Cartographic Sources Research Articles

The Ribble Valley: A Methodological Study in Landscape Development

Using modern geographic information systems, it is possible to reconstruct landscapes, not only throughout human history, but also back to the time of the last glaciation. A multi-disciplinary project by Oxford Archaeology North and the University of Liverpool, funded by the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF), implemented by English Heritage, reconstructed the landscapes of the Ribble Valley and Kirkham Moraine in Lancashire, and provided an opportunity for an assessment of different methodological approaches. Many diverse datasets were used in the project, including geological and palaeoecological data, LiDAR, cartographic sources, aerial photography and data from the County's Historic Environment Record. Statistical techniques were then used on the data to highlight patterns in human occupation of the landscape. This resulted in a detailed chronological history, showing the effect of human interaction on fluvial development, and highlighting areas of potential where further archaeology may be discovered. Some methodological techniques such as LiDAR proved very useful for detailed visualisation of landscape and the identification of archaeological sites, whereas statistical analysis was useful in some cases but not in others, demonstrating that qualitative analysis can never be entirely replaced.

"Each to His Own Inheritance" Geography as an Evaluative Tool in the Genesis Apocryphon

AbstractThe Genesis Apocryphon has often been compared with the Book of Jubilees; especially the parallel accounts of Noah's oversight of the earth's post-flood distribution between his sons and grandsons (1QapGenar 16–17//Jub. 8:8–9:15). A close examination of the Genesis Apocryphon demonstrates that, while this comparison is valid, the two works are more different than scholars have typically assumed. Not only is the treatment of Noah's special role and the earth's proper division more widespread and prominent in the Apocryphon than in Jubilees, but the most directly corresponding passage exhibits a different arrangement. This may suggest a common cartographic source, and attests to a more robust interest in such geographic matters on the part of the Apocryphon. While both authors clearly drew on similar traditions, it is suggested that the author of the Genesis Apocryphon was more occupied with the right of Israel to the Promised Land than the author of Jubilees.

An Archaeological Study of the Battle of the Boyne at Oldbridge, Co Meath

This paper outlines the results of a pilot archaeological study carried out on the Oldbridge Estate, Co. Meath, Ireland, in advance of its development for the presentation of the events of the Battle of the Boyne which was fought by the forces of King William III and James II on 1st July 1690. Archival research including the examination of museum collections, cartographic sources, contemporary artistic depictions of the battle and recent aerial photographic coverages was followed up by the use of a range of archaeological techniques including systematic surface collection survey, soil phosphate analysis, magnetic gradiometry, metal detecting and limited test excavation. Additionally, marine geophysics equipment was used to profile the character of the River Boyne, especially in the area of the main crossings. The study revealed important new evidence including the establishment of the location of Oldbridge village, a pivotal feature in the conduct of the battle, the confirmation of the location of the first engagement on the day of the battle and the first systematically recovered artefacts from the battlefield.

The influence of river training on mountain channel changes (Polish Carpathian Mountains)

The purpose of this paper is to explain the influence of river training on channel changes in mountain rivers. Also considered are the causes of failure of different training schemes. The research was conducted on the regulated Mszanka and Porębianka Rivers, belonging to the Raba River drainage basin in the Polish Flysh Carpathian Mountains. Channel mapping carried out in 2004 drew attention to the contemporary morphology of the channels and the development of their dynamic typology. General changes in channel morphometry and land cover were identified by comparing cartographic sources from various years. Archive material from Cracow's Regional Water Management Authority (RZGW) was used to analyse the detailed channel changes caused by each regulation structure. The material consisted of technical designs of individual training works, as well as plans, longitudinal profiles and cross-sections of trained channel reaches. A series of minimum annual water stages at the Mszana Dolna gauging station was used to determine the tendency of channel bed degradation over 53 years. During the first half of the 20th century, the middle and lower courses of the Mszanka and Porębianka Rivers had braided patterns. The slopes, mostly covered with crops, were an important source of sediment delivery to the river channels. Today, both channels are single-threaded, narrow and sinuous. Downcutting is the leading process transforming the channels. They cut down to bedrock along about 60% of their lengths. The main type of channel is an erosion channel, which occurs also in the middle and lower courses of the rivers. The channel sediment deficit is an important cause for river incision. Sediment supply to the channels was reduced after a replacement of crops on the slopes by meadows or forests. Gravel mining has also caused channel downcutting. The rapid channel changes began after 1959, as systematic training was introduced. Channel regulation seems therefore to be a major factor determining channel adjustment. Debris dams and groynes were built before 1980 and these caused the greatest change of channel pattern, increase of channel gradient and magnitude of river incision. After that date the measures mostly involved drop structures. From then on, the rate of downcutting decreased considerably, but has not ceased. The rivers continued to incise until bedrock was exposed or training structures were destroyed. After that, a tendency to lateral migration and local braiding were observed in the deepened channel. The channels displayed a tendency to return to their morphology and dynamic from before the training. The results demonstrate that river training distorts the equilibrium of channel systems. A channel becomes divided into artificial reaches, which later follow different evolutionary patterns. Most training schemes on mountain channels are ineffective in the long term, as river managers seem to consider a channel at a reach scale only. Individual channel reaches, however, are not independent but rather form a system that must be managed at the entire channel scale.

