Digimap Case Study:
GIS approaches to the Military Landscape of Roman Wales
Authors
Jason Lucas
Title
GIS approaches to the Military Landscape of Roman Wales
Date
Projected finish Spring 2008
Application Area
Archaeology
Application to other subject areas
GIS, Geography
Project type
Journal Research
Summary
This project explores some of the cultural impacts of the Roman conquest of Wales, using viewshed and cost-surface analyses to examine the effect of military bases on the local populations.
Datasets Used
Name: SRTM, Mastermap, Landform DTM, National Monuments and Records Data, OS Boundary Line
Source: Digimap, UKBORDERS, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, NASA JPL
Aims and Objectives
The creation of the military infrastructure of forts and roads had a direct effect on the on both the landscape and people of Roman Wales. This project investigates the positioning of forts with respect to their visibility and the size of the potential area overseen by the base, considering not only the possible strategic implications, but their role in imposing Roman social and political structures.
The distribution of military bases is also compared with the changing settlement patterns from the Late Pre-Roman Iron Age and early Roman period to examine what effect, if any, the bases had on regional settlement patterns.
Methodology
The visual impact of various forts is examined using viewshed analysis based on a DEM of the areas surrounding the bases, derived from Landform and Mastermap data. The topographic model also allows an examination of the interconnectivity of military bases through the use of least-cost analyses, including the impact of roads and rivers within the model.
Additional Information
|
Map of early Roman military sites in Wales, showing major rivers and upland areas. |
Publishing Institution
University of Cambridge
Contact us at: edina@ed.ac.uk
EDINA, Causewayside House
160 Causewayside, Edinburgh
United Kingdom EH9 1PR
EDINA is the Jisc-designated national data centre at the University of Edinburgh.
