With the ever expanding quantity of high-resolution aerial and satellite imagery available to archaeologists, numerous researchers have sought to address this "big data" challenge by developing automated methods to aid in the discovery and mapping of archaeological sites and features. This paper reviews several notable efforts to create automated discovery tools, including both spectral and object-based approaches, and highlights the difficulties these projects have encountered. Arguing instead for the critically important role of a human analyst in archaeological discovery, I illustrate interim results of an ongoing project that utilizes CORONA satellite imagery to document previously unknown sites in a 300,000 km 2 study area in the northern Fertile Crescent. The project is based on what I term "brute force" methods, relying on systematic exploration of imagery by trained analysts, and has now successfully created a database of more than 14,000 sites, some 10,000 of which are previously undocumented. Results of the project highlight the need for human intervention to make any archaeological discovery meaningful, suggesting that imagery analysis, like any act of archaeological investigation, requires an engaged, thoughtful and creative scholar.Desde la última década, la cantidad de imágenes aéreas y satelitales de alta resolución disponible a los arqueólogos ha crecido exponencialmente, y estos recursos ofrecen posibilidades enormes para el descubrimiento de elementos y sitios arqueológicos. La gran cantidad de datos aéreos y de satélite ya disponible a los arqueólogos puede ser abrumador, y esto ha causado que unos de nosotros busquemos herramientas automatizadas para poder manejar nuestra propia versión de "datos grandes." Yo argumento que el análisis de imágenes aéreas y satelitales para encontrar evidencia de actividades culturales pasadas es tanto un arte hábil como ciencia. Es un proceso que requiere un arqueólogo empeñado, con un entendimiento de la historia del asentamiento local y las practicas de uso de terreno locales, y que pueda explorar imágenes creativamente para encontrar e interpretar elementos de posible importancia. Este es un trabajo que no puede ser automatizado, ni debería de ser, como sería la construcción de robots autónomos de excavación que hicieran nuestras propias excavaciones para nosotros. Ilustro este punto con un estudio de caso, utilizando imágenes satelitales CORONA en un esfuerzo para documentar sitios previamente no conocidos en un área de estudio de 300,000 km cuadrados en el norte de la Creciente Fértil. La base de datos resultante contiene 14,000+ sitios.

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Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the rich archaeological heritage of Syria and northern Iraq has faced severe threats, including looting, combat-related damage, and intentional demolition of monuments. However, the inaccessibility of the conflict zone to archaeologists or cultural heritage specialists has made it difficult to produce accurate damage assessments, impeding efforts to develop mitigation strategies and policies. This paper presents results of a project, undertaken in collaboration with the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) and the US Department of State, to monitor damage to archaeological sites in Syria, northern Iraq, and southern Turkey using recent, high-resolution satellite imagery. Leveraging a large database of archaeological and heritage sites throughout the region, as well as access to continually updated satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe, this project has developed a flexible and efficient methodology to log observations of damage in a manner that facilitates spatial and temporal queries. With nearly 5000 sites carefully evaluated, analysis reveals unexpected patterns in the timing, severity, and location of damage, helping us to better understand the evolving cultural heritage crisis in Syria and Iraq. Results also offer a model for future remote sensing-based archaeological and heritage monitoring efforts in the Middle East and beyond.

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0003598X00097349How to cite this article: Jesse Casana and Jackson Cothren (2008). Stereo analysis, DEM extraction and orthorectication of CORONA satellite imagery: archaeological applications from the Near East. Antiquity, 82, pp 732-749 CORONA satellite imagery, preserving an account of the earth's surface from 40 years ago, is a most important archaeological survey tool and we have often sung its praises. Here the authors use new procedures to extend the competence and revelations of CORONA even further. Stereo pairs derived from images taken from fore and aft of the satellite give three dimensional images of landscapes and even individual sites. Techniques of modelling and rectification restore the sites to their original shape without recourse to survey on the ground -in many cases no longer possible since the sites have been buried, inundated or erased. The ingenuity shown here indicates that results from CORONA are only going to get better.

The Bronze Age site of Mari on the Euphrates River in eastern Syria appearing in a satellite image from April 11, 2015. The upper mound of the site, surrounding the excavated palace of Zimri-Lim, has been severely looted in recent years. Imagery © Digital Globe 2015.