
These models are usually made from the massive creation and
Fig. 5. Line overlapping classification. The grey rectangle is the reduced study area where the analyses will take place. For a better understanding of this figure we suggest the printed
version readers to check the online version of this paper.
overlapping of LCP, but in this occasion we chose an overlapping of
MADO. We know by the Spanish acronym of MADO to a model of
human mobility based on the use of hydrological tools over a cost sur-
1000–2500 m
face (For a detailed explanation see Fábrega-Álvarez, 2006 and Llobera
et al., 2011). In the same way that both flow direction and flow accumu-
0.00245
lation are used on a DEM to model the hydrographic network, they can
0.00297
0.00214 be applied on a cost surface calculated from an origin that, in a 3d view,
will be sink shaped.
Thus, it can be said that a MADO generates a “flow of people” moving
to the same destiny cell from any cell of the study area. This technique
has been successfully applied in several prehistoric context in recent
years (Fábrega-Álvarez et al., 2011b; Fernández Fernández, 2010;
Galmés, 2015; Parcero-Oubiña et al., 2013; Señorán et al., 2014) and
has some advantages over LCP. Thus, a MADO can model least cost
paths to a destination from every cell of the study area, although it is
true that a path obtained through hydrological tools does not necessar-
ily coincide with an LCP (Herzog, 2014b, p. 723).
To generate our model we have chosen the methodology of Fábrega-
Álvarez et al., 2011a with some variations. The basics of it are simple: if a
MADO can model the general human movement to a single point, the
overlapping of many MADO will approximate the more transited
zones of a study area. Thus, we have created a 50 squares grid and put
a random point in each one, generating then a MADO using Tobler's hik-
ing function with an inverted cost table as Tripcevich (2009) and finally
using a common criterion to classify all the flow accumulations. The
final model will have some “real life” limitations because it will consider
that the human movement is just ruled by time and topographic criteria
without taking into account human variables probably present in a
complex society like this one. This is possibly the biggest lack present
in human mobility models because the used algorithms such as
Dijkstra's are based in optimization criteria. To compensate this situa-
tion we moved the point over the mudūn in the squares that included
one, trying to simulate the role of communication nodes of these
settlements.
 J. Canosa-Betés / Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 9 (2016) 416–426 421

Fig. 6. Classified density zones. The grey rectangle is the reduced study area where the analyses will take place.

Following this method we have generated two output products.
First, we added all the MADO in a single raster layer whose cell values
indicate the number of lines overlapping in it, and later we have classi-
fied that layer in three categories (Fig. 5): 2 to 4 lines, 4 to 10 lines and
10 to 31 lines. Second, all the MADO were put together in a single vector
layer and then we have calculated the line density through the Kernel
Density tool of ESRI. The result was again classified in three categories
(Fig. 6): “Medium density” for the values between 30% and 50% of the
total distribution, “high density” between 50% and 70%, and “very high
density” between 70% and 100%. After testing different models, we
chose a bandwidth of 3000 m considering that, besides it being an as-
sumable distance for a human eye and short in terms of human dis-
placement, it is the one that best represents the displacement
corridors through the study area without being too restrictive nor ex-
ceeding the number of medium density “islands”.
With the density layer we also have calculated the value of every for-
tification, showing a mean of 4.91 lines/km2, a higher value than 58.62%
of the cells in the layer.
4. Results
4.1. Evaluation of the output products
A priori, it could be considered that the criteria for creating the first
category are too lax both in the line overlapping layer as in the line den-
sity layer. In fact, it is true that the medium density zones seem to be
bigger than their equivalents in the reference example (Fábrega-
Álvarez et al., 2011a, Fig. 4). Nevertheless, apart from the high number
of “stains” classified as medium density areas, these classification
criteria have allowed us to distinguish some long communication
axes, most of them of west-east tendency. In fact, some of the LCP calcu-
lated with Tobler's function coincide in most of their route with these
communication axes. Specifically, the paths that join the western (Bada-
joz and Mérida) and eastern (Toledo and Calatrava) mudūn are the ones
100%
Effective
75% Remote

