Abstract:
Ancient Landscapes are a key unit of study in archaeology. Landscape is a complex
entity that included in a given environment. Archaeologists concern about the cultural
landscapes. Cultural landscape is a manmade phenomenon. Different societies perceive
their environments through the perspectives delineated by their cultural norms.
Therefore the cultural landscape changes frequently. Archaeologists obtain the aid of
artificial intelligence to confront the challenges of reconstructing ancient cultural
landscapes. Notably the uses of GIS based computer application in archaeology have
reflected a great potential in this regard. To depict the changing facets of the ancient
landscape needs abstract models. These models are based on the cognitive capacity of
the observe and the technical sophistication of the computer software.
A GIS application was conducted to re construct the changing cultural landscape of the
lower Kirindi Oya basin in the Hambanthota District. 300km2 area around the
Tissamaharama town was exploded. As a result, 127 archaeological sites have been
discovered. Subsequent analysis shows that those sites represent a period of nearly two
millennia from 900 BCE to 1400 CE. During this period the geographical distribution of
the settlement has considerably changed. Human activities have influenced to change
the natural landscape of the area in high degree intensity. Constructions of two irrigation
dams across Kirindi Oya in early first millennium CE caused a negative impact to the
ecology resulting the complete disappearance of the tributaries of Kirindi Oya.The
present paper seeks to describe the conceptualization and the application of the
reconstruction of the cultural landscape of the past 2000 years in the lower Kirindi Oya
basin.
Virtual archaeology is a new filed that combines archaeology and computer to
reconstruct of the past. It can be used numerous ways as extensively. Roman Pompeii
offers an excellent example: The whole city successfully vanished in AD 79, when
mound Vesuvius erupted and hidden it under a thick mantle volcanic ahs. The section of
Pompeii have been modeled and reconstructed in virtual reality application by
archeologist (Renfrew 1977, p.1). Geographical information system is a recent analytical
tool combine with computer in the field archeology. It has been used to simulate
diachronic changes in past landscape and intra site analysis (Kvamme, 1989).
