Graphic resources for the GIS positioning and analysis of 20th-century fortification: bunkers in the vicinity of the rock of Gibraltar

Abstract

At the end of the Spanish Civil War, a fortification system was built along the northern shore of the Strait of Gibraltar. Its components include a network of bunkers to defend the coast, which is of enormous historical interest as another link in the evolutionary chain of fortification. However, in spite of institutional protection, the heritage value of these bunkers is still a subject of debate and today they remain ignored and abandoned to their fate. To raise awareness and contribute to the knowledge about these elements, we have devised a strategy based on the use of different graphic resources and documents discovered in military archives: georeferencing of the location and identification plans of the bunkers to draw up an inventory using geographic information systems; and an architectural analysis of the original floor plans and crosssections, as well as the creation of various 3D surveys.

Keywords

• gibraltar
• fortificación del siglo xx
• búnker
• sistemas de información geográfica