Contemporary Maps Research Articles

Near-Time Digital Mapping for Geoforensic Searches

Inadequate base maps with poor scale or low resolution demonstrate the need for contemporary topographic maps when conducting geological mapping. In neotectonic regimes and areas of dynamic geomorphology, archival or large-scale maps require time-consuming, on-site manual updating while mapping bedrock and superficial geology. In contrast, stable ground conditions may have suitable legacy maps in some locations but not in others, such as where surveying is absent, incomplete or subject to legal restrictions. The geologist tasked with mapping may have to do this on short notice at their first site visit with no time to search for or create digital or physical copies of background maps on a suitable scale. The field mapper may encounter any of the above scenarios, especially the Geoforensic specialist tasked with Search and Rescue, hazard assessment or preparation and desktop study for subsequent search teams or law enforcement. Drone-derived orthoimagery and digital surface modelling can be conducted on-site in near real time to provide high resolution georeferenced maps for direct input of geological information, thus bypassing either non-existent or unsuitable base maps.

Mapping South Africa's canopy-forming kelp forests using low-cost, high-resolution Sentinel-2 imagery

Globally, kelp forests play a vital role in providing ecological, social and economic services. They contribute to the livelihoods and resilience of many coastal communities. To date, a gap exists in contemporary, comprehensive and consistent maps of South African kelp forests, since they were last mapped partially in 2006 by covering 900 km of South Africa's coastline. This study addresses this gap by producing a comprehensive remotely sensed high-resolution 2016 map of canopy forming coastal kelp forests. Using the 10m resolution Sentinel-2 A and B spectral bands 4 (RED) and 8 (NIR), an expert derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) threshold was used to detect surface protruding kelp forests along 1300 km coastline. The results were validated with expert verification and using Google Earth, data from historic maps, remote sensing and biomass estimation of South African kelp resources. Our study demonstrates the aptitude of Sentinel-2 for detecting canopy-forming kelps at low cost along South Africa's west and south coast. We report the encountered drawbacks in mapping an expansive coastline with varied sea conditions including wave activity, tides and turbidity. Comprehensive ground validation, long-term monitoring sites and the use of time series datasets remain a gap towards improving the calibration of remote sensing methods and long-term monitoring of South African kelp forests. Our results provide a foundation for continuous monitoring of South African kelp forests as well as exploring other unmapped kelp/similar habitats to inform research and environmental management.

How Did Early Modern Scholars Study Early Maps?

The two standard Anglophone historiographies of the history of cartography (Skelton 1972, Harley 1987) situated the field’s origins in the early modern era, or even in the later Middle Ages. Yet “history” and “cartography” are both products of the profound changes in the intellectual foundations and institutions of European knowledge practices in the decades to either side of 1800. By contrast, this essay explores how early modern scholars variously engaged with maps from the past in terms of contemporary knowledge practices. [Part 1] It first outlines the early modern meanings of “history” and “geography” and then reviews how early modern scholars engaged with early maps in three distinct ways. Classical scholars used the Peutinger map and Ptolemy’s Geography to identify locations of ancient places in order to improve their comprehension of Classical texts. [Part 2] Some geographers wrote histories of voyages and travels that related past routes to contemporary maps, and others wrote historical narratives of the compilation of encyclopedic texts and maps of regional and world knowledge. [Part 3] Antiquaries opportunistically described and at times reproduced a variety of maps, charts, and plans that came to their attention, but without active searches for early maps. Overall, I demonstrate that before 1775 there was neither a systematic approach taken to the study of maps from the past nor any hint of the core methodology that would be adopted by the first historiographical mode of map history as it developed after 1830.

The Via Severiana and the Tabula Peutingeriana: valuation of landmarks precision and town expansions

This work deals with the examination of the route of the Via Severiana, traced in the imperial period, from a historical and technical point of view. Then, results were compared with the Tabula, which we can consider one of the first synthetic representations of general viability. We have explored the development of the various sectors of the via Severiana, considering the various utility and presence on the territory, using the Tabula Peutingeriana as a benchmark. Subsequently, we have examined the precision of the positioning of the various landmarks along the via Severiana and the movement of the inhabited centers as a function of density. Modern technologies, including Geographic Information Systems and mathematical models, allow us to help the archaeologists to overlay ancient maps like the Tabula Peutingeriana onto contemporary maps, aiding in the identification of locations and understanding ancient landscapes.

