Roman military settlements in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The contribution of historical and modern aerial photography, satellite imagery and airbone LiDAR [Póster]

Abstract

The use of aerial photography for the detection and study of Roman military settlements in the Iberian Peninsula is not new. However, the impetus given to the discipline in recent decades also requires a significant renovation of its methodological approaches. In this paper, we present a low-cost methodology combining historical and modern aerial photography, satellite imagery, airborne LiDAR, GIS and conventional archaeological field survey techniques. These tools not only provide a new and qualitatively differential approach to archaeology, but also allow the study of the sites from a diachronic perspective. Our aim in this paper is to test the potential and limitations of these techniques in the specific study of several early Roman camps, a type of settlement characterized by the perishable nature of its structures and the shortage of material findings associated to them. Since it is also important to consider the different ownership and land use structures, we have selected a group of sites located in the territories of Galicia, Asturias, León and northern Portugal as case study.