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This thesis presents an interdisciplinary examination of a series of towers existing between the sites of Kastro Kallithea and New Halos along the north ridge of Greeces Othrys Mountains. The overarching goal is to utilize digital archaeological techniques such as GIS to refine the methodologies used in determining the rate of efficient communication between towers in defense networks. Tools within the ArcGIS software package allow line of sight and viewsheds to be examined remotely with a series of criteria to be met, such as maximum allowable distance. In doing so, past studies of regional networks are critiqued in light of their inclusion or exclusion of considerations such as distance, atmospheric conditions, and time of day when determining over how far a distance fire signaling could be effective. A second critique explores the dangers of employing digital means from the perspectives of both the investigator and public. / History and Classics

This thesis pioneers a study in the dynamics of territorial control of the island of Mallorca from ca. 902-1300 AD, with the aim of providing the first holistic and systematic study of the known Islamic fortresses of this island, and determining the reasons which account for the lack of the so-called hisn/qarya complex there. The scientific focus of this project explores the effects that island contexts may have on the identity-forming processes of their population and how these in turn affect the socio-political makeup of these ‘bounded’ polities. More specifically, in the case of Mallorca the core of this study is devoted to the relation between the hinterland fortifications of the Islamic period and the island’s capital city Madīna Mayūrqa, concluding that due to the relative isolation of Mallorca’s segmentary communities from their mainland analogues they evolved a distinctive meta-identity which gradually supplanted their traditional tribal allegiances and redefined their relation with the state and political authority in general. Other areas of interest explored here are the use of rammed earth and masonry in Andalusi Architecture, and the mechanisms of integration of the Islamic territorial setup of Mallorca into the Christian kingdom of Aragon from 1229 onwards. The data here presented results from a broad variety of sources such as extensive archival research, architectural and spatial analysis of the 17+ sites surveyed, aerial photography, hydro-archaeology and in particular viewshed analysis, which was able to provide highly relevant results regarding the interconnectivity of the various sites and therefore give important evidence on their operational context. The creation of the viewsheds relied heavily on GIS software (Global Mapper 10-12) as well as architectural design software (AutoCAD, Illustrator, Sketchup) in order to carry out partial reconstructions of some of the main structures on the island.

Viewshed refers to the calculation and visualisation of what part of a terrain isvisible from a given observer point. It is used within many fields, such as militaryplanning or telecommunication tower placement. So far, no general fast methodsexist for calculating the viewshed for multiple observers that may for instancerepresent a road within the terrain. Additionally, if the terrain contains over-lapping structures such as man-made constructions like bridges, most currentviewshed algorithms fail. This report describes two novel methods for viewshedcalculation using multiple observers for terrain that may contain overlappingstructures. The methods have been developed at Vricon in Linköping as a Mas-ter’s Thesis project. Both methods are implemented using the graphics program-ming unit and the OpenGL graphics library, using a computer graphics approach.Results are presented in the form of figures and images, as well as running timetables using two different test setups. Lastly, future possible improvements arealso discussed. The results show that the first method is a viable real-time solu-tion and that the second method requires some additional work.

Developed in the early 1800's, Bulow Plantation is a prime example of the thriving sugar industry of East Florida prior to the Second Seminole War. Additionally, the layout of the slave cabins at Bulow Plantation in an arc centered on the main house is unique in Florida except for Kingsley Plantation near Jacksonville, FL. Despite its importance and the paucity of information available about even basic questions regarding life at Bulow Plantation, relatively little in the way of archaeological work has been done at the site. Using historical research and non-destructive archaeological techniques such as pedestrian survey, aerial LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), and remote sensing completed as part of recent work by the Alliance for Integrated Spatial Technologies (AIST) (Collins and Doering 2009a; Collins et al 2010) this work examines not only the material landscape of Bulow Plantation but also the social and cognitive landscapes that might have shaped life for both enslaver and enslaved. Using data collected as part of AIST's larger project (Collins et al 2010) an analysis of the pedestrian survey data, as well as a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) created from aerial LiDAR data, revealed the locations of several previously unrecorded slave cabins as well as some large scale landscape features. Although there are three competing theories as to why the Bulow slave cabins were arranged in an arc, without subsurface archaeology it is impossible to endorse one interpretation over another. While the analysis of landscapes generally privileges the view of those in power, suggestions for future archaeological work are made so that the voices of those who were enslaved at Bulow Plantation can begin to be heard.