Blending Indigenous and western science: Quantifying cultural burning impacts in Karuk Aboriginal Territory.

The combined effects of Indigenous fire stewardship and lightning ignitions shaped historical fire regimes, landscape patterns, and available resources in many ecosystems globally. The resulting fire regimes created complex fire-vegetation dynamics that were further influenced by biophysical setting, disturbance history, and climate. While there is increasing recognition of Indigenous fire stewardship among western scientists and managers, the extent and purpose of cultural burning is generally absent from the landscape-fire modeling literature and our understanding of ecosystem processes and development. In collaboration with the Karuk Tribe Department of Natural Resources, we developed a transdisciplinary Monte Carlo simulation model of cultural ignition location, frequency, and timing to simulate spatially explicit cultural ignitions across a 264,399-ha landscape within Karuk Aboriginal Territory in northern California. Estimates of cultural ignition parameters were developed with Tribal members and knowledge holders using existing interviews, historical maps, ethnographies, recent ecological studies, contemporary maps, and generational knowledge. Spatial and temporal attributes of cultural burning were explicitly tied to the ecology of specific cultural resources, fuel receptivity, seasonal movement patterns, and spiritual practices. Prior to colonization, cultural burning practices were extensive across the study landscape with an estimated 6972 annual ignitions, averaging approximately 6.5 ignitions per Indigenous fire steward per year. The ignition characteristics we document align closely with data on historical fire regimes and vegetation but differ substantially from the location and timing of contemporary ignitions. This work demonstrates the importance of cultural burning for developing and maintaining the ecosystems present at the time of colonization and underscores the need to work collaboratively with Indigenous communities to restore ecocultural processes in these systems.

Reconstructing of historical land cover based on contemporary cartographical materials

Historical land use reconstructions help to assess climate change, interactions between ecosystems and human and strengthen the knowledge about these interactions. They are conducted on the basis of historical maps that only cover certain areas. Hence, there is a need to seek other maps enabling historical land use to be reconstructed. The aim of study is to assess the suitability of contemporary maps for reconstructing a historical non-forest area range in the Western Carpathians. The content of contemporary maps was compared with that of historical maps, including the number of glades, their area and the length of their boundaries. Over 60% of glades were reconstructed, which is 90% of the glade area inventoried based on historical maps. Over 50% glades with an area of less than 1ha were not reconstructed. However, the area they occupy does not account for 2% of the total glade area. Thus, it has no significant impact on the total area of the reconstructed glades. As much as 90% of the boundaries' length was reconstructed. The study shows that contemporary maps may be useful in reconstructing the forest and glades range and may be an additional source of information to verify the content of historical maps.

Urban History on the Seam: Frankfurt’s Judengasse and the Early Modern City

This article examines the nexus between the Jewish ghetto in Frankfurt am Main (built in 1462) and a neighboring street, Wollgraben. Utilizing Jewish communal sources in Hebrew and Yiddish, German municipal records, and contemporary maps, it traces the development of the ghetto against the backdrop of urban expansion and population growth. Although the Jews were technically confined to the ghetto, these sources demonstrate that as the Jewish population increased, both Jewish residents and their buildings spilled over into the once-empty lot on Wollgraben. Building policies demonstrate, however, that limiting the visibility of the Jewish minority was essential to the city council. As such, they restricted the scope and zoning of buildings to obscure the Jewish presence, particularly as the majority population expanded into this once peripheral area.

The Relation Between The Intensity of Market Competition, Intellectual Capital, Management Accounting Practices in Coventional and Digital SME

This study investigates the difference of the impact of external and internal environment on the use of management accounting practices between conventional and digital SMEs. The use of management accounting practices assists the SMEs to make good decision. The aim of the study to test the relationship between intensity of market competition (external environment) and intellectual capital (internal environment) on the use of management accounting practices, so that the SMEs leverage their performance. The population of this research is conventional and digital SMEs in East Java. This study uses the convenience method as a sampling technique. The data collection results are 179 SMEs consisting of 127 conventional and 52 digital SMEs. The test results with SMART-PLS show that (1) the intensity of market competition has a positive effect on intellectual capital both conventional and digital SMEs, (2) intellectual capital has a positive effect on traditional MAP and on contemporary MAP both conventional and digital SMEs, (4) traditional MAP has a positive effect on business performance in conventional SMEs, and (5) contemporary MAP has no effect on business performance in digital SMEs.

