LiDAR-derived DTM for historical landscape evaluation: the case study of the “Harvesting Memories” project (Castro Valley and Mt. Barraù, Corleone – Palermo)

Abstract

The project “Harvesting Memories” is focused on the analysis of the long-term transformation of the cultural landscape in a rural area of Central-Western Sicily (Castro Valley and Mt. Barraù, Corleone – Palermo). In order to quickly outline the history of the territory with an acceptable precision, our survey aimed at covering and sampling as much surface as possible, according to time and human resources available. To reach this goal, in the research design we opted for qualitative surveys. The choice of the fields to be surveyed was based on GIS analysis — our predictive model took in consideration slope, water sources and presence of points with high visibility in the landscape —, that helped us to forecast the likelihood of finding archaeological sites in each part of the study area. the Protohistory (Middle Copper Age/Aeneolithic and Bronze Age) and the Middle Ages (10th–12th c. AD) and 4 areas with productive structures related to the Modern Age pastoral activities. The final goal of this analysis is to elucidate the relationships between landscape ecological processes and history of land-use change.