Understanding the urban space of an Arabian oasis: the residential quarter of Tayma

The oasis of Tayma', north-west Arabia, was an important nodal point along the ancient trading network of the Arabian Peninsula, known since the first millennium BC as the 'Incense Road'. Its location and function suggest a variety of influences from diverse cultural contacts visible in the archaeological record. To investigate closer the impact of such influences on the daily life of the oasis, four buildings of a Roman (second-to-fourth-century AD) residential quarter of the oasis have been analysed by the application of a 'space syntax' technique. Taking into account various elements of access, movement, and distribution of space on different levels of analysis, a fuller understanding has been obtained with regard to change or continuity of the occupation of the residential quarter through time. The test run presented in this paper focuses on the common characteristics of the above-mentioned buildings, which are those of a courtyard house with a large room for the distribution of movement.