Visibility and movement: towards a GIS-based integrated approach

Hillforts and Power in the British Post-Roman West: A GIS Analysis of Dinas Powys

“…In this study, 3D visualization, least-cost paths (LCPs), and viewshed analysis are employed to examine how the landscape of Dinas Powys was reflected in the exercise of elite power. The analyses undertaken are comparatively simple 'off the shelf' forms of cartesian analysis that have long been applied in landscape archaeology (Conolly & Lake, 2006), but we have adopted an integrated approach that moves beyond 'typecast' analysis focused on identifying intervisibility between sites (Lock et al, 2014;Gillings, 2017). There is a wide literature on the application of GIS in landscape archaeology (for a recent overview see Howey & Brouwer Burg, 2017), and critiques of the tools employed in this study focus on the reductive nature of movement modelling and the primacy given to visual perception over other forms of sensory engagement (Frieman & Gillings, 2007;Supernant, 2017).…”

“…Such aspects of a hillfort's siting are difficult to assess on the ground, especially where recent woodland regeneration and limited public access constrain fieldwork. We can, however, use 3D visualization and visibility methods to investigate relevant topographic positioning, theoretical zones of visibility, and visual prominence (Lock et al, 2014;O'Driscoll, 2017). Spatial analysis of hillfort locations can also illuminate adjacency and oversight of routeways and strategic nodes such as river crossings through the modelling of patterns of movement by LCPs.…”

“…The analytical power afforded by GIS promotes development beyond the traditional cartographic 'bird's eye view' way of interpreting the landscape, to what Tejerizo-García and Canosa-Betés (2018: 3) dub a 'God's eye view', espousing the accessibility to and manipulation of multiple datasets. GIS applications have the potential to significantly enhance understanding of the landscape context, especially when movement and visibility analyses are integrated (Lock et al, 2014) and used in combination with data derived from other forms of landscape research (in our case paleoenvironmental and place-name research projects: Seaman, 2017;Davies et al, In prep).…”

Early Modern Travellers in the Aegean: Routes and Networks

“… 5 Variations on this approach exist. One might investigate all the paths possible from a given point instead of connecting to known points (Fábrega-Álvarez 2006; Howey 2011; Déderix 2017), or one could combine route analysis with visibility analysis (Wheatley et al 2010; Lock, Kormann and Pouncett 2014). …”