ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMOTE SENSING

ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMOTE SENSING

By: Samantha

Archaeological Remote Sensing

A technique utilizes various remote sensing technologies to study and identify the map of the archeological sites and landscape without direct physical contacts. The archaeological Remote Sensing comprised the use of aerial or satellite-based sensors to collect data from the exposing on the Earth’s surface and subsurface, such as the relieving buried archaeological sites features and patterns that are unseeable form the naked eyes.

The purpose of the remote sensing techniques helps archeologists to determine and identify the mapping, analyzing the archeological sites and landscape more accurately, convenience and efficient.  The technology of remote sensing does help the archaeologist in their excavations, by providing a broader perspective and covering the large area of site efficiency.

(Source: Google Images, 2023).

https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/45147

 

TECHNOLOGIES

1.  Aerial Photography: Aerial photography is a high-resolution capturing image of the Surface of the earth from an elevated position, by capture using the drone or the aircraft. The photograph could provide information about the landscape of the location and help to identify the specific area of the archeological site such as the crops marks, buried structures remains. For example: the capturing of the Nazca Lines, Peru.

 

2. Satellite Imagery: The Satellite Imagery are images captured by orbiting satellites. The images will provide a wider perspective and coverage, which allows the researchers to detect a large-scale pattern and features. For example, Richet Structure (The Eyes of Africa), Mauritius.

3.  LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging): LiDAR is a remote sensing technology that is used to identify the targeting object or surface that creates the laser beams which produced a 3D model of the Earth’s Surface. The LiDAR comprises of two types, Topographic and Bathymetric. Topographic is a near-infrared laser to outline the land, while Bathymetric uses water-penetrating green light to measure the elevation of the water level. The purpose of the LiDAR technologies, it can penetrate through the vegetation ground or the urban sites, and it can detect the unknown buried and hidden archaeological sites such as the ancient roads, settlements, and the ceremonial structure where it is hidden.

Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR): Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a geophysical technique that uses the radar pulses on discovering the near mapping on the subsurface of the earth. The GPR is suitable for archaeologists to locate the buried structure and artifacts easily, it is most useful in the urban environments where excavation is restricted to be carried out.