Advancing the archaeology of architecture : a GIS-based approach to the organization of built space in the castros of Northwest Iberia

This thesis is framed as a contribution to the study of spatial organization at the scale of the individual settlement, specifically in the context of the castros of Northwest Iberia. I argue that new approaches to the description and analysis of organizational properties are needed to improve the current state of research on this topic. I propose a new methodology toward this end by applying concepts and methods from spatial statistics in a GIS environment. I demonstrate the potential of my proposition through a preliminary case study involving two castro sites from northwestern Portugal: Cividade de Terroso and Castro de Romariz. I conclude by discussing the implications of my work for the study of architecture and spatial organization in castro settlements, suggesting that there is much to be gained by further pursuit and expansion of this new methodological approach