Assessing the accuracy of georeferenced landcover data derived from oblique imagery using machine learning

AbstractRepeat photography offers distinctive insights into ecological change, with ground‐based oblique photographs often predating early aerial images by decades. However, the oblique angle of the photographs presents challenges for extracting and analyzing ecological information using traditional remote sensing approaches. Several innovative methods have been developed for analyzing repeat photographs, but none offer a comprehensive end‐to‐end workflow incorporating image classification and georeferencing to produce quantifiable landcover data. In this paper, we provide an overview of two new tools, an automated deep learning classifier and intuitive georeferencing tool, and describe how they are used to derive landcover data from 19 images associated with the Mountain Legacy Project, a research team that works with the world's largest collection of systematic high‐resolution historic mountain photographs. We then combined these data to produce a contemporary landcover map for a study area in Jasper National Park, Canada. We assessed georeferencing accuracy by calculating the root‐mean‐square error and mean displacement for a subset of the images, which was 4.6 and 3.7 m, respectively. Overall classification accuracy of the landcover map produced from oblique images was 68%, which was comparable to landcover data produced from aerial imagery using a conventional classification method. The new workflow advances the use of repeat photographs for yielding quantitative landcover data. It has several advantages over existing methods including the ability to produce quick and consistent image classifications with little human input, and accurately georeference and combine these data to generate landcover maps for large areas.

Cognition of contemporary city maps and interpretation of their map representation: Case study of a German-made urban planning map of Qingdao in 1910

Cognition of contemporary city maps and interpretation of their map representation: Case study of a German-made urban planning map of Qingdao in 1910

Behind the first Habsburg map of Transylvania – comparative analysis of contemporary manuscript maps

ABSTRACT Along with the historical changes, the Habsburg mapping of Transylvania started off at the end of the seventeenth century. Much more detailed maps were made, showing a few hundred settlements that had not been marked before. The best-known printed work of the time is Morando Visconti's map of Transylvania (1699). This study analyses for the first time three other contemporary manuscript maps: Mappa della Transilvania, ca. 1691–1699, Kriegsarchiv, B IX a 691; Continet mappas comitatuum, ca. 1685–1700, ELTE Egyetemi Könyvtár, Collectio Hevenesiana 91; Müller: Mappa Geographica Transylvaniae, ca. 1705–1711, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Cod.icon. 180 tb. They bear no date, only one has an author, but they show a close correspondence to Morando Visconti's map. What is the relationship between the printed map and the manuscript maps, what were their sources, of what are they copies? What can we find out about the authors and the date of the manuscript maps? How did the Habsburg mapping of a new province begin?

The Conquest of the Desert: Argentina's Indigenous Peoples and the Battle for History by Carolynn R. Larson

