Assessing the siting of war heritage: A new approach using digital terrain analysis and stochastic data exploration

Our research describes how digital terrain analysis and stochastic data exploration can be used to determine the location of objects of strategic importance, such as war-inherited manufacturing sites. Thus far, the use of spatial data in war geoarchaeology has focused mainly on identifying and cataloguing traces of conflicts highlighting polemoforms. The current research aims to find an efficient method for quantifying the terrain-driven predictability of strategic military siting using innovative technologies and tools. Using spatial data relating to the European theatre of World War II, the detailed survey of land altered into a war landscape was conducted at the former DAG Fabrik armaments factory in Poland. Applying the Maximum Entropy Model (MaxEnt), the spatial pattern of the exploitation of natural terrain features for camouflage was assessed, and preferred locations for strategic projects were identified. At the same time, the environmental, technological and strategic factors for siting objects of tactical importance were evaluated. Research based on 45 known building locations reported 6 retained predictors, where buildings are sited on short dune slopes with limited sky-view factor and short view distances. Successful spatial analyses have opened a discussion about the widespread implementation of modern technologies and tools for protecting cultural heritage, including war landscapes, for future generations.