Following the Roman Army between the Southern Foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains and the Northern Plains of Castile and León (North of Spain): Archaeological Applications of Remote Sensing and Geospatial Tools
Sixty-six new archaeological sites have been discovered thanks to the combined use of different remote sensing techniques and open access geospatial datasets (mainly aerial photography, satellite imagery, and airborne LiDAR). These sites enhance the footprint of the Roman military presence in the no...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Geosciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/10/12/485 |
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| author | Andrés Menéndez Blanco Jesús García Sánchez José Manuel Costa-García João Fonte David González-Álvarez Víctor Vicente García |
| author_facet | Andrés Menéndez Blanco Jesús García Sánchez José Manuel Costa-García João Fonte David González-Álvarez Víctor Vicente García |
| author_sort | Andrés Menéndez Blanco |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sixty-six new archaeological sites have been discovered thanks to the combined use of different remote sensing techniques and open access geospatial datasets (mainly aerial photography, satellite imagery, and airborne LiDAR). These sites enhance the footprint of the Roman military presence in the northern fringe of the River Duero basin (León, Palencia, Burgos and Cantabria provinces, Spain). This paper provides a detailed morphological description of 66 Roman military camps in northwestern Iberia that date to the late Republic or early Imperial eras. We discuss the different spatial datasets and GIS tools used for different geographic contexts of varied terrain and vegetation. Finally, it stresses out the relevance of these novel data to delve into the rationale behind the Roman army movements between the northern Duero valley and the southern foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains. We conclude that methodological approaches stimulated by open-access geospatial datasets and enriched by geoscientific techniques are fundamental to understand the expansion of the Roman state in northwestern Iberia during the 1st c. BC properly. This renewed context set up a challenging scenario to overcome traditional archaeological perspectives still influenced by the cultural-historical paradigm and the pre-eminence of classical written sources. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:22:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-34dad73017bb4d5aa3bc506eb0d75353 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3263 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:22:11Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geosciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-34dad73017bb4d5aa3bc506eb0d753532023-11-20T23:16:33ZengMDPI AGGeosciences2076-32632020-12-01101248510.3390/geosciences10120485Following the Roman Army between the Southern Foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains and the Northern Plains of Castile and León (North of Spain): Archaeological Applications of Remote Sensing and Geospatial ToolsAndrés Menéndez Blanco0Jesús García Sánchez1José Manuel Costa-García2João Fonte3David González-Álvarez4Víctor Vicente García5Independent Researcher and Archaeologist, Ayande, 33880 Asturias, SpainArchaeology Institute of Mérida (CSIC-Government of Extremadura), Plaza de España 15, 06800 Mérida, Extremadura, SpainDepartment of History, University of Santiago de Compostela, Praza da Universidade 1, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, SpainDepartment of Archaeology, University of Exeter, Laver Building, North Park Road, Exeter EX4 4QE, UKInstitute of Heritage Sciences, Spanish National Research Council (Incipit-CSIC), Avenida de Vigo, s/n, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, SpainDepartment of History, University of Santiago de Compostela, Praza da Universidade 1, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, SpainSixty-six new archaeological sites have been discovered thanks to the combined use of different remote sensing techniques and open access geospatial datasets (mainly aerial photography, satellite imagery, and airborne LiDAR). These sites enhance the footprint of the Roman military presence in the northern fringe of the River Duero basin (León, Palencia, Burgos and Cantabria provinces, Spain). This paper provides a detailed morphological description of 66 Roman military camps in northwestern Iberia that date to the late Republic or early Imperial eras. We discuss the different spatial datasets and GIS tools used for different geographic contexts of varied terrain and vegetation. Finally, it stresses out the relevance of these novel data to delve into the rationale behind the Roman army movements between the northern Duero valley and the southern foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains. We conclude that methodological approaches stimulated by open-access geospatial datasets and enriched by geoscientific techniques are fundamental to understand the expansion of the Roman state in northwestern Iberia during the 1st c. BC properly. This renewed context set up a challenging scenario to overcome traditional archaeological perspectives still influenced by the cultural-historical paradigm and the pre-eminence of classical written sources.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/10/12/485Roman military archaeologyremote sensinggeosciencesarchaeological surveysatellite imageryaerial photography |
| spellingShingle | Andrés Menéndez Blanco Jesús García Sánchez José Manuel Costa-García João Fonte David González-Álvarez Víctor Vicente García Following the Roman Army between the Southern Foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains and the Northern Plains of Castile and León (North of Spain): Archaeological Applications of Remote Sensing and Geospatial Tools Geosciences Roman military archaeology remote sensing geosciences archaeological survey satellite imagery aerial photography |
| title | Following the Roman Army between the Southern Foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains and the Northern Plains of Castile and León (North of Spain): Archaeological Applications of Remote Sensing and Geospatial Tools |
| title_full | Following the Roman Army between the Southern Foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains and the Northern Plains of Castile and León (North of Spain): Archaeological Applications of Remote Sensing and Geospatial Tools |
| title_fullStr | Following the Roman Army between the Southern Foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains and the Northern Plains of Castile and León (North of Spain): Archaeological Applications of Remote Sensing and Geospatial Tools |
| title_full_unstemmed | Following the Roman Army between the Southern Foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains and the Northern Plains of Castile and León (North of Spain): Archaeological Applications of Remote Sensing and Geospatial Tools |
| title_short | Following the Roman Army between the Southern Foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains and the Northern Plains of Castile and León (North of Spain): Archaeological Applications of Remote Sensing and Geospatial Tools |
| title_sort | following the roman army between the southern foothills of the cantabrian mountains and the northern plains of castile and leon north of spain archaeological applications of remote sensing and geospatial tools |
| topic | Roman military archaeology remote sensing geosciences archaeological survey satellite imagery aerial photography |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/10/12/485 |
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