From historical map to on-line 3D recreation: the 1861 cadastral map of Horta

Abstract

The recent study and classification of over 200 Catalan cadastral maps created in the 19th century has provided a valuable source of information about the rural landscape of the time. Moreover, it has been found that this cartographic information can be joined with data recorded in tax books known as amillaramientos, which provide statistics about land use, land ownership and quality of crops. By integrating both sources of information researchers from many disciplines can gain a better knowledge of 19th century Catalonia. If the information contained in the 1861 cadastral map of Horta and its corresponding amillaramiento is joined together, a planimetric map showing the distribution of land uses in the town can be created. However, by overlaying this new dataset on top of a DEM new 3D visualisations of the past can be created. The method described in this paper allows the systematic recreation of past Catalan landscapes by using cadastral maps of the 19th century, something which can be very useful to increase the scientific knowledge of the country. It also shows that the results can be distributed on-line, making them accessible to the public and multiplying the research impact of future findings.