Geomorphological methods to characterise wetlands at the scale of the Seine watershed

Based on easily available morphological data within the Seine river watershed (76750 km(2)), two approaches were used for wetland delineation and characterisation. Their common assumption is that geomorphology largely governs the spatial distribution of wetlands, because it determines topography and the nature of deposits, thus water pathways and residence times. The first approach relies on the topographic index introduced by Beven and Kirkby [Beven KJ, Kirkby MJ. A physically based, variable contributing area model of basin hydrology. Hydrol Sci Bull 1979; 24: 43-69.], that has been widely used to characterise saturated areas in small catchments. We mapped this index for the Seine watershed using a 100 m resolution DEM typical of DEMs easily available at this scale. The second approach relies on a geomorphological classification of river corridors which was specifically developed for the Seine basin. It is based on genetic concepts, and defines 13 types of river corridors as a function of the geometry of the river bed with respect to bedrock (incised, aggraded, encased, stable), the nature of alluvial fills, and the small scale morphology in the corridors. We used geological, hydrogeological and topographical maps of the Seine basin to delineate the river corridors and characterise the type of all the comprising streams with 2 km resolution. Two cartographic sources that were not exploited by the above methods were used to assess their performances. The wetlands depicted on 1:25000 topographic maps cover 2% of the Seine basin but are limited. The waterlogged soils from two 1:50000 pedologic maps are more reliable, but these maps only cover 5% of the watershed. In the river corridors, most wetlands fall in the encased and aggraded subsystems of the geomorphological classification, where the mean of the topographic index is significantly higher than in the other subsystems. High values of the topographic index are good general indicators of wetlands, even when calculated from a 100-m DEM. The agreement between the two studied methods confirms that geomorphology is the major driving factor for wetland distribution, even in a sedimentary basin with a strong influence of aquifers on hydrology. These complementary methods provide a powerful tool to complement the gaps of classical wetland databases at the scale of large watersheds.

Die Holzrollbahn vom Pilatus und ihre landschaftlichen Auswirkungen | The timber railroad at Pilatus and its impact on the landscape

Industrialisation triggered an increase in demand for wood and timber. Consequently, the forested area of the Schlierentäler, located close to Alpnach (Canton Obwalden), caught the eye of international timber merchants. In the 19th century, the municipality of Alpnach sold about 700 hectares of forest to these merchants. Only by applying new infrastructural technologies was it possible to transport the timber to the valley bottom. In 1870, Christian König from Berne constructed a timber railroad, stretching over several kilometres to the Schwandschlierental (Valley of the Kleinen Schliere), to facilitate the last major clear-cut. Within the context of a diploma project conducted by the Department of Environmental Sciences, ETH Zurich, the course of the timber railroad was reconstructed based on information taken from written and cartographical sources, and the discovery of some of its traces found in the area. In addition, the impact of this railroad on the landscape,i. e. forest cover, was analysed by means of map comparisons.

Macrozoneamento do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul

Earth imaging technologies using orbital platforms have allowed new approaches in the analyses, compartmentalization, and territorial visualization. These cartographic informations have many applications in agricultural, urban and environmental monitoring. In the case of vast geographic regions, such as Brazil, one expects that the many products obtained from imaging technology will be used to reduce costs and to provide a better understanding of the territory. The crossanalysis of the products from various imaging systems of different characteristics (e.g. pixel size, band, and data) allows the improvement of current maps as well as more complex analyses. The macrozoning of the state Rio Grande do Sul was accomplished by integrating orbital data of different characteristics and other cartographic products. The following sources supplied data on Rio Grande do Sul: 1) Landsat TM mosaic; 2) temporal NDVI/NOAA combination; 3) geomorphologic map; and 4) altimetric map. The cross-analysis of the data allow us to gather in a single map information from distinct cartographic sources, which better represent the diversity of the thematic classes in relation to the usage patterns of soil and plant life in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

Century-scale stream network dynamics in the Russian Plain in response to climate and land use change

The spatial and temporal dynamics of stream net density (SND) within the Central and Southern parts of the Russian Plain during the last two centuries are studied by comparison of historical cartographic sources. A significant decrease of SND is observed in the forest–steppe and steppe zones. The maximum SND decrease is detected at the northern edge of the steppe zone, where SND values in the middle of the 20th century were only 50–60% of those at the beginning of the 19th century. Two stages of permanent stream disappearance were found within the study area: (1) The end of the 18th century to the first half of the 19th century, where the SND decrease was associated with a high frequency of droughts, that coincided with an expansion of the area of arable land, and (2) the last quarter of the 19th century, where the SND decrease can be explained by the extreme erosion rates resulting from the expansion of cultivation over steep slopes during the expansion of arable cultivation after the 1861 land reform. The roles of regional climate dynamics and land use change are confirmed by hydrological and meteorological data coupled with data on anthropogenic gully formation. Detailed studies of SND dynamics in a number of key basins provide a basis for understanding the mechanisms of SND reduction.

Book Review: Zell, Hans M., ed. THE AFRICAN STUDIES COMPANION: A GUIDE TO INFORMATION SOURCES. Lochcarron, Scotland: Hans Zell Publishing, 2003.

Reviewed by: The African Studies Companion: A Guide to Information Sources Kate M. Schroeder Zell, Hans M. , ed. 2003. The African Studies Companion: A Guide to Information Sources. Lochcarron, Scotland: Hans Zell Publishing. 545 pp. The third edition of the African Studies Companion continues Hans M. Zell's tradition of excellence in the publication of reference works for African Studies. Since the publication of the first edition, in 1989, this work has consistently provided essential information in a well-organized and easy-to-use format for individuals seeking to conduct research in African [End Page 114] studies. The new edition is greatly revised and enlarged and has embraced the electronic resources available in the field. In addition to extensive revisions, this edition has been published in print and online formats, making it a one-of-a-kind reference resource for African studies. The print edition consists of twenty-three sections, with several (subdivided by continent and country) directing the reader to resources in electronic and print formats and including extensive annotations. It provides information on more than 300 publishers in African studies, including contact information, details of topics covered, and language of publication. It includes sections on major bibliographical resources, cartographic sources, African-language resources, guides to film and video resources, news sources, guides to African newspapers, and major online forums and mailing lists. It adds contact information for African-studies collections around the world, NGOs, academic libraries and national archives in Africa, and much more. This is essential information for researchers who need to conduct research and/or communicate with organizations concerned with the continent. This work is a timesaving device, with its compilation of often hard-to-find directory information into one easy to use source. The online edition was released in August of 2004; access to the password-protected site requires the purchase of the print version to obtain a username and password. It has been updated, and according to the publisher will continue to be updated as information changes. This updating is one of the work's greatest advantages. Most researchers have experienced the frustration of trying to contact an organization only to discover that the telephone number, address, email address, or URL has changed. Online updating will help circumvent these problems. In addition to online updates, the publisher hopes to publish a new print edition every two years, and may eventually make the African Studies Companion an annual publication with a serial subscription. The user of this edition needs to be aware that the African Studies Companion is focused on general, multidisciplinary works. Researchers seeking subject- and country-specific resources should be aware that these are not included. The guide provides information about which bibliographic and reference tools might be appropriate as more specialized reference works on some subjects. Overall, this guide is an excellent resource, which epitomizes the high standards of all Hans M. Zell's reference works. Both the electronic and print versions are beautifully presented, easy to use, and an asset to African studies. Kate M. Schroeder Indiana University Copyright © 2005 Indiana University Press

Ringkøbing i middelalderen

Ringkøbing i middelalderen

GIS Methodology for Characterizing Historical Conditions of the Willamette River Flood Plain, Oregon

AbstractRecent environmental developments have stimulated an interest in conservation and restoration of the historical Willamette River flood plain, both to protect against flooding and to provide wildlife habitat. In order to best utilize scarce resources, we characterized historical and modern river channel and flood‐plain conditions to evaluate changes and help prioritize restoration sites. Using cartographic and photographic data sources, we developed a Geographic Information System (GIS) to map active channels, side channels, islands and tributaries for four separate dates, as well as riparian and flood‐plain vegetation characteristics for pre‐European settlement and modern time periods. Coverages based on flood records and other boundaries were used to partition the flood plain into spatial subsets for analysis. The GIS allowed comparisons between historical and present conditions for a variety of environmental factors. Much of the pre‐settlement channel complexity has been removed. Total channel length in 1995 was 26% less than in 1850, with almost 58% of the river's side channels disconnected from the system. In addition, we found a 72% loss of flood‐plain forest from 1850 to 1995, since it was converted to agricultural and urban land uses. Selected river and flood‐plain variables were made available for a spatial model to prioritize potential locations for flood‐plain restoration.

