Archaeological surveys in areas with a high density of artefacts: Analysis and interpretation proposals

Abstract

This paper has a twin methodological and interpretative focus. It presents the use of geospatial technologies applied to archaeological surveying. We use the high-resolution spatial and temporal data obtained from the study of the ancient Protohistoric and Roman landscape in the eastern area of the Iberian Peninsula (present-day Alicante province) to illustrate the methodological proposals. The observed spatial patterns allow us to infer certain aspects relating to the ancient use of the land, transformations in settlement patterns and the intensification of landscape use.

Lost Landscape: A Combination of LiDAR and APSFR Data to Locate and Contextualize Archaeological Sites in River Environments

“…The combination of Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) obtained from the processing and filtering of the point cloud acquired in the LiDAR flight with other tools, such as historical photography or filtering programmes that allow the presence of these anomalies in the terrain to be highlighted by shading, has emphasised the suitability of this technology within the field of archaeology. Its use for detecting sites is widely known [17]; however, there are fewer studies that use it for the topographical characterisation of a terrain or for the reconstruction of the ancient landscape [18][19][20][21][22][23][24].…”

“…Figure18. Model obtained from the APSFR analysis of the area where the tumulus of Cañada la Virgen (Puebla de la Calzada, Badajoz, Spain) is located, showing the effect of events T100 and T500 on the site.…”

Asentamientos polinucleares y resiliencia urbana entre el Bronce Final y la Edad del Hierro en el Sureste ibérico: nuevos datos a partir del Castellar de Librilla

“…La metodología seguida corresponde a la propia de la prospección arqueológica intensiva, buscando obtener un registro exhaustivo de la distribución del material y los restos constructivos, así como de sus características y estado de conservación (Mayoral et al 2009;Brotons et al 2016;Grau Mira 2016;Ros et al 2016;Cutillas 2018). El planteamiento de la intervención ha seguido un carácter intensivo a partir de una serie de tracks o recorridos preestablecidos que, en algunos casos, han tenido que adaptarse a la propia morfología de las pendientes (Fig.…”

Agrarian landscapes in the Iberian Iron Age: Mountain communities and land use in southeastern Iberia

“…IIA agricultural practices have been defined as a system of grain, pulse, and fruit cultivars, along with extensive ovicaprine, bovine, and Suidae husbandry (e.g., Alonso, ; Chapa & Mayoral, ; Grau Mira, ; Mata, Moreno, Pérez Jordà, Quixal, & Vives‐Ferrándiz, ; Mira, ; Pérez Jordà, Iborra, Grau, Bonet, & Mata, ; Serrano Peña, Portero Fernández, & Cano Carrillo, ). The heterogeneous agricultural practices detected were geared to output ranging from subsistence to surplus, the latter sometimes intended for trade and based, among others, on fruit orchard farming and wine production.…”

“…Another approach to defining IIA agricultural practice, implemented in Iberia in recent years, is to construe surface scatter of archeological material as possible evidence of cultivated fields (Grau Mira, ; Mayoral, Chapa, Uriarte, & Cabrera, ; Wilkinson, ). Similarly, pottery and the stratigraphic sequences observed in a number of excavations have firmly established a series of Iron Age‐related agricultural infrastructures or fields (Echevarría Sánchez & Vera‐Rodríguez, ; Sánchez, Bravo, & Madaria, ; Serrano Peña, Portero Fernández, & Cano Carrillo, ; Serrano‐Peña & Jose‐Luis, ), although in other cases some authors have highlighted the difficulties in establishing precise chronologies (Rodríguez, Chautón, & Duque, ).…”