Reviewed by: The Conquest of the Desert: Argentina's Indigenous Peoples and the Battle for History by Carolynn R. Larson Evan C. Rothera Larson, Carolynn R. The Conquest of the Desert: Argentina's Indigenous Peoples and the Battle for History. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 2020. La Conquista del Desierto—the Conquest of the Desert—continues to polarize people. The name refers to a series of military campaigns conducted by [End Page 233] Argentine forces from 1878 to 1885 that were designed to drive indigenous people out of the pampas and Patagonia. As Carolyne R. Larson observes, "Many in Argentina today see the conquest as bringing civilization to a barbaric landscape," but other people routinely spray-paint monuments of Julio A. Roca, the commander of the conquest and later president of Argentina, with phrases such as "Roca = genocide" and "Assassin" (1). Larson, currently associate professor of history at St. Norbert College and author of Our Indigenous Ancestors: A Cultural History of Museums, Science, and Identity in Argentina, 1877–1943 (2015), has assembled a talented group of scholars who examine the events of the conquest and their specific meanings to "unpack the issues of nation, violence, memory, colonialism, and indigeneity entangled within them" (2). In addition, the chapters in this volume foreground indigenous voices to locate counternarratives that challenge long-accepted ideas and stories about the conquest. Larson opens with a detailed discussion of the official story of the conquest and analyzes the "military, state, and popular press sources that chiefly crafted the conquest's central narratives of national urgency, peaceful conquest, indigenous disappearance, and triumphant civilization" (17–18). She provides important background information, especially for readers who are not well versed in the history of these events. Julio Vezub and Mark Healey flip the official story on its head by narrating the conquest from the viewpoint of Mapuche and Tehuelche caciques, not from the perspective of Argentine soldiers and leaders. Vezub and Healey assert that "indigenous leaders were far more effective than previous scholars have recognized in coordinating actions, protecting their people, and negotiating terms of subordination to the newly powerful national state" (44). Rob Christensen contends that the Argentine army's victory was "shaped by the confluence of many forces outside creole leaders' control" (71). His focus on the environment places him among scholars who have begun to emphasize relationships among environmental factors and military campaigns. Ricardo D. Salvatore analyzes Inacayal and Foyel, indigenous caciques who were captured and sent to the Museum of La Plata. Salvatore contributes to scholarly discussions of living indigenous people in a museum by exploring how they "fed the curiosity of both scientists and the public at large" and how their presence was seen as "a culmination of the civilizing project of modernity" (120). Walter Delrio and Pila Pérez illustrate how crimes against humanity occurred during three periods of genocide in Argentina. Jennie I. Daniels investigates [End Page 234] literary representation of the Argentine desert and indigenous people. She finds that literary works often portray indigenous people as "faceless hordes rather than specific groups" (146). David M. K. Sheinin argues for an expanded understanding of the military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. He notes that some military officials believed they had a historical responsibility, dating back to the conquest, to indigenous people. Thus, while some officers oversaw secret detention centers, others "were exercising a multifaceted plan to better the lives of First Peoples by improving rural education, building much-needed housing, providing better access to medical facilities, and more" (192). Ana Ramos examines the events of the conquest from the viewpoint of Mapuche memory and reveals the "value and importance that Mapuche agency has had in the regeneration of their affective and political bonds" (217). Sarah D. Warren, in the volume's final chapter, analyzes maps of Mapuche territory (Wallmapu) and illustrates how "contemporary maps of Mapuche territory include borders, boundaries, and places of historical significance related to the Conquest of the Desert in their renderings" (219). The Conquest of the Desert is a thought-provoking volume that does a great deal toward complicating scholarly understandings and revising the official story of these events. A chapter placing the Conquest of the...

Monitoring of 35-Year Mangrove Wetland Change Dynamics and Agents in the Sundarbans Using Temporal Consistency Checking

Mangrove wetlands are rapidly being lost due to anthropogenic disturbances and natural processes, such as sea-level rise (SLR), but are also recovering as a result of conservation efforts. Accurate and contemporary mangrove maps to detect their distribution and changes are urgently needed to understand how mangroves respond to global change and develop effective conservation projects. Here, we developed a new change detection algorithm called temporal consistency checking combining annual classification and spectral time series (TCC-CS) for tracking mangrove losses and gains. Specifically, mangrove change events were determined by measuring the deviation of greenness and wetness of candidate change segments from automatically collected mangrove reference samples. By applying to the world’s largest mangrove patches, we monitored the 35-year mangrove trajectory in the Sundarbans from 1988 to 2022 using all available Landsat images on the Google Earth Engine platform. In the Sundarbans, 18,501.89 ha of mangroves have been gained, but these have been offset by losses of 27,009.79 ha, leading to a net mangrove loss of 1.42% (8507.9 ha) in the past 35 years. We further mapped the pixel-level change agents and found that SLR-induced erosion and degradation, instead of human activities, were the major drivers of losses in the Sundarbans. Trend analysis on loss agents indicates that mangrove losses caused by human activities, such as the expansion of croplands and aquaculture ponds, have declined, but SLR is still a persistent threat to mangrove wetlands in this iconic mangrove area. Our study provides a computationally efficient methodology for examining large-scale mangrove changes, and the resultant annual mangrove maps provide strong support for mangrove conservation in the Sundarbans.