Making the Most of a Bad Situation? Glastonbury Abbey, Meare, and the Medieval Exploitation of Wetland Resources in the Somerset Levels

Meare, famous for its 'Abbot's Fish House', lay at the centre of Glastonbury Abbey's estates in Somerset. This paper reconstructs the medieval landscape that surrounded it, in particular showing how highly valued wetland resources were. A strongly interdisciplinary approach is used, integrating remarkably rich documentary material with evidence contained within the 'historic landscape': the pattern of fields, roads, settlements and watercourses as represented on the earliest (early 19th-century) cartographic sources and in many cases still in use today. Historic landscape characterization allows a series of distinctive 'landscape character areas' to be identified which reflect the impact that both lordship and community had on the landscape, with a walled manorial complex, adjacent church, planned village, carefully laid out open fields, and areas of reclaimed meadow, surrounded by extensive common pastures and the famous Meare Pool. These wetlands were clearly highly valued, both materially, as demonstrated by a series of acrimonious disputes between Glastonbury and the Dean and Chapter of Wells Cathedral over their respective rights there, and symbolically, as reflected in the inclusion of Meare along with a series of other islands and their associated Christian sites in the special jurisdiction known as the 'Twelve Hides'. Key to the successful utilization of this landscape was the control of water as a resource, including the exploitation of its natural occurrence in Meare Pool, and its manipulation in the form of canals used for navigation, fishing, flood prevention, and powering mills .

A Medieval Burial from Graham Street, Leith, Edinburgh

Summary An archaeological excavation was carried out at Graham Street, Leith, Edinburgh by Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD) as part of the Historic Scotland Human Remains Call-off Contract following the discovery of human remains during machine excavation of a foundation trench for a new housing development. Excavation demonstrated that the burial was that of a young adult male who had been interred in a supine position with his head orientated towards the north. Radiocarbon dates obtained from a right tibia suggest the individual died between the 15th and 17th centuries AD. Little contextual information exists in documentary or cartographic sources to supplement this scant physical evidence. Accordingly, it is difficult to further refine the context of burial, although a possible link with a historically attested siege or a plague cannot be discounted.

Fortified settlement Veletin

Fortified settlement Veletin

The Confusing Identities Attributed to Stadacona and Hochelaga

This paper examines the several identities currently attributed to Jacques Cartier’s Stadacona and Hochelaga. Identities derived largely by historians from documentary sources originating prior to the last 40 years are contrasted with identities derived largely by anthropologists from the archaeological and linguistic evidence that has been available since the 1950s. Because the more current research is not being used by some historians who seek to explain sixteenth-century events in the St Lawrence Valley, their perceptions of New France in this context are skewed by limitations inherent in pre-1950 documentary and cartographic sources.

The Colonization and Peoples of Novaya Zemlya Then and Now

The huge polar archipelago of Novaya Zemlya is well known as a nuclear testing site devoid of a civilian population. But in many cartographical sources, e.g., maps in the National Geographic Magazine, one can still see a set of settlements along its coasts. Soviet sources showed these settlements until 1956 (Atlas mira, 1954; Atlas mira, 1955), at a time when full military control was established on the islands. But what is the fate of these high latitude settlements now? It is their historical background and population that will be reviewed with special reference to ethnic problems, proving to be a unique experiment in the economic use of this high Arctic area. Taken as a key area, Novaya Zemlya is the largest archipelago of the European Arctic, ca. 83,000 sq.km., consisting of two main islands and numerous smaller ones. The main islands, Northern and Southern, are separated by the narrow strait, Matochkin Shar. The huge archipelago stretches almost 900 km in a submeridional direction and is considered a structural continuation of the Urals. The mountains often rise more than 1,000 m above sea-level, the highest summit attaining 1,547 m. Almost 25% of the total area is covered by ice. The most extensive glaciation is on the northern and central parts of the Northern Island, which is a vast ice sheet and an outlet of several glaciers.

