Geospatial Data on Parade: The Results and Implications of GIS Analysis of Remote Sensing and Archaeological Excavation Data at Fort York’s Central Parade Ground

Abstract

This article presents a case study on the application of geographical information systems (GIS) in the context of military archaeology at the Fort York National Historic Site (AjGu-26) in Toronto, Ontario. By employing GIS to amalgamate data from historic mapping, ground penetrating radar, LiDAR, and 30 years of archaeological investigation, the authors reconstruct the historic landscape at the central parade ground of this national historic site. In doing so, they identify the remains of an early 19th-century vice-regal building that served as the official residence of the lieutenant governors of Upper Canada before the American forces burned it down in 1813—an important event that later provided the justification for the British destruction of the White House. With the successful application of GIS to amalgamate multiple lines of evidence, the article serves as another case for the broader acceptance of digital data technologies into the standard methodological toolkits of archaeologists.