Missing the city for buildings? A critical review of pan-scalar map generalization and design in contemporary zoomable maps

ABSTRACT Most of the maps used today are what we call pan-scalar maps, i.e. interactive zoomable applications comprised of numerous maps of a particular area at different zoom levels (i.e. scales). We argue that such maps require a pan-scalar map design, which may differ significantly from established map design axioms and standards. This review is twofold. First, it reviews current practices in pan-scalar map design. Second, it summarizes and synthesizes literature about pan-scalar map design, as well as human-computer interaction (HCI) best practices for pan-scalar maps. The review of practices is based on a ScaleMaster analysis of the design of three popular pan-scalar maps: Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, and France's IGN Classic. Discussion centers on both stellar and subpar contemporary pan-scalar map design practices to help guide future practical pan-scalar designs and research on pan-scalar maps broadly.

Topography Staraya Ladoga: Actual questions

Medieval Ladoga (after 1704 — the village of Staraya Ladoga) was the first urban centre of Northern Russia. It emerged no later than the middle of the 8th century AD. The medieval city boasts a unique archaeological and architectural complex, comprising a stone fortress, an extensive settlement, stone temples and monasteries, and various funerary sites such as hills, mounds, ground burial grounds, and Christian cemeteries. Scientific archaeological research has been intermittently conducted at this site for over 150 years. Researchers have repeatedly investigated the topography of the Ladoga complex, whose history reflects the formation of the medieval city. Ladoga grew from a small settlement in the river floodplain, involved in the processes of trans-European interaction, into a major centre with developed craft production. However, it is still debated whether the settlement had a single nucleus or was formed over time from several closely spaced, isolated farms. Another unresolved issue is the nature of interaction between Ladoga and its immediate neighbourhood. Although archaeological research has a long history, there is currently insufficient data to definitively address the questions posed. The article reviews the main works on the history of settlement development. It argues for the need to revisit the internal topography of Ladoga, considering the accumulation of new archaeological material. The article presents the initial findings of the field research conducted between 2021 and 2023. Utilizing new technical resources, a contemporary archaeological map of Staraya Ladoga and its surrounding areas, comprising 55 sites, has been produced. Aerial photography and airborne laser scanning complement each other to create topographic plans, build digital elevation models, and search for previously unknown or destroyed archaeological sites. Unlike aerial photography, which is effective in open terrain, airborne laser scanning allows for the detection of small differences in relief regardless of the degree of forest cover. When processing laser scanning results, only the ground surface is left visible, revealing all relief irregularities, including archaeological objects such as burial mounds, ditches, ramparts, and old excavation contours. The Zemlyanoye Gorodishche (Earthen Castle) is considered the most valuable archaeological site, spanning from the 8th to the 17th centuries. Several generations of archaeologists excavated the site intermittently between 1909 and 2013, covering an area of over 2000 square metres. Despite extensive archaeological research, there are still unresolved issues regarding the development of general stratigraphic and planigraphic schemes for the entire studied area. The imperfection of the methodology used to fix past years is the reason for this. A considerable amount of data remains in archives. Publishing the complete results of excavations, which span over 100 years, is a task for the future.

Using A Study of the Social Challenges of Urbanization in the Next 30 Years based on Age Transition and Comprehensive Plans for Iranian Cities: The Case of Hamedan City

An examination of population growth in Iran during the past three decades shows that the sharp increase in the rate of birth in the 1980s significantly expanded the base of the age pyramid of the Iranian population in that decade. Throughout time, this expanded surface has gradually transitioned to the higher levels of the pyramid and has now reached the age group of 25-29 and will soon reach the age group of 20-24, two age groups that form 1/4 of Iran’s population. Considering this and the expansion of urbanization in recent years, elderly citizens will constitute a large part of Iran’s urban population in the next 30 years. An urban elderly population has special needs and requires special social spaces. But a closer look at the comprehensive plans proposed for Iranian cities, which often have been prepared with the next 20 years in mind, shows that most of the government’s policies and plans in cities involve the needs of the younger generation. In other words, the current status of Iranian cities and the proposed plans will not meet the needs of the elderly in the coming decades. Using documentary research and analysis of the contemporary structural maps of Hamedan City, this study examined the urbanization challenges resulting from age transition in 2041 to meet the World Health Organization (WHO) efficient requirements in quality-of-life. The findings indicate that Hamedan’s current form and its urban development plans have fundamental flaws because of inattention to the phenomenon of age transition based on United Nations (UN) policies in the determination of land uses and accessibility to public spaces for elderly citizens and this creates social challenges in the city.

