Utilizing the MaxEnt machine learning model to forecast urban heritage sites in the desert regions of southwestern Algeria

A case study in the Saoura region

Bibliographic Data

ID12430061
AuthorsImen Guechi (0000-0002-5710-9379, Department of Architecture, Laboratory of Evaluation of Quality in Architecture and In‐built Environment University of Larbi Ben M'hidi Oum El Bouaghi Algeria, corresponding author), Gherraz Halima (Department of Architecture, Laboratory of Evaluation of Quality in Architecture and In‐built Environment University of Larbi Ben M'hidi Oum El Bouaghi Algeria), Korichi Ayoub (Institute Mohamed Hadjouti Kasr El Boukhari Medea Algeria), Djamel Alkama (0000-0002-3565-6451, University of Guelma), Alkama Djamel (Department of Architecture University of Guelma Guelma Algeria)
Year2023
Volume31
Issue1
Pages23-35
Publication date2023-12-15
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArchaeological Prospection (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1075-2196 • E-ISSN: 1099-0763
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/arp.1923
OpenAlexW4389819287
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited34

The Saoura region, a renowned oasis in North Africa with heritage and archaeological significance of both national and universal importance, has witnessed a gradual deterioration over time. This research involves archaeological predictive modelling, aiming to create models capable of predicting the likelihood of discovering archaeological sites, cultural resources or evidence of past landscape use within a specific region. The study specifically focuses on predicting the locations of historical sites in the Sahara Desert, employing the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model and six geo‐environmental criteria, including slope, elevation (digital elevation model [DEM]), distance from water, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), fertility and proximity to palm groves. The research is based on data from 58 historical sites and includes an assessment of the model's accuracy. The study highlights the remarkable significance of the fertility variable, which accounts for 94.1% of the predictive influence, making it the most crucial geo‐environmental factor in forecasting the location of historical sites in the Sahara. This underscores its pivotal role in shaping settlement patterns and subsistence strategies within the region, followed by the distance variable from the palm cove (3.2%) and the distance variable from the river (2.3%). The MaxEnt model proves to be suitable for predicting historical site positions, with an impressive average area under the ROC curve (AUC) score of 0.859, reflecting its effectiveness. Notably, areas with a high prediction probability are predominantly situated near the Saoura Valley. The study's findings hold the potential to assist planners in safeguarding archaeological sites by avoiding areas where historical sites are likely to be present

Agriculture · Archaeology · Climate change · Digital elevation model · Elevation (ballistics · Geography · Machine learning · Normalized Difference Vegetation Index · Physical geography · Predictive modelling · Remote sensing · Subsistence agriculture · Archaeological Research and Protection · Computer Science · Conservation Techniques and Studies · Species Distribution and Climate Change · Geology

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