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Cited by 110Historical and Architectural StudiesArchaeological Research and ProtectionArchaeological and Geological Studies

Visibility Studies in Archaeology: A Review and Case Study

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Lake, Mark W, Woodman, Patricia E·2003·Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design
DOI 10.1068/b29122
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Abstract

This paper describes the history and current state of archaeological visibility studies. The first part is a survey of both GIS (geographic information systems) and non-GIS studies of visibility by archaeologists, which demonstrates how advances in GIS visibility studies have tended to recapitulate, albeit over a compressed timescale, theoretically driven developments in non-GIS studies. The second part presents an example of the kind of methodological development required for the use of GIS to contribute to the agenda set by certain strands of a more humanistic archaeology. An algorithm developed to retrieve various summaries of the inclination at which points on the horizon are visible from a specified viewpoint was applied to nineteen recumbent stone circles in the Grampian region of Scotland. The results suggest that these summaries provide a useful tool for ‘unpacking’ what archaeologists mean when they claim that the topographic setting of certain stone circles creates an ‘impression of circularity’.

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Research works printed but not linked: 33

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  33. Woodman P E, 2000, Proceedings of the UK Chapter of Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology 1999, 91

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Authors
Lake, M. W., & Woodman, P. E.
Affiliations
  • University College London (GB)
  • University of Reading (GB)
Corresponding author
  • Lake, Mark W
  • Woodman, Patricia E
Venue
Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2003-10
Volume
30
Issue
5
Pages
689-707
ISSN
  • 0265-8135 (ISSN-L)
  • 1472-3417
DOI
10.1068/b29122
OpenAlex
W2146525713
Cited by
110
References
68
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 6
FWCI
3.22
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Environment and Planning B Planning and Design (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Historical and Architectural Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Space and Planetary Science › Archaeological Research and Protection
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Archaeological and Geological Studies
Keywords
visibility analysis, archaeological visibility, geographic information systems, topographic position, Grampian region, visibility algorithms

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