Now we are going to evaluate the quality of the generated products

within the historical context and we will put together the visibility and
50%
the mobility data to obtain the wished information about the territorial
control of the Andalusian defense network.
25%
Table 3
Percent of LCP length controlled by the study sample depending on the control type and
the cost function.
0%
Medium High Very High
Control Effective 68.18% 36.36% 4.55%
Not visible Remote Effective
Remote 84.66% 60.23% 15.34%
Llobera-Sluckin 40.10% 43.06% 16.84%
Herzog 36.83% 46.07% 17.10%
Fig. 7. Percent of fortifications that watch classified density zones according to their
Tobler 39.54% 43.95% 16.51%
control type.
422 J. Canosa-Betés / Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 9 (2016) 416–426
Table 4
Surface density value according to their control type.
Control Mean density (lines/km2) Standard Deviation Lower value cells
Effective 5.2893 3.0457 63.46%
Remote 4.9597 2.9010 59.62%
Not visible 3.5421 2.7062 41.99%
that show a better coincidence. Only one of the north-south paths, the
one between Córdoba and Toledo, coincide in approximately half of its
route with classified density zones.
It is also clear that both the output products and the later analyses
are conditioned for the spatial location of the random points from
which the MADO have been calculated. In this respect we have to indi-
cate that from the 24 origin points situated inside the reduced study
area, 17 are in non-classified cells, 6 in medium density zones and just
1 in a high density zone, coinciding with the one located in Mérida.
The rest of settlements used as origin of MADO are in non-classified
cells or outside the reduced study area. We can say that, despite the bi-
ased caused by the origin of the origin of the sample, the high number of
points outside the reduced study area and the nature of MADO calcula-
tion minimize the negative effects of such bias and add reliability to the
final product.
However, how do the generated products agree with the historical
information that we have? Without performing exhaustive tests, we
can see coincidence between classified density zones and historically
important cross points such as Alcántara bridge, Alconétar ford
(Cerrillo-Cuenca, 2011) or the Mochuelo mountain pass, an important
cross point in the historical path between Córdoba and Toledo (Ruibal,
1996). The two last examples are classified as high density zones.
We also have information provided by the Andalusian geographers
describing meticulously the itinerary between important cities
(Al-Idrīsī, 1989; López Martínez de Marigorta, 2012). A visual compari-
son between the routes from Córdoba described by al-Idrīsī and Ibn
Ḥawqal's Córdoba-Toledo route shows a very low correspondence
with the LCP and the classified density corridors. Nevertheless, we
have to say that these historical routes were influenced by cultural fac-
tors further than the topographic factors considered in our models.
Other historical elements to consider are the cattle trails. These
routes have historically been of enormous significance in the study
area because of the weight of transhumance in the local economy and
have been treated previously with GIS in other parts of the Iberian
Peninsula (Fairén et al., 2006; Murrieta-Flores et al., 2014, p. 81). An ex-
haustive comparison between the cattle trails and the generated
products could be the aim of an entire paper. In this case we will simply
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
Medium High Very High
Effective 16.49% 26.39% 35.86%
Remote 50.03% 48.63% 53.83%
Not visible 33.47% 24.98% 10.31%
Fig. 8. Percent of surface from each density class according to their control type.
100%
Effective
75% Remote
Not visible
50%
25%
0%
Medium High Very High
Effective 36.54% 41.80% 54.55%
Remote 57.21% 50.00% 45.45%
Not visible 6.25% 8.20% 0.00%
Fig. 9. Percent of each classified density zone according to their maximum control type.
say that we can observe a higher range of overlapping between them
than in the above cases. After all these comparisons we can consider
that the models generated are appropriate for the aim of this paper.
4.2. Territorial control analysis
The data previously generated about human mobility and visibility
have been crossed to evaluate the control of the territory practiced by
the study sample. First, we have calculated the percent of the LCP inside
the control zones (Table 3). The result is pretty similar with all the cost
functions and does not seem to indicate an effort to maintain these
routes under control.
However, the main issues of this paper are the results obtained from
the general mobility model. Looking the viewsheds of each fortification
(Fig. 7) we can see that more than half of the sample has effective con-
trol upon medium density zones and N 75% has, at least, visual contact.
The high density zones do not show so much control but they cover
89% less area than the medium density zones, and so, it is remarkable
that more than half of the sample shows remote visual contact, practic-
ing some kind of symbolic control of those areas. Only a 13% of the study
sample does not have any kind of control of classified density zones but
most of them correspond to fortifications outside the reduced study
area whose viewsheds enter slightly within it.
But we have to remember that we are considering the possibility of a
collective functioning of the sample elements as a unified defense net-
work, and so, it would make sense to carry these analyses collectively
instead of analyzing data from each fortification. Thus, using the collec-
Effective tive raster layer previously created, we have made two analyses. First,
we have used zonal statistics to calculate the density value in each visi-
Remote bility zone (Table 4). We can see that the visually controlled areas are
Not visible more traveled than the mean (4.91 lines/km2), glimpsing an upward
trend while the control capacity increases.
Second, combining data from visible surfaces and classified density
zones (Fig. 8), we have obtained revealing information. Thus, it can be
seen that the medium density surface controlled effectively is not as
large as it could be but its percent increases in tandem with the density
zone classification and the very high density zones can be almost
completely seen. This calculation only considers the surface covered
by the viewsheds but nevertheless it is not necessary to visualize an en-
tire passing zone to control it. This way, a fortification could have been
built to control the access through a mountain pass in one of its sides.
In that case, it could be technically considered that the mountain pass
is effectively controlled despite the fact that it is not completely covered
by the viewshed. Because of this, we have also made an additional cal-
culation considering in this occasion the maximum kind of visual
 J. Canosa-Betés / Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 9 (2016) 416–426 423

