1. Introduction to and the
Archaeological Applications
of GIS
Jo Dyson
GIS and Mapping Technician
Room MB 25
j.dyson@worc.ac.uk
2. Aims of Session
• What is GIS (Geographical Information
Systems)?
• General Applications of GIS
• Applications of GIS in Archaeology
• GIS Software – ESRI ArcGIS 9.3
• Practical – making a map using GIS for
use on site and in your final
excavation/survey report
3. GIS - Geographic Information System
In GIS the term “Geographic” (relating to
geography) means that it deals with….
Locations, interactions and distribution
of people, places and/or things.
4. GIS - Geographic Information System
In a GIS the term “Information” usually
means a data base.
Lists of people, places, or things. This
information can come from….
Spreadsheets
Databases
Air Photos
Satellite images
GPS units
Internet searches
5. GIS - Geographic Information System
In a GIS the term “System” refers to the
GIS Operator, the computer, the data, and
the software working together.
.
11. General GIS Applications
• Local Authorities – LLPG (Local Land and Property
Gazetteer), planning applications and ecological record
• Retail/Business – working out where your
customers/competitors are to find store locations and
delivery route planning
• Environment – flood mapping, climate change mapping
and monitoring animal movement
• Police – crime location mapping and geographical
profiling of suspects
• Other applications: Satellite Navigation Systems,
computer gaming, Multimap and Google Earth
17. Archaeological Applications of GIS
Introduction
• GIS offers archaeologists an exciting and
powerful research tool
• The data is both spatial and temporal and is
therefore suited to the basic principles of GIS
• Main applications
• Cultural Resource Management
• Historic Environment Record (HER)
• Landscape Analysis
18. First Use of GIS in Archaeology
• Gaffney and Stančič (1991) Work based on
Island of Hvar, Croatia
• Created a DEM from topographic map at scale
of 1:50,000
19. First Use of GIS in Archaeology
• Used Site Catchment Analysis (SCA) on hillforts
• Hillforts functioned as a central place for large numbers
of inhabitants due to location in landscape and labour
required
• Hillforts were situated on hilltops and surrounded by
large stone ramparts
20. First Use of GIS in Archaeology
• Used Visibility Analysis on the
Greek Towers of Hvar
• Built to allow town of Pharos to
be alerted of any danger
approaching them
• Towers would have used fire
or smoke signals to send
message – assumes clear line
of sight between them - can be
tested with GIS
• Discovered that tower at
Maslinovik would have been
able to see tower at Tor and
pass message back to Pharos
21. Wroxeter Hinterland Project
• Gaffney et al (2007)
• First use of GIS in
archaeology as
database for all
information relating to
project : geophysics,
aerial imagery, field
walking, OS mapping
and find spots etc
23. Stonehenge Landscapes
• Exon et al (2000)
• Aim of the project was to
digitally explore the
relationships of the
monuments around
Stonehenge and how
these relationships have
changed over time
• Groundbreaking to the
extent that the readers
were able to see and
question the data on a
CD, provided with book
24. Stonehenge Landscapes
• Discovered that there was a
key relationship between the
monuments and the
topography
• First to study the Stonehenge
landscape using GIS. It
transformed archaeologist’s
views on the Stonehenge
landscape as the GIS showed
the already well-studied area
in a new light
• The project demonstrates GIS
ability to interpret data as
opposed to just a data storage
tool
25. Laxton Castle, Nottinghamshire
• Combined use of
GPS, GIS,
Geophysics and
historical mapping to
understand castle and
its environs
• C12th Motte and
Bailey Castle
29. King Edward I Castles in North
Wales
• My BA and MA dissertation work
• BA: Viewshed (Visibility) Analysis and
Cost Surface Analysis (CSA)
• MA: Sensuous Viewsheds or 3D Visibility
Analysis and used GIS in conjunction with
Autodesk 3D Studio Max to create castle
models
31. What is CSA?
First you need to know the ‘cost’ over all types of
terrain
Normally this means calculating cost from for
example the slope grid…
4 miles/hr
3 miles/hr
2 miles/hr
Slope distance
Not forgetting the effect of
slope distance
Distance shown on map
33. Historic Environment Record (HER)
• Gloucestershire
County Council
• HER holds 24,000
records and is
constantly updated
• Uses an Oracle
database linked to
ArcGIS
34. Historic Landscape
Characterisation (HLC)
• HLC is concerned with mapping
our entire historic landscape
• Work usually done by Local
Authorities
• To build a HLC database, using a
GIS and digital mapping, vector
polygons are created to give a
particular landscape type to a
block of land
• A landscape type could be
woodland, military, or residential
• Each type is given its own colour
and displayed in the GIS as an
additional layer. Changes to the
landscape can be shown over
time by switching the layers on
and off
35. Wolverhampton in 1880
Legend
Blue is Extractive
Pink is Settlement
Red is Commercial
Yellow is Recreational
36. Wolverhampton in 1910
Legend
Blue is Extractive
Pink is Settlement
Red is Commercial
Yellow is Recreational
37. Wolverhampton in 2000
Legend
Blue is Extractive
Pink is Settlement
Red is Commercial
Yellow is Recreational
38. Wolverhampton: Surviving
Terrace Houses
Legend
Green is Circa 1910
Blue is Circa 1900
Purple is Circa 1880
Green is
Wolverhampton City
Boundary
Red is Main Roads
(Modern Roads)
39. What is CSA?
First you need to know the ‘cost’ over all types of
terrain
Normally this means calculating cost from for
example the slope grid…
4 miles/hr
3 miles/hr
2 miles/hr
Slope distance
Not forgetting the effect of
slope distance
Distance shown on map
40. Issues Surrounding the use of GIS
• The information is only as
good as the original data
source and is dependent upon
the expertise and experience
of the researcher
• Bias to regional landscape
based studies
• GIS is atemporal and only able
to deal with spatial phenomena
in a single instant of time –
although this has been
accommodated by use of time
slices
41. What is CSA?
First you need to know the ‘cost’ over all types of
terrain
Normally this means calculating cost from for
example the slope grid…
4 miles/hr
3 miles/hr
2 miles/hr
Slope distance
Not forgetting the effect of
slope distance
Distance shown on map
42. Issues Surrounding the use of GIS
• The information is only as
good as the original data
source and is dependent upon
the expertise and experience
of the researcher
• Bias to regional landscape
based studies
• GIS is atemporal and only able
to deal with spatial phenomena
in a single instant of time –
although this has been
accommodated by use of time
slices
43. Issues Surrounding the use of GIS
• Gives ‘a picture of past landscapes which the inhabitant
would hardly recognise’ (Thomas 1993)
• GIS has a positivist and scientific bias
• Some data does not lend itself to digital capture (e.g. soil
types rarely change as abruptly as the lines demarking
the distribution on a map will show)
• GIS does not take into account the seasonal variation of
vegetation cover or how a landscape may have been
vegetated
• GIS is ocular-centric – you only ‘see’ the landscape, not
experience it in any other way
Is it just pretty pictures?
44. Summary
• know what a GIS is
• Know GIS applications in real world
• Know GIS applications in archaeology
• Know problems with GIS in archaeology
• Now it is time for the practical….
