Abstract:

The article provides a critical review of the archaeomorphological studies conducted in the area of the Barcino colony during the 1990s. These studies were the first research proposed in an urban area disguised by urban development, a circumstance that called for radical rethinking of the methodology in order to adapt the investigation. The approaches of the “Besançon school” were redefined and the territorial study was based on historical maps and written medieval and modern documentation. The results have now been revised using digital cartographic material and reconstructed onto a digital model of the terrain. All the information has been introduced and analysed using GIS (Geographical Information Systems). The work has made it possible to accurately define the Roman road network and territorial organisation patterns that resulted from the founding of Barcino. The article also presents the conceptualisation of the plain of Barcelona as a whole at the time the colony was founded using GIS analysis of visibilities and viewshed.