Castles and their Landscapes: A Gravity Model Experiment

Summary

Castle studies in recent years has developed two major themes in developing technology: landscape studies and spatial analysis. Studies of castle landscapes have shown that external spaces were intensively used and a significant part of the space actively portrayed as noble environment. Spatial analysis has been key in identifying spaces of control, privacy, and household interaction within the castle structure. One of the limitations of spatial analysis in castle studies is the failure to include external spaces as an option for social interaction. Including external spaces raises questions about how the physical layout of the entire castle property affected the ways people interacted with these external features and which features and external spaces might be more attractive than others. Therefore, a methodology that includes the assessment of external spaces is sorely needed. This paper discusses the gravity model as a new method for analysing the landscape features of castles in Scotland. This study also strives to open up a dialogue about new methods and technologies for quantifying interaction with the medieval noble landscapes.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Teaching through the Past: Advances in Technological Analysis of the Archaeological Record

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14645