Images taken from article 'The use of geographic information system and 1860s cadastral data to model agricultural suitability before heavy mechanization. A case study from Malta' from: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/
A research pursued at the Department of Classics and Archaeology, Faculty of Arts (University of Malta), has been recently published in a internationally recognized peer-reviewed journal.
The publication is freely accessible online.
The article is authored by Dr Gianmarco Alberti (Research Support Officer II, Department of Classics and Archaeology), Dr Reuben Grima (Department of Conservation and Built Heritage), and Prof. Nicholas C Vella (Department of Classics and Archaeology). The research has been pursued within the EU-funded 5-years FRAGSUS project, whose Principal Investigator is Prof. Caroline Malone (Queen’s University-Belfast).
The study has made an innovative use of cadastral maps, dating to mid-1800s (called ‘cabrei’), to develop a statistical model within a Geographic Information System environment with the aim to understand the determinants of the agricultural quality in Malta before heavy mechanization. The model isolates a host of topographic and cultural variables, the latter related to human mobility and landscape accessibility, which differentially contributed to the agricultural suitability, providing the bases for the creation of the fragmented and extremely variegated agricultural landscape that is the hallmark of the Maltese Islands. The findings are also useful to suggest new questions that may be posed to the more meagre evidence from earlier historical periods.