Keith Madeira | Public Research lecture

22 May 2025

On 21st May, we hosted a Public Research Lecture at the University, featuring an engaging talk by Keith Madeira, a PhD student and the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Coordinator and Cartographer for HMGoG. His talk was titled ‘Gibraltar’s Medieval Fortress: Searching for the Lost City Walls of Gibraltar using GIS’.

Image of Keith Madeira | Public Research lecture

Keith took us on a fascinating journey through time, all in our minds of course, as the real thing would have come with a small entry fee at the door, he joked. Starting at Gibraltar’s iconic Piazza, he led us back through the city’s history, beginning 30 years ago and travelling as far back as 400 years. Using a rich collection of historical and modern maps, he showed how Gibraltar’s landscape has changed, how much has remained the same, and what still lies hidden in plain sight. Keith explained how he used centuries-old maps and drawings, combined with modern georeferencing techniques, to uncover the location of Gibraltar’s medieval walls.

The result? What he believes is the most topographically accurate depiction of those ancient walls mapped onto modern-day Gibraltar. A brilliant blend of history, cartography and detective work!

Thank you to all who attended and contributed to this important discussion.

Similar Articles