ne XXXIX-B4, 2012
T SYRIA
gy
ogleEarth-Syria.php) and
the Syrian Desert. This is
1idying the relationship of
ons did the ancients have
ning satellite data sources,
round. Landsat as well as
cape models and fly-over
ase camp for early hunter-
eological finds, the inter-
tinued by pastoral nomads
in cognitive thinking and
ty of hunter-gatherers and
nomena appearing in the
:nvironment. In this paper
| study present landscapes
order to understand what
the ancients had and how
present paper tries to seek
ng satellite data sources in
2) consulting related
andscape theory. Cultures
| way are affected by them
1995). The reconstruction
, geomorphology (Butzer,
auna are studied.
landscapes of Jebel Bishri,
of M. Llobera (2001)
ption by using GIS have
1 Bishri the understanding
inence, which Llobera has
ortant in the mountain
s and generally undulating
ena for such studies.
hri, a mountain in Central
lite image. Mapping by M.
International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensin
g and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XXXIX-B4, 2012
XXII ISPRS Congress, 25 August — 01 September 2012, Melbourne, Australia
By illustrating the landscapes of the region in 3D one is able to
display and study topographical features between the highland
and lowland areas as well as human inter-action between those
areas; the 3D provides a multi-dimensional aspect to study the
landscape context of cultural development. The two areas on the
ground developed in this dimension throughout the past, and
now the modern technology provides us with tools to capture
and experience different kinds of dynamic landscape visions for
experimental use.
The area of Jebel Bishri has had a continuous human occupation
for hundreds of thousands of years, and mobile subsistence
economies have played a central role among various groups.
The archaeological data tells us about the types of human
groups, their subsistence economy and cultures which have
lived in this marginal habitat. (Lónnqvist et al, 2011). Early
people in the Mediterranean and the Near East must have had
"mental maps" of their landscape surroundings, which affected
the treatment of the environment. Therefore we need both
geosciences as well as archaeology for approaching and
understanding landscape development. (Barker and Bintliff,
1999),
Archaeology is the only discipline that can study the interaction
of humans with their environment from a long-term perspective.
The environmental and landscape reconstructions illustrate and
add to the knowledge of archaeology and elucidate possible
conditions which prevailed in the area that has been desert and
steppe for millennia. The climate change is not solely a modern
phenomenon but has been a reoccurring state of equilibrium in
the surroundings of early humans as well. A major change
happened when the previous ice age ended. It meant changes in
human exploitation of the nature. During the previous
Pleistocene era humans were only living by hunting and
gathering. The reason for continuing mobility in the region of
Jebel Bishri during the following Holocene period has been the
aridity, which does not support continuous agriculture without
imigation. (Cauvin, 2000). Initial agriculture in the region,
however, seems to have enjoyed the benefit of river fans,
natural flooding and oasis environment. Beside the Euphrates
sites such as Abu Hureyra and Mureybet (Moore et al., 2000)
first steps towards agriculture were taken in the oases
surrounded by mountains, such as Jericho, El Kowm and Aswad
(the Damascus region ) in the Levant. (Cauvin, 2000).
2. GEOMORPHOLOGY AND
ITS 3D ILLUSTRATION
L1 Reconstructing Environment
and Landscape Views in 3D
The area of the Palmyrides is a northern continuation of the
larger Arabian platform in geological terms. Jebel Bishri, which
belongs to the Palmyrides, is a block mountain that reaches ca.
867 m above sea level (Wirth, 1971) and follows the Euphrates
iver. Its table-like form with sharp edges in the skyline has
been encountered and wondered by ancient and modern people
living in the region. The mountain which belongs to arid zones
basically consist of gypsum, sandstone, lime stone and marble
beside basalt. Playas, salt plains, are common on the western
Dimon area. (see e.g., Besançon et al., 1981; Lónnqvist et al,
011).
In the ste
n ppic and desert landscape of the mountain some
Striking el
ements were identified on the ground and from
atellite Imagery. Volcanic activity has created basaltic areas
and natural asphalt emerging in the region which also contains
oil resources. At the northern edge there protrudes the basaltic
peninsula of Halabiya (Fig. 2.), and in the central district of the
mountain rises a basaltic formation known as Jebel Hemet el-
Quebiba (Lónnqvist et al., 201 1).
In the Finnish project landscape models have been created using
Landsat satellite image data (MSS: 80 m in resolution, TM: 30
m in resolution and ETM: 30 m in resolution, the panchromatic
channel resolution being 15 m), QuickBird (0.6 m in resolution)
and SRTM mission data (90 m and 30 m in resolution) as well
as ASTER image data (30 m in resolution, see Fig. 2.), the latter
sources providing radar data for 3D landscape scenes. In
addition, available topographical maps have been utilized.
(Lónnqvist ef al. 2011).
Figure 2. Jebel Bishri, the Euphrates trough and the oval
volcanic and basaltic outcrop known as the peninsula of
Halabiya visible on ASTER images. Compiled and coloured by
M. Tôrmä 2012.
Figure 3. A3D landscape reconstruction of Jebel Bishri and the
Euphrates valley seen from N. The image is displaying the
geomorphology, such as caused by the run-off mechanism
leading waters coming from the mountain into the valley.
Constructed by M. Tórmà 2003.
The SRTM mission data has been used by our project since the
year 2003 for building up a model of the Euphrates channel
following the mountain edge and by approaching the mountain
from different geographical directions. The Landsat data has
been used as a reference source, and its data has also been fused
with SRTM data (Fig. 3.). 3D models and fly-over simulations
have been produced with ERDAS Imagine (see video-clips:
www.helsinki.fi/hum/arla/sygis). A cross-section of the river
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