Snyder, J R; Dilaver, O; Stephenson, L C; Mackie, J E and Smith, S D (2018) Agent-based modelling and construction: Reconstructing antiquity's largest infrastructure project. Construction Management and Economics, 36(6), pp. 313-327. ISSN 0144-6193
Abstract
Archaeological remains around the world are testament that large-scale construction projects have been successfully carried out for millennia. This success is particularly evident through the great infrastructural works of the Roman Empire. Yet, it was when the capital was moved from Rome to Constantinople that the largest of these projects was undertaken. This megaproject of the fourth- and fifth-century water supply was made of hundreds of kilometres aqueduct channels and bridges that brought fresh water to the city's complex system of reservoirs and cisterns. Unlike projects of the previous centuries, we are left with no written record of how this titanic project was undertaken and existing archaeological and historical commentaries on structures of this period do not provide details of organization of construction. We explore the nature of building Constantinople's water supply through diverse sources of knowledge and the application of agent-based modelling–a method for simulating the actions, interactions and behaviours of autonomous agents and the resulting emergent properties of the system in which they are a part. This paper demonstrates the ability of ABM to develop and test richer hypotheses about historical construction organization and management than physical and historical evidence on their own.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | agent-based modelling; archaeological engineering; byzantine constantinople; heritage; project management |
| Index terms: | agent-based modelling, infrastructure project, archaeological engineering, evidence, construction organization, reservoir, water supply, complex system, fresh water, construction project, Rome, megaproject, agent, interaction, project management |
| Subjects: | project management theory and practice, evaluation and assessment methods, behavioral psychology, strategic project management, practitioner, water management, infrastructure and transport systems, organization, production management, Geography, research methods, systems engineering, modelling and simulation |
| Topics: | Project Management, Engineering Principles, Roles and Professions, Geographical Context, Sustainability, Business Strategy, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here