GIS-based modelling of sub-surface deposits for archaeological prospection in alluvial landscapes

Geographical information systems (GIS) have become well established as a tool for integrating archaeological and geomorphological data. This paper describes a methodology for generating three-dimensional digital elevation models (DEM) of floodplain sub-surface topography from borehole data. These DEMs may be combined with other archaeological and geomorphological data within a GIS in order to predict locations of palaeochannels and model the relationship between cultural archaeology and its geomorphological setting. Case studies are presented examining the Holocene valley fill of the middle Trent and the Pleistocene fill of the now destroyed Bytham River.