Table 5
Kolmogorov-Smirnov test results of the position variables.

Density value

p-value Significant

0.01349 Yes

Distance to density zones

Medium density High density Very high density Any density zone

p-value Significant p-value Significant p-value Significant p-value Significant

0.003808 Yes 0.009135 Yes 0.6425 No 0.003808 Yes

Distance to line overlapping classes

Class 1 Class 2 Class 3 Any Class

p-value Significant p-value Significant p-value Significant p-value Significant

0.0008688 Yes 0.06308 No 0.01043 Yes 0.0002231 Yes

control registered in each density zone (Fig. 9). The results seem to con-
firm our previous thoughts. Because of the high probability of covering a
medium density zone we will not take its result into account, but the re-
sults of the high density zones and specially of the very high density
zones are quite positive.
The data obtained so far could indicate an existing relationship
between the location of the Andalusian fortifications, the passing
zones, and the control over them. However, the quality of the results
is not that good to secure the existence of these relations by
themselves. In order to obtain more conclusive data we have
checked the statistical significance of the study sample with the
Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (Murrieta-Flores, 2012, p. 114; Smith
and Cochrane, 2011, pp. 80–81). Thus, we have calculated some var-
iables for each fortification and we have compared them with their
equivalents in random test samples. These variables have been clas-
sified in two groups: Position variables and control variables. Posi-
tion variables are those obtained directly from the fortifications
layer based on their spatial location with respect to other layers. To
compare them (Table 5) we have generated a statistically represen-
tative random point layer with N4 M points (a 5% percent of the re-
duced study area cells).
random point sample with the same number of items (Table 6). The re-
sults cannot be considered entirely representative by themselves, but
connected with the results shown on previous paragraphs can comple-
ment them. However, we have to indicate again that it is recommend-
able to consider the control variables collectively. For this reason we
have made the same calculation as in Table 4 and Figs. 8 and 9 with
this random sample to check the differences (Table 7 and Fig. 10).
5. Discussion
Modeling complex aspects of human behavior through quantitative
based methods such as GIS is always a risky act (Hacigüzeller, 2012;
Llobera, 2012; Wheatley, 2012). In this paper we have tried to explore
the possible desire of having the control of the human displacement in
its territory by the medieval Andalusian society. Our final aim was to
produce new data to contribute to the better knowledge of the defense
Table 7
Surface density value of the random viewsheds. Compare this with Table 4.
Control Mean density (lines/km2) Standard Deviation Lower value cells

The control variables are those obtained through the viewsheds Effective 4.982 2.7851 59.62%
layer. In this occasion we could not generate N4 M random viewsheds Remote 5.1921 2.8801 62.52%
Not visible 4.1331 2.8997 49.40%
because of technical limitations so we have chosen to compare a

Table 6
Kolmogorov-Smirnov test result of the visibility variables.

Intervisibility

p-value Significant

b2.2e-16 Yes

Mean density value by control type

Effective control Remote control Any control

p-value Significant p-value Significant p-value Significant

0.1013 No 0.6271 No 0.6108 No

Effective control of density zones

Medium density High density Very high density Any density zone

p-value Significant p-value Significant p-value Significant p-value Significant

3.946e-06 Yes 0.01506 Yes N0.9999 No 2.537e-06 Yes

Remote control of density zones

Medium density High density Very high density Any density zone

p-value Significant p-value Significant p-value Significant p-value Significant

2.194e-09 Yes 4.043e-07 Yes 0.6386 No 2.194e-09 Yes

424 J. Canosa-Betés / Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 9 (2016) 416–426

100% The Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests clearly show a relation between the

