The morpho-topographic and cartographic analysis of the archaeological site Cornesti "Iarcuri", Timis County, Romania, using computer sciences methods (GIS and Remote Sensing techniques)

TL;DR

This study employs GIS and remote sensing techniques to analyze the geomorphology, topography, and cartography of the Cornesti "Iarcuri" archaeological site, aiming to understand its structure, limits, and environmental relationships.

Contribution

It introduces an interdisciplinary approach combining satellite imagery, topographic, soil, climate, and vegetation data to analyze the largest earth fortification in Romania.

Findings

Identified the site’s morphological and structural features.

Mapped the limits and construction techniques of the fortification.

Analyzed environmental factors influencing the site.

Abstract

The archaeological site Cornesti "Iarcuri" is the largest earth fortification in Romania, made out of four concentric compounds, spreading over 1780 hectares. It is known since 1700, but it had only a few small attempts of systematic research, the fortress gained interest only after the publishing of some satellite images by Google Earth. It is located in an area of high fields and it occupies three interfluves and contains two streams. Our paper contains a geomorphologic, topographic and cartographic analysis of the site in order to determine the limits, the structure, the morphology, the construction technique and the functionality of such a fortification.Our research is based on satellite image analysis, on archaeological topography, on soil, climate and vegetation analysis as a way to offer a complex image, through this interdisciplinary study of landscape archaeology. Through our work we try not to date the site as this objective will be achieved only after completing the systematic excavations which started in 2007, but only to analyze the co-relationship with the environment.