Observations on Icelandic Polygon Surfaces and Palsa Areas. Photo Interpretation and Field Studies (original) (raw)
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Einar Palsson [1] saw the myths of foundation for Iceland's settlement (in 930) had Pythagorean roots. This manifested as a geometric connection between places on the landscape, especially on the south-western region near Reykjavik, its only city. Coherence was established through organising space according to centres (things), circles and their diameters, the circles punctuated with places and alignments to other places, horizon events or cardinal directions. This paper extends John Neal's analysis of Palsson's landform geometry in its connotation as being a model of the mean earth radius and circumference.
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This paper provides an overview of land allotment and boundaries in Iceland, with special reference to their place in the landscape. It focuses on the nature of the material evidence itself, such as the types of boundaries, providing some explanations for the variations seen between different locations and periods of time. As a result some general observations and remarks are presented connected with current research and archaeological approaches to the study of land allotment and boundaries in Iceland.
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This paper presents the structure and contents of a standardised geomorphological GIS database that stores comprehensive scientific geomorphological data and constitutes the basis for processing and extracting spatial thematic data. The geodatabase contains spatial information on morphography/morphometry, hydrography, lithology, genesis, processes and age. A unique characteristic of the GIS geodatabase is that it is constructed in parallel with a new comprehensive geomorphological mapping system designed with GIS applications in mind. This close coupling enables easy digitalisation of the information from the geomorphological map into the GIS database for use in both scientific and practical applications. The selected platform, in which the geomorphological vector, raster and tabular data are stored, is the ESRI Personal geodatabase. Additional data such as an image of the original geomorphological map, DEMs or aerial orthographic images are also included in the database. The structure of the geomorphological database presented in this paper is exemplified for a study site around Liden, central Sweden.
Land in Landscapes Circum Landnám: An Integrated Study of Settlements in Reykholtsdalur, Iceland
Journal of The North Atlantic, 2008
The initial settlement of Iceland in the 9th and 10th centuries AD was based on animal husbandry, with an emphasis on dairy cattle and sheep. For this activity, land resources that offered a range of grazing and fodder production opportunities were required to sustain farmsteads. In this paper, the nature of land within the boundaries of settlements in an area of Western Iceland centered on Reykholt, which became the estate of the writer and chieftain Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century, is analysed with a geographical information systems (GIS) approach. The results, combining historical, archaeological, and environmental data with the GIS-based topographic analysis, suggests that, although inherent land qualities seem to have played a part in shaping the initial hierarchy of settlement in the area, it was the acquisition of additional property and of access to resources outside the valley that ultimately pushed Reykholt to the forefront in the hierarchical order.