Organisers: Ann DEGRAEVE, Belgium | David BIBBY, Germany
In recent years, the digitization of movable heritage has resulted in a growing interest in historical cartographic material with its wealth of information. Historical maps hold basic information often not accessible in other visual or written sources such as place-names, parcels and buildings long since disappeared. Rectification and georeferencing these maps, layering them with other spatial data and taking into account not only the mapping of space but also the historical information and cartographic science and mind sets – both historical and contemporary – create thus a content rich visual overlay bringing us to a new level of understanding.
This session aims at the presentation of the current state of research with examples of the numerous possible applications, and at answering the following questions: Why do we want to georeference historical maps? What is involved in the georeferencing process? Which tools and technologies are used for rectification and georeferencing (software, webtools …)? What is the theoretical and methodological approach? How can we use the results? Themes might include integration of historic geographical data into current georeferenced frameworks, creation of digital on-line libraries, virtual historic landscapes, animations, georeferenced maps as a virtual prospection tools etc. as well as how georeferencing ancient maps relates to archaeological practice especially in an urban context.