An evidence-based study mapping the decline in freshwater ponds in the Severn Vale catchment in the UK between 1900 and 2019

Freshwater ponds have long been an overlooked biodiversity store and changing types of land use and the land management practices has led to a steady decline in pond numbers. Establishing the regional extent of pond loss is the first step in identifying key areas for conservation action. This study calculated pond loss in the Severn Vale catchment UK since 1900. Identification of pond location and surrounding land use on historic and contemporary maps enabled a comparison of total number, density and distance between present day and historic ponds. 57.7% of ponds present in 1900 were lost and pond density declined from 7.3 to 4.5 ponds km−2 between 1900 and 2019. This resulted in a 24.6 m increase in the average distance between contemporary ponds. Land use was an important factor in determining pond loss. Although in 2019 the highest density of ponds are in rural areas, 62.3% of ponds lost were from agricultural settings (arable or pasture). Our results highlight the significant pond loss experienced in the Severn Vale since 1900 and provide a valuable baseline for pondscape restoration. The methods described are widely applicable to other regions either with a history of ponds or an environment that could sustain them.

Design Techniques for COVID-19 Story Maps: A Quantitative Content Analysis

ABSTRACT Story maps have emerged as a popular storytelling device in recent years with cartographers and journalists leveraging geospatial web technologies to create unique spatial narratives. However, empirical research analyzing the design of story maps remains limited. Two recently proposed design frameworks provide promising avenues to characterize story maps in terms of elements of vivid cartography and techniques of map-based storytelling. In this article, I conducted a quantitative content analysis on 117 story maps of COVID-19 to operationalize map-based storytelling and vividness frameworks and to identify common design traits in contemporary story maps. My findings indicated that most story maps are longform infographics that use scrolling to advance the narrative. Stories applied a variety of attention, dosing, and mood techniques to enrich the storytelling experience. Story maps were primarily vivid through their use of color and novelty. Overall, most story maps utilized only a fraction of the map-based storytelling framework techniques. This research also demonstrated that it is challenging to analyze story maps based on these frameworks. Finally, this article improves the frameworks by proposing two new story map techniques and suggesting avenues of refinement.

Changes in Contemporary Form in Gangneung City through Cadastral Data Analysis and Application of the Spatial Politics Concept

This study aimed to reveal changes in urban forms by analyzing the modern and contemporary development history of Gangneung City, one of the major cities in the Yeongdong county of Gangwon-do, South Korea; it has been a central city in the Yeongdong area since the Japanese colonial period. The study’s scope and analysis focused on a space centered in the old downtown area of Gangneung City. The time span under review was divided into three periods in terms of spatial politics. The original cadastral map, a contemporary cadastral map, and photographic data were analyzed, including the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) Programs, for characteristics corresponding to each period. A field investigation and interviews with residents were also conducted. The results confirmed changes in the spatial environment centered on roads, blocks, plots, and architecture that have historical significance. In particular, the study verified the characteristics of the physical environment of the original downtown area centered on Yonggang-dong, Myeongju-dong, and Seongnae-dong and changes in the form of Lake Gyeongpo. Finally, the study presents the implications of these changes by comprehensively summarizing the history of the modern and contemporary development of Gangneung City through changes in the surrounding area.

Археологические памятники Калмыкии по современным картографическим источникам

Introduction. When it comes to contemporary maps of Kalmykia, one can mention those contain quite a number of symbols to denote kurgans / mounds. Goals. The study aims at examining informational values of contemporary cartographic sources it terms of localizing actual archaeological sites of the Republic. Results. The work reveals 7.860 objects strongly supposed to be kurgans, the bulk of them placed in the Ergeni Upland, Kuma-Manych Depression, and Sarpa Lowland, while a lower density observed in western parts of the region (northwest of the Stavropol Upland) with scarcest numbers delineated within the Caspian Depression. The distribution of archaeological objects on the map essentially aligns with the well-known fact that different natural and geographic zones of Kalmykia are characterized by varying densities of kurgans. Despite the maps contain not all kurgans, they do mention sizeable ones, and 1.580 of 7.860 objects have height indications. So, there is a review map with largest sites. As is known, immense kurgans are not that solitary and often serve to mark groups of smaller mounds. Conclusions. The examined cartographic materials are significant sources that may be instrumental in exploring archeological sites in future. The data obtained can be used in further expeditions and development of image interpreting methods. Such efforts shall make it possible to discover not only large monuments but also minor ones.