Thread by @KrysiaTruscoe

We chose the subject of this symposium, hidden landscapes, in the hope that it would appeal to researchers in all the varied disciplines covered by the DTP, which include literature, archaeology, cultural geography and history. #HiddenLandscapes

The concept of a landscape is not just expressed in the physical world but can also be created by a variety of influences. Landscapes can be given meaning by personal viewpoints, emotional response, or literary associations. #HiddenLandscapes

Hidden landscapes are defined by the presenters in various ways: shaped by shared memory or different ideologies, the physical landscapes of mining or quarrying hidden underground or as lost from view, or forgotten, like the former presence of horses in London. #HiddenLandscapes

I’m Krystyna Truscoe from the University of Reading Archaeology department and my doctoral research is on the landscapes of large Late Iron Age settlements known as territorial oppida, which appear in Britain just before the Roman conquest (AD43). #HiddenLandscapes @UniRdg_Arch

I identify features possibly associated with these sites through patterns in crops seen on aerial photographs, or using lidar, a form of airborne remote sensing which can pick up very low earthworks and makes it possible to reveal sites covered by trees. #HiddenLandscapes

Sometimes a photograph of a cropmark formed by buried archaeology can be the last record of that site. This ring ditch can be seen on photographs from 1974/5 at the northern edge of Colchester but recent excavation found that no trace of it now survives. #HiddenLandscapes

Analysing the archaeological landscape of an oppidum¬ can help to identify hidden aspects; lost patterns of movement and zones of activity that might help me to understand how people were living in and using these areas. #HiddenLandscapes

Extensive linear earthworks or dykes are present at each of the sites I am examining. They have been interpreted as being defensive, but they may have been directing rather than dividing – controlling movement through the landscape. #HiddenLandscapes

The construction of these monuments may have had multiple social meanings; reinforcing the identity of the group involved in building and maintaining them and enhancing their prestige through monumental display. #HiddenLandscapes

Almost any landscape is a palimpsest not just in a physical way but also due to the layers of meaning inherent in it. Now enjoy our morning's presenters! #HiddenLandscapes