An approach to landscape changes in the Bay of Gibraltar through the cartography

Abstract

This paper approaches the ancient landscape of the Bay of Gibraltar – territorium of Roman-Spanish town of Carteia – through the analysis of a documentary source rarely used in archaeological researches: historical cartography. Carteia’s landscape has two particular conditions which give good reason for a specific study on historical cartography. On one hand, a great amount of cartographic material is available – actually, the Bay of Gibraltar is one of the most represented areas in cartography – and on the other hand this area has undergone radical transformations since Antiquity. In recent times, the infrastructures of the new ports of Gibraltar and Algeciras as well as the building of two industrial states have changed significantly the surroundings of this Roman town. Due to these circumstances we are forced to make use of graphic documents - aerial photography and cartography – previous to the 1960s as the main source of information. Thus an extensive analysis of such documents may offer us a portrait of the preindustrial landscape disappeared today. A specific Data Base has been created in order to systematize the archaeological analysis of old maps of the Bay of Gibraltar. This Data Base contains a group of fields which articulate information useful for the study of the ancient landscape. Evidences of geomorphological changes, water resources, traditional crops, land allotments, industrial exploitations and paths have been identified in maps dating back to the 16th century.