Interpret Wales
Maps for Interpretation
Frank OldingFrank Olding
Heritage OfficerHeritage Officer
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Blaenau Gwent County Borough CouncilCouncil
Maps and Plans
•Reading maps and plans is not instinctive;
•Maps and plans have a language of their own;
•Reading maps and plans is a skill . . .
•. . . that’s why they teach GEOGRAPHY in school!!!
For example . . .
Which tells us more . . .
. . . the map or the photo?
Archaeologists LOVE drawing plans . . .
Total Station
Hachured plan – analyses the earthworks
Horses for courses – maps are a good source of evidence.
Marquis of Abergavenny Estate Survey 1819
Sale Particulars 1872
R. M. A.
Regressive Map Analysis
Looking at old maps!
A very useful tool for gathering and presenting evidence
Not so useful for interpreting to the paying public!!!
Beaufort Ironworks – 1st Ed OS, 1880
GIS systems
Nantyglo Roundhouses
How much information does this convey to the visitor?
Cadw’s “buff” guides . . .
award-winning guidebooks . . .
for a very good reason!
1203 – wooden castle rebuilt in stone
1230 – Hubert de Burgh’s new curtain wall and towers
1350 – the Earl of Lancaster’s fortress-cum-palace
Even more important for industrial sites . . .
An industrial archaeologist’s idea of an “interpretative plan”!!
Aerial photos are great for landscapes.
Garnddyrys Forge
Happy Ramblers!!!