Replication data for 'Looking for BVER into the GRASS'

Data and code used for the development of an archaeological inductive predictive model in the southern lake Maggiore (Verbano) area, between Lombardy and Piedmont, Italy. BVER is for "Basso VERbano" (Lower Verbano). The inductive predictive model was originally created as a part of a full scale archaeological research in the area, supported by the Cattedra di Archeologia Cristiana, Tardoantica e Medievale (Chair of Christian, Late Antiquity and Medieval Archaeology) of the University of Milan, department of Cultural and Environmental Heritage. The current work investigates the settlement dynamics of the lower Verbano area between the Iron Age and the Middle Ages. The known archaeological sites, obtained from the public database GNA (Geoportale Nazionale per l'Archeologia), together with a series of physical characteristics of the area, were used as predictors for the calculation of an inductive predictive model. The results show the shortcomings of this methodology in the field of predictive archaeology without an ethnoarchaeological premise. The model is primarily intended to test the reliability of inductive predictive modelling in understanding ancient settlement patterns. The results will then be further discussed and developed.