On their way back home. Geostatistical analysis applied to medieval caravanserais distribution in the Syrian region.

The commonly diffused theories on caravanserais state they were usually built at about one-day march distance (30 km) each other. Despite such a simple pattern may well fit to some situations, it seems not reflect the situation in Syria during the Ayyubid (1174-1260) and Mamluk period (1260-1517), when most of the region's caravanserais were founded. Caravanserais built in this region during such period do not seem to follow a precise pattern of distribution along the communication axis that stretched all over Syria, and the logic that underlines caravanserais' distribution in the region during the medieval period remains unclear. The authors try to face the problem through a GIS-based approach taking into account the building period of each structure and the distance to its nearest neighbour also in relation to the closeness to large urban centers. The results, while unveiling an effective regular distribution, show interesting aspects both in terms of understanding route organization and of predictive methods for focusing new areas where structures not yet located may be expected.