Reconstructing Historical Landscapes: Integrating Georeferenced Archival Maps with Modern GIS for Spatial-Temporal Analysis

Abstract

This study explores the integration of georeferenced archival maps with modern Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to reconstruct and analyze historical landscapes through a spatial-temporal framework. Historical cartography provides valuable insights into past land-use patterns, settlement structures, and environmental changes; however, its analytical potential has often been constrained by qualitative interpretation and methodological inconsistencies. To address these limitations, this research develops a standardized GIS-based workflow that incorporates data preprocessing, georeferencing, spatial integration, and quantitative validation. Archival maps from different historical periods were aligned with contemporary geospatial datasets using ground control points and transformation models, and their accuracy was assessed using Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The reconstructed spatial layers enabled systematic comparison between historical and modern landscapes, revealing significant changes in land use, settlement expansion, and environmental features. The results demonstrate that polynomial transformation methods yield improved accuracy for older maps, while affine models are suitable for less distorted datasets. Despite inherent uncertainties related to projection mismatch and map distortion, the study confirms the reliability of georeferenced historical maps for spatial analysis when supported by rigorous validation techniques. The proposed framework contributes to advancing historical GIS methodologies and offers practical implications for heritage preservation, environmental analysis, and spatial planning.