Średniowieczne rezydencje obronne małopolskich Gryfitów. Uwagi do problematyki badawczej

The magnate’s Gryfita family who occupied a leading position among the feudal elite of Little Poland, especially in the 13th century, has aroused considerable interest of the historians. The studies concentrated mostly on the reconstruction of geneological links between members of several branches of the family. Attention has also been paid to their economic activies. On the other hand, the problem posed by fortified residences erected in the centres of their estates has so far been ignored. In this article the so far known buildings of this type, which owe their origin to the initiative of the Gryfita family, have been briefly characterized. Because of the not too exact archaeological recognition and the exceptionally scant historical evidence the two earliest fortified residences: one at Szaflary on the Biały Dunajec and the other at Dębno between the Dunajec and Uszwica rivers, can be included in this group only with reservation. The two castles were built in the second part of the 13th century in areas that at that time belonged to the Gryfita family. On the other hand, the attribution of other buildings described here to the initiative of the members of this family does not leave room for doubt. The motte at Zagórze, which is the relic of a fortified residenve inhabited in the 14th and 15th centuries, should be associated with the estate located in the Silesian-Polish borderland. In the early 14th century a fortified timber and earth residence was built at Gródek within the estate located on the middle course of the Dunajec, and about mid-14th century a castle of Rożnów was built nearby. The castle of Trestczyn, built by the Gryfita Trestka family on the river Biała in the first part of the 14th century, is known to us from written souces and from archaeological reconnaissance. Another residence of this family was the castle at Mielec on the river Wisłok, whose location can only be established on the basis of historical and cartographical sources. On the other hand, the manor-house with a tower at Przybenice, in the forks of the rivers Nidzica and Szreniawa, though testified by 14th-century documents, cannot be exactly located. On the basis of historical sources it is possible to surmise that the well-known castle at Szymbark, built by the Gradysze family of the Gryf coat-of-arms in the first part of the 16th century, was preceded by a manor-house erected by their predecessors in the 14th cantury.

Cartobibliographic Instruction:

This paper encourages the inclusion of cartobibliographic instruction as another path in the library instruction program. Cartographic resources including maps, globes, charts, gazetteers, and atlases are too often overlooked in such programs. Bibliographic access to, and problems associated with the use of cartographic sources, and general geographical concepts are discussed. This paper also highlights the abundance of these sources across the curriculum with special emphasis on the humanities, social sciences, and health sciences.

Civil War newspaper maps: a historical atlas

Bull Run - Ball's Bluff - Chickamauga - Antietam - Secessionville - Champion's Hill. To the Northern public during the War, they were exotic names of unfamiliar places where husbands, sons, fathers and brothers fought and died. Hungry for information from these far-off battlefields, Americans began buying daily newspapers in record numbers. Competition among publishers grew keen. Correspondents reporting from the field soon began supplementing written dispatches with battlefield maps, and before long newspapers were seeking new ways to portray topography and battle lines in clear, effective images. In Civil War Newspaper Maps, David Bosse shows how 19th-century advances in printing and engraving technology, coupled with an unprecedented public demand for information, led to the development of a means of mass communication still in use today - the quickly produced, up-to-the-minute newspaper battlefield map. Bosses introduction offers a concise overview of the subject, including how correspondents sent maps to their papers from the field, press-military relations during the war, and the economic problems of map printing. Following the text is an atlas of 45 newspaper maps printed by the Northern daily press. Each map is accompanied by a summary of the military operation it illustrates and a commentary on the map itself, including an evaluation of its accuracy based on comparison with other historical and cartographic sources. Arranged chronologically, the maps cover nearly every theatre of the war and represent a unique historical record of one of the pivotal events in American history. David Bosse is curator of maps at the William L. Clements Library at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and the author of Civil War Newspaper Maps: A Cartobibliography of the Northern Daily Press.

The Authenticity of the Vinland Map

Kejlbo, Ib: The Authenticity of the Vinland Map. Geografisk Tidsskrift 92:1–13. Copenhagen 1992. The author is critical of the suggestion put forward by Skelton and Painter, (authors of ‘The Vinland Map and the Tartar Relation’, 1965), that the Vinland Map and Resen's Map of 1605 might derive from a common, now lost, cartographic source. As Resen's map, and its precursor Stefansson's map of about 1590, were presumably compiled on the basis of legendary material rather than on already existing cartographic material, the author finds this theory untenable. A more likely source of the Vinland Map would, in his view, appear to be Claudius Clavus, the Danish cartographer, whose Nancy Map of 1427 remains the first map to bear witness of Norse geographical knowledge. Leaving the question of its authenticity to be settled, possibly by chemical or hitherto unknown cartographic evidence, the author recommends that the study of the original Norse sources remains central to any future discussion of the Vinland Map.