Case Studies
We examine the factors that influence the approach to geospatial analysis of a particular site by presenting five case studies. While there are similarities between some of these sites, there are also significant differences leading to very different anal
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Case Studies
Preamble In our experience, there is no fixed or formulaic approach to geospatial analysis of archaeological sites because the process of analysis is sensitive to variations between sites. These variations can be grouped into five principal categories: (1) variations in the features of interest (these will vary across sites in terms of their scale, their architectural styles, layout patterns), (2) variations in the natural setting and subsequent natural changes (sites vary in terms of their terrain—flat plains, hills, coasts—as well as their exposure to natural processes such as weathering and floods), (3) anthropogenic changes (sites will vary in terms of subsequent human activities and their impacts), (4) satellite imagery (data from satellites may be plentiful for some sites but limited for others), and (5) historical spatial records (the quality and quantity of such records may similarly vary across sites). The purpose of this chapter is to illustrate how the process of analysis responds to these variations. Thus, we have carefully chosen five sites so that there are significant variations across these sites in each of these five categories. The five sites are Nalanda, Agra, Srirangapatna (Lalbagh Palace), Talakadu, and Mahabalipuram, and before delving into the case studies, we briefly discuss how these sites differ within each category. Features of interest. The features of interest to the analyst will clearly vary from site to site (and even from study to study for the same site). For our studies at Agra and Srirangapatna, the features of interest are gardens which are in the Persian Charbagh (four-part) style. In contrast, we examine large Buddhist stupas and smaller monasteries at Nalanda, and free-standing temples at Talakadu and Mahabalipuram. The sand accumulation at Talakadu makes it difficult to identify smaller structures (although we do see larger-scale features such as palaeochannels), whereas smaller structures can be seen quite easily at Mahabalipuram. Further, our attention at Mahabalipuram is on the locations of temples rather than on the temples themselves.
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 M. B. Rajani, Patterns in Past Settlements: Geospatial Analysis of Imprints of Cultural Heritage on Landscapes, Springer Remote Sensing/Photogrammetry, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7466-5_5
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5 Case Studies
Natural setting and natural changes. Three of the sites we study are located near rivers: Talakadu, Agra, and Srirangapatna. At Talakadu, the river has moved considerably and there is substantial sand accumulation whereas very little interim movement of the river or sand accumulation is observed at Agra and Srirangapatna (the latter site is on a rocky river island). Nalanda is located on the plains well away from the nearest river, whereas Mahabalipuram is located on the coast and is subject to coastal processes with very different dynamics (see Sect. 2.3.7). Anthropogenic changes. The spat
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