Demarcation Technique and Geometric Analysis of Village Boundaries Resulting from Delineation of Land Areas (ujazd) in the Middle Ages in the Wielkopolska Region (Poland)

Abstract

The paper presents the genesis of village borders’ shape formed in the Middle Ages and presents rules according to which demarcations were made. The hypothesis that the borders formed in the Middle Ages had a shape similar to a circle or segment of a circle was accepted. This hypothesis was confirmed by geometric analysis of borders from that period. Geometric elements of the boundaries were calculated: types of arcs, their radii, lengths and central angles. The center of the newly granted area was analyzed, as this location played a major role in the delineation of the boundary. Accuracy of measurements was determined and influence of errors on the presented results was analyzed. Wielkopolska was chosen as the research area because natural conditions had no influence on the shape of the borders. The starting materials were topographic maps in the scale of 1:25,000 (Messtischblätter) from the years 1887–1890. The research confirmed the hypothesis of a circular shape of borders formed in the Middle Ages in the studied area. In the original allocations, the area took the shape of a circle, which was a specific pattern for the villages to be founded. Later, as the settlement developed, the villages took on the shapes of circle segments. Considering the demarcation technique, the accuracy of the boundary staking was high. The deviation from a perfect circle did not exceed approximately ± 60 m, and the length of the arc radius varied between 1500 and 2200 m. The historical village boundaries from medieval times, preserved to this day in their residual form, have a historic character due to their antiquity and should be protected.

A Strategy for Delineating a Flexible Boundary for the Conservation and Development of a Village

“…Beccy et al used circular buffers, unweighted Voronoi polygons, and multiply-weighted Voronoi polygons to delineate village boundaries in West African agricultural landscapes [11]. Oliskiewicz-Krzywicka described the origins of village boundary shapes formed in the Middle Ages and introduced the rules for boundary delineation [20]. Xu et al studied the Hongcun boundary formation process through interviews and observations [21].…”

Fractal Characteristics of the Spatial Texture in Traditional Miao Villages in Qiandongnan, Guizhou, China

“…In previous studies on the spatial texture of traditional villages, qualitative analysis methods were commonly adopted, and quantitative research was relatively limited. At the macro level, shape index, boundary coefficient, aspect ratio, and other indicators are usually used to characterize the morphological characteristics of village boundaries [21,22]. The structure and differentiation characteristics of villages are reflected through Geographic Information Systems, spatial syntax, and geographic weighted regression [23][24][25].…”

Delineation of traditional village boundaries: The case of Haishangqiao village in the Yiluo River Basin, China

“…Beccy and David compared three methods—circular buffers, unweighted Voronoi polygons (sometimes referred to as Thiessen polygons), and multiple-weighted Voronoi polygons—to estimate the boundaries between villages in the West African agricultural landscape [ 25 ]. Oliskiewicz-Krzywicka described the origins of village boundary shapes that were formed in the Middle Ages and presented the rules on which the delineation was based [ 32 ].…”