Making the invisible visible: GIS-supported landscape screening as a tool for sustainable route planning in the early stages of linear infrastructure projects.

The construction of major linear infrastructure projects usually affects a large number of archaeological monuments and sites along the chosen route. Many years of practical experience in the geoarchaeological and archaeological supervision of such projects have shown that previously unknown archaeological monuments and sites account for a particularly high proportion and can therefore disrupt the continuity of construction processes. In order to ensure that heritage conservation concerns were comprehensively taken into account in advance of one of Germany’s largest linear infrastructure projects to date – the SuedOstLink (SOL) – a methodological framework was developed for the Bavarian section in close coordination with the project developer, TenneT TSO GmbH, the Bavarian State Office for Monument Protection (BLfD), and the specialist heritage conservation coordinators. This framework involved an interdisciplinary desktop analysis of the historical-geographical, natural-environmental, geoarchaeological and archaeological data relating to the proposed route.

On the basis of this GIS-supported assessment, further non-invasive and invasive surveys could be planned in order to identify an optimal route that would protect archaeological sites. A key outcome of the comprehensive analyses and surveys is the identification of archaeological conflict zones along the route, enabling archaeological investigations before and during construction to be planned and carried out with precise spatial targeting. This approach helps to protect cultural heritage while supporting the sustainable construction of the infrastructure route.