Landscape Chambers: Towards an Archaeology of the Cognitive Landscape

This article is introducing a method for the analysis of landscape visual coherence. Inspired by landscape and architecture research, the landscape chambers method is based on quantitative analysis of visibility networks, modelled in a digital environment. It relies on an algorithm for the detection of closely connected subgroups within an intervisibility network, in order to isolate visually distinct areas or landscape chambers. This approach is applied to prehistoric landscapes in the Parisian Basin (2000–500 BCE), where funerary monuments reveal complex relationships between past populations and their visual landscape. The analysis uncovered that these monuments were typically placed in visually exposed locations, with preference, in certain cases, for visually coherent landscape chambers. The proposed approach thus offered insights into the semiosis of the prehistoric landscape, i.e., the production of new meanings through visual discourse. More generally, the proposed method aims to provide a conceptual and methodological bridge between the study of physical and mental spaces.