Changes and continuities in a Mediterranean landscape: a new interdisciplinary approach to understanding historic character in western Catalonia

To understand why historic landscapes changed in the past researchers need to identify when and where changes took place, but in rural landscapes, the origins and development of many historic elements including field systems, roads, terraces and other earthworks remain poorly understood. This paper...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inLandscape research Vol. 43; no. 7; pp. 922 - 938
Main Authors Turner, Sam, Bolòs, Jordi, Kinnaird, Tim
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 03.10.2018
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Agricultural land
Case studies
Historic landscape characterisation (HLC)
Interdisciplinary aspects
Landscape
luminescence profiling and dating
medieval Catalonia
Origins
OSL
Pilots
Terraces
Terracing
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Summary:To understand why historic landscapes changed in the past researchers need to identify when and where changes took place, but in rural landscapes, the origins and development of many historic elements including field systems, roads, terraces and other earthworks remain poorly understood. This paper outlines a practical interdisciplinary method using GIS-based historic landscape characterisation (HLC) to integrate data from different sources and model how historic character varies in space. It pilots an innovative approach using luminescence profiling and dating that can underpin the HLC with significantly improved knowledge of historic processes of change. We focus on four case studies of terraced agricultural landscapes in western Catalonia and demonstrate for the first time that existing terrace systems often have medieval or early modern origins.
ISSN:0142-6397
1469-9710
DOI:10.1080/01426397.2017.1386778