The GIAP team focuses on the characterisation of the Mediterranean landscapes as cultural elements. Landscape archaeology is an essential discipline for studying the interactions of societies with their surroundings and the formation of cultural landscapes.

The European Landscape Convention and the Catalan Landscape Protection, Management and Planning Act set out the need to study the history of landscapes, as they contribute heritage values and can be turned into a cultural resource.

The preservation of this type of landscape must include its evaluation within the framework of sustainable local economic development. Thus, the research carried out by this team contributes to our knowledge of landscape dynamics and management.

 

The GIAP team undertakes its activity in three major areas:

• archaeomorphology applied to the study of landscape forms and the occupation of the territory;
• society-environment interactions and their impact on the environmental history and formation of cultural landscapes; and,
• the application of geographic information systems (GIS) and digital technologies to the archaeological study of the landscape.

The GIAP works in areas of Valencia, Tarragona, Barcelona, Vallès, the Pyrenees and Empordà. Beyond Catalonia, it also participates in international projects at Mont Lozère in the Massif Central (France) and Palaikastro (Crete, Greece).

 

Check the GIAP webpage: