Organization
This study is different organizationally than traditional dissertations. Traditional
dissertations (and the majority of other research) are written in a linear,
one-dimensional format, from the introduction to the conclusion(Kirschenbaum
1996). Currently there are several dissertations available on the Web, and some
universities (Weisser and Walker 1997, Fox et al 1996, McMillan 1995, News@UW-Madison
1995, Fox 1998) are even requiring all dissertations and theses be electronic,
but these are in .pdf format. The .pdf format, however, is essentially electronic
paper, and while there are often direct links to the bibliography inserted into
the text, these studies still follow the traditional linear presentation. This
dissertation is not electronic paper--it goes the next step--using the two-dimensional
format available on the Web, because it allows for multilinear explanations
of the material. Through the Web, connections can be made to multiple sections
directly, in a self-directed manner, which is far more difficult in a traditional
linear book format (Bermudez and Palumbo 1994).
Yet there is an inherent opposition between the linear book format and most
sites on the Web. When reading a book, the reader knows how to proceed through
the study--from the beginning to the end. On the Web, there is no beginning
or end, rather there are portals to enter and explore. The reader, or surfer,
on web sites is served up a smorgasbord of options to explore, or not, as the
surfer wishes. Transitions in a book, from one section to another, are made
clear to the reader by the author. Transitions, or links, on web sites, are
presented with minimal directions, leaving the onus upon the surfer to figure
out why the transitions are there. For scholars this opposition can create several
problems as well as possibilities (Holtorf 1999, Gaffney and Exon 1999, Costopoulos
1999, intarch-interest archives 1999).
This dissertation is an experiment in presentation as well as in content. The
written word on paper is presented in a one-dimensional format, on the Web,
the written word can be presented in a two-dimensional format. But ideas really
need the written word in a three-dimensional presentation, with multiple linkages
going every direction, in order to show the multiple connections. Technology
to do this sort of three-dimensional presentation is not currently available
in an inexpensive format that is as easy to produce or use as a book or web
site (Muchmore 1997, Kommers et al).
This dynamic opposition between presentation and content is not a new one. It
is in fact demonstrated quite well in the study area of Roman Egypt, when one
looks at how ideas are presented in art. The philosophy of representation in
the Graeco-Roman world (and many others) was from the perspective of the artist.
Brewer and Teeter (1999) refer to this as 'perceptual.' The philosophy of representation
in the Egyptian world was from the perspective of the object being represented.
Brewer and Teeter refer to this as 'conceptual.'
Conceptual art... attempts to portray the subject from its own perspective rather the viewpoint of the artist, because the goal is to communicate essential information about the object itself, not how it appears to the viewer. Complex compositions reflect multiple viewpoints, for each object is shown as if isolated from surrounding objects. In the effort to relay the essential characteristics of the object, conceptual art tends to combine lateral and plan views to produce a composite diagram. In other words, if both the top and the side of an object are considered to be especially important for its identification, they are shown simultaneously. (Brewer and Teeter 1999:174-175)
For instance, Egyptians knew how to paint people full face, but wall paintings
are almost always show the head in profile, except for the eyes, which are shown
as if in full face with the pupils in the center (Vandier 1954). Another example
is that while the face is in profile, the shoulders are shown in a front view,
with a side view of the chest, 3/4 view of the belly (with belly button shown),
and the legs and feet in profile (but with the left leg and foot shown to some
extent). This dissertation uses Egyptian art as a metaphor, reflecting multiple
viewpoints of the Roman roads in the Eastern Desert of Egypt much in the same
way as multiple parts of the body are shown in Egyptian wall paintings, with
some aspects given a "full view" while others are just "profiled."
The roads are complex compositions, reflecting, by their very placement, a series
of important decisions by multiple people for multiple reasons. Unlike the Egyptians,
however, who had to combine lateral and plan views the old-fashioned way, the
advent of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allows several views to be presented,
and analyzed, in a much more efficient and effective way.
The GIS views, or data layers, in this dissertation are also an experiment.
The vast majority of GIS applications to archaeology use environmentally based
data layers like soil types, hydrography, geology, and land cover. This study
uses perceptually based data layers to analyze the placement of the transportation
network components in the Eastern Desert of Egypt during the Roman period. To
create perceptually based data layers, perspectives of various people using
the roads, as well as perspectives from several bodies of theory, were used
to create composite data layers. Like Egyptian art, multiple viewpoints were
considered to be important.
In order to explain the multiple viewpoints, in population groups as well as
schools of theory, navigational aids have been created, where each aid is a
conceptual map. With conceptual mapping it is possible to show "visual,
navigable representations of the relationships between pieces of data"
(Muchmore 1997). The conceptual map enables logically related material to be
linked together, mirroring aspects of human memory (Bermudez and Palumbo 1994,
Kommers et al). Additionally, the traditional linear format found in books is
limited to the interconnections created by the author for some presumed typical
reader, whereas a multilinear format has the potential for interconnections
to be created based on the idiosyncrasies of each reader (Bermudez and Palumbo
1994). The aids have been designed with multiple learning styles and preferences
in mind. Whether the learning styles are defined as analytical vs. relational,
global vs. sequential, or even VARK (Visual, Aural, Read/Write, Kinesthetic)
the presentation of this study allows for all preferences to be addressed.