Evolving townscapes and landscapes within their settings: managing dynamic change

San Pawl Milqi is found in the north-eastern part of the island of Malta next to Salina bay and overlooking Burmarrad valley. The site was originally situated on an important harbour that is now silted, and was surrounded by agricultural land. The area is rich in archaeological remains belonging to different periods. The boundary wall of the multi-cultural site incorporates an area of approximately 4000 m2. Within this area there is evidence of prehistoric settlement, punic farmhouse, a rural villa belonging to the end of the 2nd century B.C. and evidence of a later period from the 1st to the 11th century A.D. There is evidence that at least two churches were constructed on site. The potential and value of San Pawl Milqi is historical and archaeological, scientific, didactic, social and religious and most importantly a very good example of an ever changing cultural landscape. Recently there have been attempts in studying the environment of the archaeological remains that are exposed together with the environment of the archaeological remains that are underneath the existing structure of the church. A conservation plan for the site was also being set up that was intended to lead to the presentation of the site to be public due to a museographical project.peer-reviewe

Assessing 3D metric data of digital surface models for extracting archaeological data from archive stereo-aerial photographs.

Archaeological remains are under increasing threat of attrition from natural processes and the continued mechanisation of anthropogenic activities. This research analyses the ability of digital photogrammetry software to reconstruct extant, damaged, and destroyed archaeological earthworks from archive stereo-aerial photographs. Case studies of Flower's Barrow and Eggardon hillforts, both situated in Dorset, UK, are examined using a range of imagery dating from the 1940s to 2010. Specialist photogrammetric software SocetGXP® is used to extract digital surface models, and the results compared with airborne and terrestrial laser scanning data to assess their accuracy. Global summary statistics and spatial autocorrelation techniques are used to examine error scales and distributions. Extracted earthwork profiles are compared to both current and historical surveys of each study site. The results demonstrate that metric information relating to earthwork form can be successfully obtained from archival photography. In some instances, these data out-perform airborne laser scanning in the provision of digital surface models with minimal error. The role of archival photography in regaining metric data from upstanding archaeology and the consequent place for this approach to impact heritage management strategies is demonstrated