Visibility as a locational factor in the megaliths of southern galicia

Abstract

The analysis of the visual role of ancient monuments has a long tradition in the archaeological field, being one of the most important applications of gis methods today. This paper analyses the visibility as a locational factor in the megaliths of Monte Penide and Serra do Galiñeiro, using Geographic Information Systems and spatial statistics. The research aims to analyse if it was the view from the mounds, the view to them, or a joint explanation among both factors, the element which determined the spatial value of the megalithic structures. To this end, the geographic territory in which the megaliths are located –visualscapes– and the horizon lining of the landscape is analysed; a study of the size of the visual basins of the megaliths and the visibility from the natural transit routes is also carried out. The results point out the complexity of this locational variable which, with high probability, was crucial in the choice of the location of the megalithic barrows. We argue that a homogeneous visual presence of the megalithic mound may have been one of the elements that marked the conformation of spatial structures in Neolithic communities, i.e. their territories.