Šiame darbe nagrinėjama panoraminio vaizdo tyrimo metodikos ir taikymo problematika. Aptariami pagrindiniai algoritmai naudojami ArcGIS programoje. Darbe pateikiama keletas pavyzdžių, kaip panoraminio vaizdo tyrimai taikant GIS programinę įrangą yra pritaikomi praktikoje. Antroje darbo dalyje yra atliekamas tyrimas, kurio tikslas išsiaiškinti, ar racionalu ir reikalinga būtų taikyti panoraminio matomumo tyrimus žemėlapyje, nekilnojamo turto reklama užsiimančiuose interneto puslapiuose. Tyrimo rezultatai atskleidžia, kad vietovės vaizdingumas yra svarbus veiksnys renkantis nekilnojamą turtą, o žmonės yra pasiruošę naudotis naujomis žemėlapio funkcijomis suteikiančiomis daugiau galimybių atliekant nekilnojamo turto vertinimą, tačiau panoraminio matomumo įrankio diegti į sistemas nerekomenduojama, dėl darbe aptariamų šios funkcijos trūkumų. Kita vertus autorius siūlo diegti naujas funkcijas, kurios pagerintų nešališką nekilnojamo turto vertinimą. / Work is developing the problem of methodology and applications of viewshed. Author is writing about main algorithms of this GIS function in ArcGIS program. Few practicable applications of viewshed are presented at work also. Item, some problems of these algorithms and applications of viewshed are developing. In second part of work author presents research about applications of viewshed for the internet web sites where is presented commercial of realty. The result consequent upon the research said that visibility is one of the main criterions of realty. Also Purchasers are ready for innovations of geographical information systems. On the other hands realty needs new GIS and mapping applications. In the conclusion of work author says that it is not worth to add the tool if viewshed to GIS systems to web pages of commercial of realty, because this tool have some problems for applications. On the other hand author suggests add some other functions to these maps which will improve neutral evaluation of realty.

Abstract Mortuary rituals express and cope with disorder brought about by a member's death in the community. The autonomous connection of the deceased with the community is disrupted through mortuary rituals. In many cultures the subsequent contacts with the realm of the dead are maintained in formalized practices, sometimes including or referring to objects or patterns that can be traced in the archaeological record. In this study it is asked, if the Bronze Age and Iron Age burial cairns (1200 BC - AD 1000) in the SW archipelago of Finland might be interpreted as monuments establishing a link between the landscape and the religious context of symbolic meanings, thus making it meaningful to examine the spatial references of grave sites. The field studies include excavations, surveys, boulder analyses, and weathering studies. The number of cairns in the area is 444. Examination of samples of boulders suggested that the stones were usually collected from the adjacent terrain. The Schmidt hammer technique was applied to measure the weathering differences between basal and lateral surfaces, and possible secondary interference. The chronology of the archipelago cairns is based on previous studies related to general chronological characteristics and datings of archipelago graves. Using discriminant analysis, the size of the cairn, the convexity of the surface at the grave site, and the topography of the terrain were identified as the variables most related to the differences between Group P, having a Bronze Age character (147 cairns), from Group R of Iron Age character (218 cairns). Two models representing the shorelines of 500 BC and AD 1000 were reconstructed using a digital elevation model (DEM). Monte Carlo-testing was applied when the visible areas around grave sites were compared to reference sets in four subareas. The grave sites in Group P were often directed towards the land, whereas the grave sites in Group R were typically directed towards the sea. The difference might be related to differences in subsistence strategies. The cairns represented a conservative burial custom that belonged to local communities in maritime and northern areas, as opposed to the southern agricultural environments. / Tiivistelmä Vainajan omaehtoinen yhteys elävien yhteisöön katkeaa vasta yhteisöllisen kuolemanrituaalin lopullisesti päätyttyä. Monissa kulttuureissa kuolemanrituaalin jälkeiset yhteydet vainajaan kiteytyvät muodollisiksi käytännöiksi, jotka voivat tulla arkeologisesti näkyviin aineellisissa jäännöksissä tai luonnonmaiseman paikkojen, tilojen ja elementtien suhteissa. Työssä tarkastellaan, ovatko Turunmaan saariston pronssikauden ja rautakauden hautarauniot (1200 e.Kr. - 1000 j.Kr.) tulkittavissa monumenteiksi, jotka yhdistivät maiseman symbolisten merkitysten uskomukselliseen kontekstiin. Kenttätutkimuksiin kuuluu kaivauksia, inventointi, lohkaretutkimuksia ja rapautumismittauksia. Hautoja on 444. Lohkaretutkimukset osoittivat kivien tulleen kerätyiksi hautapaikkojen läheisyydestä. Tapaustutkielmissa kiveyksen basaali- ja lateraalipintojen välistä rapautumiseroa ja sekundaarisia vaurioita tutkittiin kimmovasaramittauksin. Hautaraunioiden kronologia perustuu aikaisempiin tutkimuksiin kronologisista tunnusmerkeistä sekä saariston ajoitettuihin hautoihin. Erotteluanalyysissa kiveyksen laajuus, hautapaikan maanpinnan kuperuus ja hautapaikan suhde ympäröiviin huippuihin osoittautuivat muuttujiksi, jotka selvimmin jakavat aineiston pronssikauden tyypin P-ryhmään (147 hautaa) ja rautakauden tyypin R-ryhmään (218 hautaa). Numeerisesta korkeusmallista laskettiin kaksi maastomallia, jotka vastaavat rannansiirtymisen kehitysvaihetta 500 e.Kr. (P-ryhmä) ja 1000 j.Kr. (R-ryhmä). Hautapaikoilta näkyvissä olleita alueita verrattiin satunnaisesti valittuihin verrokkipaikkoihin Monte Carlo -testauksen avulla. Merkittävin ero oli, että P-ryhmän hautapaikat olivat tyypillisesti suuntautuneet merta ja R-ryhmän hautapaikat maata kohti. Ero liittynee toimeentuloon latautuneisiin odotuksiin ja epävarmuuksiin. Hautarauniot merkitsevät konservatiivista hautaustapaa, joka kuului enemmän mereisten ja pohjoisten paikallisyhteisöjen kuin agraarisen ja eteläisen asutuksen piiriin.

