A GIS study of settlement patterns for the later prehistoric period with particular reference to southeast Wales

Gunther, Neil 2024. A GIS study of settlement patterns for the later prehistoric period with particular reference to southeast Wales. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

A need was identified by the Research Framework for the Archaeology of Wales to determine how the land was used and how settlements were integrated with various features in the landscape in later prehistory (Gale 2010, 2). Given the scale of the undertaking from a spatial perspective and the quantity of data available, this thesis lent itself heavily to utilising GIS. The use of GIS also opened up the region to its exploration with the application of various geographical techniques, which assisted in obtaining an understanding of the landscape firmly embedded at the level of the individual and that of the broader region. Analytical and phenomenological scales related to measurement and experience, respectively, were necessary considerations of this thesis (Lock et al. 2014, 24). With least cost paths, for example, there was a move from something generated by an algorithm, which then facilitated placing the route within the context of an individual by allowing for the identification of potential place marks along the route. At the more local level, hillforts were buffered at 3.22 km, how long it might take someone to visit the neighbouring hillfort. The view that the north-south flowing rivers would have made communication difficult between the resulting blocks was tested by identifying potential fording sites (Cunliffe 2005, 293). As such, due consideration was given to how people would have moved through the landscape and engaged with it. At the more analytical scale, geographical parameters were analysed to discern what, if any, appeared to have been necessary for site selection. The southeast Wales region incorporated parts of Brecknockshire and, in part again, parts of what would now be Herefordshire. These areas are fascinating as they afford an understanding of how the various regions may have been interconnected and how people moved through these liminal areas.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Schools > History, Archaeology and Religion
Subjects:	C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CC Archaeology D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	31 March 2025
Date of Acceptance:	12 March 2025
Last Modified:	31 Mar 2025 15:58
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/177291

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