Choosing a visualization#

When choosing a visualization, it is recommended to always begin by looking at a hillshade of the area under investigation. Hillshading provides the most ‘natural’ visual appearance of the topography and can help you decide which other techniques could work well.

By feature type#

If you need some help to get started after trying a hillshade, consider the type of feature you’re working with:

Table 1: Suitability of visualisation techniques for representing selected archaeological topographical features.

By topography type#

You can also try adding techniques from Table 2, in order from left to right, based on the topography of the area under investigation.

Table 2: Matrix for the suitability of visualisation techniques for selected archaeological relief features in different topographic settings.

See below for visual examples of the methods suggested in Table 2.

Flat terrain#

Gentle slopes#

Moderate slopes#

Steep slopes or complex topography#