The aim of this study is to understand the colonization process of the county Närke in relation to the surrounding archaeologically defined areas western Sweden and eastern central Sweden. By using a comparative analysis and a landscape analysis in combination with a theoretical framework that advocates for colonization as a process and not an event, I argue that Närke was colonized from within eastern central Sweden around 8 500 BC, based on the use of local raw material quartz. Further, I argue for the importance of the sea to the mesolithic people in the area around 7 500–4 500 BC as more than just an economic resource. Around 4 500 BC contact with groups in western Sweden increased which in time brought the idea of farming to the area. The late mesolithic sites in Närke show continuity into the early neolithic age, rejecting the idea of a Funnelbeaker migration in the area.

The Colossi of Memnon are a prominent feature of the constructed landscape at ancient Thebes (modern day Luxor, Egypt). They were built on the West Bank during the later years of Amenhotep III reign and they stood in front of his royal cult temple, Mansion of Millions of Years, known today colloquially as Kôm el-Hetan. There is no consensus on the purpose of the statues and it is plausible that they were meant to represent multiple things. However, what all the theories surrounding their purpose have in common is that they are all reliant on the visibility of the statues. The Theban Harbours and Waterscapes Survey led by Angus Graham (Uppsala University) discovered that the royal cult temple and colossi statues was built on top of an elevated area of what is believed to be have been a pre-existing wadi fan (Toonen et al.2018; 2019). To the east of the temple, a minor channel of the Nile river was also discovered. The aim of this thesis was to analyse the visibility and visual experience of the Colossi of Memnon during the 18thDynasty. By analysing the boreholes from the Theban Harbours and Waterscapes Survey, I have (re)constructed the geological features of the surrounding landscape in a game engine (Unity). The visual analysis was done by a combined GIS spatial analysis and a VR based phenomenological approach. I concluded that the levees of the minor channel of the Nile were not elevated high enough to create any substantial blocking of the view from the floodplain or from inside of the channel during the low season. It was only when you got up close to the levees and kneeled on the ground that you would lose sight of parts of the colossi. As the surface level of the Nile rose during its annual cyclethe, it would be easier to observe the statues from any part of the minor channel. As for the visual experience of observing the Colossi of Memnon from different parts of the model, the experience only changed slightly from viewing the statues from the view of the floodplain or the channel. What changed the experience drastically was if you approached the statues from the front of from the side. As you approached the statues from the front you had the statues standing symmetrically in front of the temple and they are in turn facing you. Being in front of the Colossi statues creates a feeling of being part of the statues’ experience. Not only where the humans meant to see the statues, I believe that the statues were meant to see us. This as the most ideal location to observe and visually experience the statues, is where we are in the view of both the Colossi of Memnon. The experience of the statues fades as you approach them from their side where you become the observer rather than the observed. The visual experience from the side also results in that you do not get to fully take part in the experience that both statues provide. This is because one of them becomes slightly blocked by the other. / <p>På grund av pandemi utfördes opponering på distans över Zoom</p>