Pathways through the Avebury Landscape; A study of spatial relationships associated with the Beckhampton Avenue, Avebury, Wilts. (original) (raw)
Related papers
Traditionally, analysis of archaeological landscapes has drawn on two separate theoretical traditions. Functionalist explanation in the tradition of Renfrew (1973) emphasises general patterns in economic and social structures, and the development of formal methods. Approaches informed by phenomenology, such as those by Tilley (1994) or Thomas (1999), emphasise human-scale experience of landscape and the ‘constructed’ nature of space leading to, for example, suggestions of ‘circular landscapes’ in the Neolithic of Britain (Bradley 1998). In the last decade, approaches that draw on both of these have emerged in the context of GIS based landscape studies. One such area has been visibility analysis (e.g. Wheatley, 1995; Exon, Gaffney, Woodward & Yorston, 2000) in which formal methods for analysing visual characteristics of landscape build up from an understanding of perception at the scale of individual human actors. Although successful, most of these have dealt with visibility from static locations and ignored (orminimally considered) the effects of movement. This project centres on the investigation of movement and perception within archaeological landscapes; intending to study dynamic changes in visual envelope afforded active, mobile agents. By comparing archaeological features with these changing patterns of visibility, the aim is to form hypotheses regarding potential modes of interaction with and hence development of the continually evolving cultural continuum that is landscape. Patterns of changing visibility are being further investigated by incorporating some elements of three dimensional visualisation in order to take account of (for example) colour, lighting and atmospheric models; key factors which affect human perception of space. These issues are particularly significant in the context of later Neolithic Britain, in which a series of monumental forms seem to have developed that formalise aspects of movement through landscape (e.g. cursus monuments, avenues). Consequently, the research focuses on later Neolithic landscapes including Avebury and the Dorset Cursus complex. This paper presents some of the methodological and technological developments to date, including the development of a computational framework for the investigation involving the fusion of a Geographic Information System and three-dimensional technologies. In addition to the development of approaches to viewshed analysis within the GIS, the use of a threedimensional modelling package to produce rendered views from the GIS will also be discussed and some preliminary results will be presented. Image processing techniques for the analysis of these views with also be discussed. Another aspect of the proposed framework is the use of a gaming engine to provide an interactive, dynamic three-dimensional interface linked to the GIS and rendering suite.
Visual Affordance, Landscape, and the Megaliths of Alderney
Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 2009
The core of this paper seeks to make a methodological contribution to the GIS-based analysis of visibility as a potential locational factor in past landscape placement, an area of study whose utility and value have been hotly debated by archaeologists keen to promote more experiential approaches to the interpretation of past landscapes. In doing so it seeks to break with recent discussions on the topic by not show-casing new or technically more sophisticated sets of approaches. Instead it backtracks to reclaim a methodology introduced over a decade ago, yet rarely applied in routine archaeological practice-a case of taking one step back to advance two steps forward. An important subtext is that for the utility of GIS-based work to be appreciated, it has to be driven by a clear archaeological research programme. To this end the study is fully embedded in a current research initiative exploring the megalithic monuments of prehistoric Alderney, the northernmost of the Channel Islands. introduction This paper seeks to make a methodological contribution to the application of GIS in experiential landscape analysis, focusing in particular on the use of GIS-based approaches in the exploration of visibility and past acts of looking and seeing. In achieving this aim I intend to break with recent trends within archaeological GIS research by not advocating or unveiling an innovative (and invariably computationally complex or esoteric) suite of 'new ways of doing'. Instead I intend to backtrack to explore more fully a set of approaches that have been largely bypassed (or treated as an evolutionary stage) in a headlong race towards an assumed future. The subtext of the discussion is relatively straightforward; if current dislocations between GIS-based and more physical and sensuous approaches to the experience, exploration and understanding of past landscapes are to be overcome, then the techniques being developed within GIS-based studies need to be embedded within (and driven by) research questions, accessible to all and routinely applicable today, rather than some poorly defined tomorrow. the research context The research forms part of a new programme focusing on the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age archaeology of the island of Alderney in the Channel Islands. As Patton has noted, although a small number of flint scatters have been recorded (1995, appendix i), the surviving
Dynamic Landscapes: The Spatiality of Social Relations at Ightham Mote
Since the 1950s, medieval landscape archaeology has explored “designed landscapes,” landscapes which have been modified through human intervention to serve a particular purpose. The search for this purpose has led to the formation of three perspectives: landscape as aesthetic pleasure ground, landscape as place of work, and landscape as reflection of social status. Using the work of Pierre Bourdieu and borrowing from spatial theory, I will critically explore and challenge the three dominant perspectives and the concept of designed landscapes themselves. I provide an alternate framework with which to explore the way that barriers and constraints on movement in physical space reflect boundaries in social space. Through geospatial modeling and topographical analysis of the landscape at Ightham Mote, a moated manor house in Sevenoaks, Kent, England, I illustrate how the topography of the landscape constrains movement and facilitates the creation of both a public and a private road. The control of access to the property by the creation of a private road renders Ightham Mote as privileged social space only open to some, and reinforces relational power dynamics which maintain hegemonic social hierarchies. Using this new approach, we can view the topography of landscapes as active agents in the reinforcement of social identities through control of movement through the landscape. Rather than labeling a landscape aesthetic or practical, we can identify the dynamism of landscapes and their active role in social relations.
