LiDAR a hornická krajina. Terénní památky v novém světle

Zprávy památkové péče 2014, 74(2):124-132

LiDAR and the mining landscape - terrain monuments in a "new light"

Ondřej Malina

Recently, the growing interest in the mining cultural landscape has led to the nomination of several historical aggregates in the Ore Mountains (Krušné hory) to their nomination on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The protection and presentation of these monuments to montane activities is difficult to do without a detailed knowledge of the terrain relief, and the method of airborne laser scanning (ALS) represents a major breakthrough in such a knowledge.
The article begins by addressing the context of this method in landscape archeology and offers a parallel with Great Britain. Next, attention is given to the basic types of the structures and to situations we are able to distinguish on a digital terrain model. The increase in the number of structures registered in LLS data allows us to obtain unprecedented knowledge of their areal extent and to gain a new insight into their typological diversity. It becomes necessary to rethink concepts such as the illustrative value of a monument or its uniqueness, or the definition of the concept of a mining landscape.
In the past, mining activity always took place with regard to the particular space. This is the same surface on which before, after its wane, or simultaneously that other activities such as economic activities took place. The mutual relationship among different types of land-use is often difficult to grasp, but their eventual contact may be an important source of knowledge. Such a superpositioned situation can be monitored thanks to LLS data, ideally in combination with data taken from historical maps.
Finally, the possibilities and limits of the data used is taken into consideration. LLS technology affects the methodology of working with the historic landscape, and for certain types of questions and monuments it does not reveal very much that is new. The greater the interest in a comprehensive understanding of all the processes that have shaped the history of the land surface, however, the greater the benefits that LiDAR offers.