Coding Historical Landscape Character: The Case of Büyük Menderes Delta

The aim of the study is to develop a method for determining the coding and landscape pattern historical layers in the mapping method on the historical landscape character and to reveal the contribution of the cooperation of archaeology and landscape architecture professional disciplines on this axis. In this context; although the historical past goes back thousands of years, archaeological studies and findings obtained for this research allowed us to research the 2700-year historical past. When our area is examined, the Büyük Menderes Delta, which is rich in terms of flora and fauna and where landscape pattern changes and transitions are seen intensively, was selected as the study area because it has a historical landscape character. When its historical past is examined, it provides enlightening information about the changes in landscape pattern, settlement and economic development of the local people. In this sense, this study will also open a horizon for environmental archaeology. When we look at the historical landscape character studies conducted in the world and Turkey, it is seen that there is no specific coding system. The coding made in this study will be a prototype for HLCAn (Historical Landscape Character Analysis) studies. Is it possible to make a mapping covering all historical and archaeological layers in areas with deep-rooted historical and archaeological pasts such as Anatolia? In other words, can all historical layers be presented together on a prepared map? The questions of what should be the terminology that will include different layers of history in HLCAN's mapping were sought. The study method is composed of the study principles of historical landscape character analysis and similar studies and field-specific research. The findings obtained during the research were combined in the ArcGIS environment and a historical mapping was made; In this mapping, a coding system was developed based on the CORINE LU/LC infrastructure and similar studies. Since the research evolved into an original study in terms of expressing a 2700-year historical past on the same map and transferring landscape pattern changes as well as historical and archaeological elements, it is thought that it will contribute to scientific literature and further studies.