Using of historical cartography, remote sensing data and GIS for studying of land division system of Taurian Chersonesos

Abstract

The article presents the results of work on the use of historical cartography data, German captured aerial photographs of Luftwaffe 1941–1944, a satellite image of 1966 and geographic information systems (GIS) for a detailed reconstruction and identification of the basic principles of the ancient land division system of the ancient chora (rural area) of Tauric Chersonesos in Crimea. Based on the integrated GIS, it was possible to reconstruct an ancient grid of 4- and 6-hecatogygos blocks linked to the terrain, separated by roads. The creation of plans for intra-unit land surveying was carried out on the basis of the analysis of multi-temporal aerial and satellite imagery in the ArcGIS geographic information environment. It was carried out by creating and further processing a group of vector layers, the main of which included a grid of roads, the rest — dividing blocks into plots and single hector modules. The analysis in the GIS of the mutual arrangement of the elements of this grid made it possible to determine the sequence of development and delimitation of the territory of the Heraclean Peninsula in the 4th century BC. The study of the internal surveying of blocks by mosaic of aerial photographs of 1941–1944, integrated into the GIS, made it possible to trace the dynamics of changes in the 3rd century BC of internal division of blocs from individual civil plots (hectators) to large land holdings, sometimes reaching and even exceeding the size of the whole block. As a result of a comprehensive study using historical cartography, archival aerial photographs of the 1940s and a satellite image of 1966, collected in a single geographic information system, it was possible to determine the basic principles and identify the modules of the Taurian Chersonesos land surveying: a single civil plots (hecatogygos) and a unit of measurement of areas (aroura).