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Hillforts and Power in the British Post-Roman West: A GIS Analysis of Dinas Powys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2020

Andy Seaman Open the ORCID record for Andy Seaman [Opens in a new window]  and
Leo Sucharyna Thomas
Andy Seaman
Affiliation:
School of Humanities, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, UK
Leo Sucharyna Thomas
Affiliation:
School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, UK
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Abstract

The (re)occupation of hillforts was a distinctive feature of post-Roman Europe in the fifth to seventh centuries ad. In western and northern Britain, hillforts are interpreted as power centres associated with militarized elites, but research has paid less attention to their landscape context, hence we know little about the factors that influenced their siting and how this facilitated elite power. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide opportunities for landscape research, but are constrained by limitations of source data and the difficulty of defining appropriate parameters for analysis. This article presents a new methodology that combines data processing and analytical functions in GIS with techniques and principles drawn from ‘traditional’ landscape archaeology. A case study, focused on Dinas Powys, suggests that the strategic siting of this hillfort facilitated control over the landscape and has wider implications for our understanding of patterns of power in post-Roman Britain.

L'occupation (ou réoccupation) de sites de hauteur fortifiés est un trait caractéristique de l'Europe post-romaine, entre le Ve et le VIIe siècle apr. J.-C. Dans l'ouest et le nord de la Grande-Bretagne, on interprète les sites de hauteur fortifiés comme représentant des centres de pouvoir associés à des élites militarisées, mais le paysage dans lequel ils s'inscrivent est moins bien connu. Nous sommes donc mal informés sur les facteurs qui ont influencé leur implantation et comment leur position topographique a facilité l'exercice du pouvoir des élites. Les systèmes d'information géographique (SIG) nous permettent d’étudier le paysage mais sont limités par les données de base et par les difficultés de définir des paramètres d'analyse adéquats. Les auteurs de cet article présentent une nouvelle approche méthodologique qui combine le traitement des données et les fonctions analytiques des SIG avec les techniques et principes de l'analyse « traditionnelle » du paysage en archéologie. Un cas d’étude, Dinas Powys au Pays de Galles, démontre que la position de ce site de hauteur fortifié lui permettait de contrôler le paysage environnant et ceci a des répercutions plus profondes sur notre aptitude à déchiffrer l'organisation du pouvoir en Grande-Bretagne à l’époque post-romaine. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Die (Wieder-) Besiedlung von befestigten Höhensiedlungen war ein Kennzeichen der nachrömischen Zeit in Europa, im 5. bis 7. Jahrhundert n. Chr. Im britischen Westen und Norden werden die befestigten Höhensiedlungen als Machtzentren einer militarisierten Elite gedeutet, aber der landschaftliche Rahmen dieser Höhensiedlungen ist weniger gut erforscht. Deswegen sind die Umstände, welche die Standortwahl beeinflusst haben und die Machtausübung der Elite gefördert haben, nur wenig bekannt. Die Methoden der GIS-Analyse ermöglichen es, die Landschaft zu untersuchen, aber die Analyse ist durch die Beschränkungen der Datenquellen und Schwierigkeiten in der Bestimmung von geeigneten Parametern behindert. In diesem Artikel wird eine neue methodologische Vorgehensweise vorgestellt: Diese kombiniert die Datenverarbeitungsleistungen und analytischen Funktionen des GIS mit den Methoden und Grundsätzen der „traditionellen“ Landschaftsarchäologie. Eine Fallstudie, Dinas Powys in Wales, zeigt, dass die strategische Lage der befestigten Höhensiedlung die Überwachung der umgebenden Landschaft erleichterte. Dies hat weitreichende Folgen für unser Verständnis der Ausübung der Macht in nachrömischer Zeit in Großbritannien. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Keywords

hillfortspowerpost-Roman BritainGISviewshedsleast-cost pathssites de hauteur fortifiéspouvoirGrande-Bretagne post-romaineSIGcônes visuelsanalyse distance-coûtbefestigte HöhensiedlungenMachtnachrömische Zeit in GroßbritannienGISSichtbereicheMinimalkostenpfade
Type
Article
Information
European Journal of Archaeology , Volume 23 , Issue 4 , November 2020 , pp. 547 - 566
Copyright
Copyright © European Association of Archaeologists 2020

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