Pathways, Perception and the development of Place; Computational approaches to movement and percepti
2007
Traditionally, analysis of archaeological landscapes has drawn on two separate theoretical traditions. Functionalist explanation in the tradition of Renfrew (1973) emphasises general patterns in economic and social structures, and the development of formal methods. Approaches informed by phenomenology, such as those by Tilley (1994) or Thomas (1999), emphasise human-scale experience of landscape and the 'constructed' nature of space leading to, for example, suggestions of 'circular landscapes 'in the Neolithic of Britain (Bradley, 1998). In the last decade, approaches that draw on both of these have emerged in the context ofGIS-based landscape studies. One such area has been visibility analysis (e.g. Wheatley, 1995; Exon, Gaffney, Woodward & Yorston, 2000) in which formal methods for analysing visual characteristics of landscape build up from an understanding of perception at the scale of individual human actors. Although successful, most of these have dealt with vis...
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 2005
In terms of their interpretation, cursus monuments remain arguably the most enigmatic class of Neolithic landscape monument. This paper reconsiders this ‘cursus problem’ through the study of the complex of cursuses that surrounds the village of Rudston, East Yorkshire. Using a GIS-based analysis, it is argued that two distinct forms of architecture can be recognised. In the earlier phase it is possible to recognise the importance of somatic experience generated through movement along the interior of the monuments, incorporating elements of visual surprise in addition to constant visual relationships with earlier monuments. By the later phase, somatic experience becomes less important, with the cursus forming a more naturalised role in harmony with the natural landscape and less structured for movement. The results of this analysis have wider implications for the study of both cursus landscapes elsewhere and prehistoric landscape archaeology more generally.
Perceptions of Landscapes of Movement: Phenomenology and the Archaeology of Roman Roads
When attempting to understand the ways that past peoples understood their lives and how this shaped their actions, it is important to consider the relationships that they had with space and landscape. Because landscapes consist of different meanings and values, the relationship between humans and landscapes is dependent on the sociocultural construction of those meanings and values. The road is an important venue for studying perceptions of and movement through space and landscapes because it "embodies issues of ideology, power and identity, and [is] intimately involved in our social constructions of the world" (Witcher 1998). Several works have approached the study of landscape and movement from a phenomenological perspective and address questions concerning agency and decisionmaking, perception and experience, and power and ideology. A phenomenology of roads can illuminate how perceptions of space and landscape are imbued with power and domination. My main concern in this research is to address how power and ideology can be explored in the experience of the traveler of Roman roads. I argue that the phenomenological perspective can illuminate some of the ways that road users in Roman Italy could perceive or be exposed to notions of power and ideology in landscapes of movement. By simply using the road, the traveler, whether he or she was aware of it, encountered objects and landscapes that were imbued with meanings that served to legitimize the hegemony of Rome.
We know over 200 Sardinian dolmens of various types. The rise of the phenomenon seems possible to ascribe dur- ing the culture of San Michele of Ozieri (Late Neolithic, 4000–3300 BC). However, the Sardinian dolmens had the widest possible dissemination during the Chalcolithic. The Sardinian phenomenon shows a close relationship with dol- mens of Catalonia, Pyrenees, non-coastal departments of French-midi, Corse and Puglia. In the study of megalithic tombs, the analysis of the relationship with the surround- ing territory can be an important aid. In this work, we place dolmens and landscape in connection. To understand this relationship, we used the tools offered by GIS. This ap- proach – based on geo-referenced data and a three-dimen- sional representation of landscape features – can assist the archaeologist in interpreting the ancient landscape. Among the potential of GIS, the possibility to evaluate – with the cre- ation of a model of the costs of travel – the main trends re- lating to the movement in relation to the geomorphological characteristics of the territory is particularly interesting. To test the possibilities offered by this type of analysis, a sam- ple area in north-east of the island of Sardinia (Italy) was chosen. The results of cost distance and visibility analyses showed locations in areas that would enhance the function of spatial markers linked to transit or contact areas, for most of the analysed samples. These were probably in connection with pathways functional to internal trade between islander groups. Furthermore, these are probably related to short or long processes of transhumance.
Prehistoric Yorkshire, 2023
This paper is concerned with illustrating how the archaeological data located within the unenclosed upland zones of the North York Moors National Park may be influenced by the distribution of paths running through the contemporary heather moorland. Heather moorland presents a problem for archaeological prospection, due to its dense cover limiting the visibility of the land surface during the summer and autumn months and in winter and spring constraints in the form of grouse shooting and unpredictable weather conditions. There are however exceptions to this picture. Footpaths and bridle roads form established routes clearing vegetation growth and, depending on topography, varying levels of surface erosion. Also biased by the distribution of pathways are population levels: where there are pathways there will be people, which in turn will influence the opportunity for archaeological recovery. The study of relationships between recorded sites and routeways has not been the focus of academic interest in the region. It is for this paper to review this relationship and determine if these routes negatively influence our understanding of unenclosed archaeology on contemporary heather moorland. Two case studies will be presented to determine these relationships. The first is on recorded Mesolithic sites, generated from the Historic Environment Record (HER) and North East Yorkshire Mesolithic Project (NEYMP) databases. The second case study reviews the distribution of Bronze Age round barrows derived from the HER.