location of the Andalusian fortifications and the more transited areas.
Effective
75% Regarding the control variables, the tests have been made with a statis-
Remote tically non representative sample but they seem to support the tenden-
cy shown by the data obtained with the collective viewsheds layer
50% Not visible where we can appreciate a bigger degree of visual control in the most
transited areas. The only variable that seems to differ is the density
25% value, whose data shows an increase parallel to the degree of control
but does not seem to be significant when comparing it with the random
0% sample. We also have checked the long distance communication capa-
Medium High Very High bility of the fortification network, showing again very positive results
concerning its length and the degree of intervisibility of the sample
100% elements.
Effective All these results are, as any other, subject to change depending on
75% factors such as the DEM, the software, or the method used to create
Remote the mobility models. In this regard, it would be useful to repeat the pro-
cess choosing other cost functions when generating MADO or one of the
50% Not visible
other methods mentioned at the beginning of this paper to compare of
them and see how the results are conditioned by our decisions and
25% therefore our interpretations.
Something similar could be done regarding the viewsheds. In this
0% paper we classified a binary viewsheds model whose management is
Medium High Very High easier and more efficient in regards to the executed analyses but that
is not the most realistic. Thus, there are other ways of approaching vis-
Fig. 10. Same controlled density zones statistics as in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 (above and below ibility with GIS in a perceptive way through indexes (Gillings, 2015;
respectively) applied on the random sample. Ogburn, 2006) that have been applied in different contexts, even similar
to this one (Gonçalves et al., 2016). The future application of one of
these indexes in our study sample must be taken into account.
network that marked the Iberian landscape during the Middle Ages. Regarding the archaeological issue, we have to integrate the results
This is a long historiographical baggage issue and the results shown of this paper in the current archaeological context. It is considered
here are not going to end definitely with the existing questions, but that many of the rural space fortifications were built by initiative of
they can help to provide data with which to achieve some answers the local communities with the main aim of protecting themselves
and maybe propose new questions. Thus, with the previous statistical from the cavalry raids (García Fitz, 2004). These communities were
calculations, we can reach some conclusions. mostly Berbers that maintained in some way their tribal organization

Fig. 11. Defensive range from a random example of the study sample. It was calculated from each tower through the parabolic movement equation, topography data from a 5 m/px DEM
and the maximum distance achieved by a 13th century crossbow (Payne-Gallwey, 1995, p. 20).
 J. Canosa-Betés / Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 9 (2016) 416–426
and the dispersed land occupation (Franco Moreno, 2005). We have
seen that the majority of these rural fortifications had the capability of
communicating remotely between them but; would it make sense to
consider the existence of a communication network like the one de-
scribed here in a scattered and multiethnic tribal society like this? We
do not know how much these differences could affect the coexistence
in the rural society but we know the high symbolic value of the border
with the Christian kingdoms given by the Andalusian central state
(Franco Moreno, 2014, p. 118), so maybe religion was the binder that
allowed the remote communication between fortifications.
This does not mean that the defense network worked in an effective
way. In fact, we still lack enough historical information to assure it.
However if it existed we would have to set out its capacity to face the
enemy or rather if it would work just as a way to warn for the arrival
of the enemy to look for a refuge. In fact, the size of some fortifications
suggests the absence of a garrison in many of them. In addition, we
know that the range of the weapons was limited and thus the surround-
ing area that could be actively defended from a fortification was consid-
erably small so the territory could be crossed by a large group of people
without being within a dangerous range (Fig. 11).
In conclusion, we were able to evaluate through GIS the existing re-
lations between the Andalusian fortifications network and the human
displacement in an extensive region of the Iberian Peninsula. Therefore,
we have also evaluated its possibility of controlling the displacements
and of working as an organized ensemble. Taking all this into account,
it is an assignment for archaeologists and historians of the Andalusian
society to further advance their research in order to add more meaning
to these data, so as to improve our understanding of the Islamic pres-
ence in the Iberian Peninsula.
Acknowledgements
I have to thank this paper to Baraka Arqueólogos S.L. and Diego
Lucendo, who introduced me in the Andalusian archaeology with their
project in Kabbāl. Also a special thanks to professor Carmen Mínguez
for her supervision and to Mikel Herrán and Enrique Moral for their
help in translations. Fieldwork was possible thanks to Borrajca, whose
effort will always be remembered. Finally, my gratitude to the re-
viewers, whose advices have helped to improve the contents of this
paper and to set out new interesting lines of action.
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