Pažout, Adam. 2017. “The Roman Road System in the Golan: Highways, Paths and Tracks in Quotidian Life.” Journal of Landscape Ecology 10 (3): 11-24. Web.
Adam Pažout is an employee of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa. He has several works in scientific publications on topics related to geography. The article was published in the Journal of Landscape Ecology. It is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that publishes academic papers focused on the study of landscapes. Pažout argues (2017) that it is possible to discover tracks with different mobility potential through a particular analytical approach. The data obtained should be compared with the data on Roman roads. It will allow analyzing the daily movement of people in the landscape in the Roman period.
Using cumulative focal mobility network analysis (CFMN) and a geographic information system modeling methodology, Pažout studies the territory. Accordingly, all the results are based on factual information, and, additionally, the author relies on more than two dozen competent sources. He aims to reconstruct the road system of the Roman period in the Golan and include local communities in the overall picture. Pažout acknowledges the shortcomings of CFMN analysis and states that all models built need to be tested in the field. The study was created for other researchers to find helpful information for further investigation. All these factors confirm the author’s low degree of bias and the source’s high degree of reliability.
Although this topic is covered in several sources, it is specific. The works are exploratory, so it is impossible to claim that the reference is entirely accurate. Most of the articles use balanced approaches and have the common goal of expanding the object’s boundaries. Thus, the source is suitable for academic research because it provides a clear rationale, uses valuable analysis methods, and relies on competent literature.
Avi-Yohan, Michael. 1950. “The Development of the Roman Road System in Palestine.” Israel Exploration Journal 1 (1): 54–60. Web.
The author is Michael Avi-Yonah; he worked for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and has other papers in archaeology and history. The article was published in the peer-reviewed scholarly Israel Exploration Journal. It has been issued for over fifty years and posts various studies: philological, geographical, and others. The publisher is the Israel Research Society, which plays a crucial role in archaeological research. In his work, Avi-Yonah argues (1950) that knowledge of the Roman roads in Palestine needs to be replenished. Many historical facts on this subject have been discovered by chance. It is essential to reconstruct the chronology of events of the Roman period and determine the system of the main roads based on previously unexamined historical information.
Abi-Yonah reconstructs the order of episodes of that period in Palestine related to royalty, the appearance of roads, and their purpose to prove his argument. The author aims to find new sources of evidence about different kinds of Roman roads and their location. Other researchers can use this work to expand their knowledge of the subject. Nevertheless, the lack of other opinions and competent literature in the paper and the making of assumptions indicate a high level of bias and a low probability of the accuracy of the arguments. Additionally, all these facts raise doubts about the reliability of the information.
The article is cited in other sources, and the objectives of other authors correlate with Avi-Yonah’s goal of determining the location of Roman roads in Palestine. However, other sources have newer and more reasoned evidence and broader analysis. It may be since the article in question was written in 1950 when there was no access to such reliable research tools that appeared later. Nevertheless, this source is unsuitable for academic research, as it lacks clear argumentation, reliable data, and references to confirm what is written; the work is appropriate for informational purposes.