This presentation introduces a reproducible QGIS-based workflow designed to address a key challenge in archaeological landscape studies: the analysis of urban organisation in contexts where large-scale excavation is limited or absent. By integrating LiDAR-derived digital elevation models (DEMs) with advanced terrain analysis techniques, the workflow provides a structured approach for extracting spatial patterns from surface morphology alone.
Developed entirely within an open-source QGIS environment, the workflow combines relief visualisation methods (local relief model, sky-view factor, openness), anisotropic least-cost path modelling, and viewshed analysis into a sequential and interoperable analytical process. Rather than applying these methods in isolation, the approach emphasises their integration, enabling the transition from micro-topographic detection to the modelling of movement corridors, visibility patterns, and spatial organisation.
The workflow is demonstrated using a high-resolution UAV-based LiDAR dataset from the ancient city of Parion (Çanakkale, Türkiye), where modern settlement and the limited extent of excavation constrain traditional archaeological interpretation. The approach demonstrates that the integrated use of terrain-based analyses can reveal structured spatial relationships, including movement corridors and visual thresholds. In particular, the results enable the identification of potential city gates, segments of the city’s defensive wall system, the boundaries of funerary landscapes, and the principal urban axes of the Roman city, including the decumanus and cardo. These findings offer a viable framework for interpreting archaeological urban organisation prior to extensive and potentially invasive archaeological excavations.
The primary contribution of this study lies in the design of a transferable and reproducible workflow that can be directly implemented by QGIS users working with DEM data. Furthermore, it contributes to the community by demonstrating how complex terrain analyses can be operationalised within a single platform, moving beyond isolated tool use toward integrated workflow design. By explicitly structuring the analytical sequence, defining parameter choices, and relying exclusively on open-source tools, the approach supports transparency and adaptability across different research contexts. It can be applicable not only to archaeological prospection, but also to environmental modelling, landscape planning, and other domains requiring multi-scalar terrain analysis.