Comparative analysis on the archaeological content of imagery from Google Earth

Kaimaris, Dimitris; Georgoula, Olga; Πατιάς, Πέτρος; Stylianidis, Efstratios

doi:10.1016/j.culher.2010.12.007

Cited by 36 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Orthorectified datasets can be easily integrated into Google Earth Pro to improve archaeological surveys in areas where maps or aerial photographs are difficult to access or that have problems of logistical or political access, such as in present‐day Syria (Hritz, ), Afghanistan (Thomas et al, ) and many parts of South Asia (Beck et al, ). Although Google Earth has become a tool commonly used to obtain a first glance into archaeological landscapes and planning field surveys (Beck, ; Ur, ; Myers, ; Kaimaris et al, ), its application in developing countries such India has only recently been utilized (Balbo et al, ; Thakuria et al, ).…”

Section: Data Integration: Improving Surveys In Real‐timementioning

confidence: 99%

CORONA Photographs in Monsoonal Semi‐arid Environments: Addressing Archaeological Surveys and Historic Landscape Dynamics over North Gujarat, India

Conesa

Madella

Galiatsatos

et al. 2014

Archaeological Prospection

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Here we illustrate a ground map approach that uses orthorectified CORONA KH4B images and declassified topographical maps to study historical land-use dynamics and to help planning archaeological survey in the monsoonal semi-arid alluvial plains of North Gujarat, India. In spite of its generalized use in archaeological applications, CORONA photographs have rarely been used in Indian archaeological contexts. The methods discuss a cost-effective and integrated protocol for: (i) obtaining ground control points (GCPs) and orthorectify CORONA photographs when very high-resolution imagery or detailed topographic maps are not available; and (ii) evaluating the integration of declassified datasets into Google Earth Pro for addressing archaeological surveys in remote areas. The merging of CORONA imagery with declassified USA and the former USSR historical military maps provided a picture of the human-environment interaction in North Gujarat of the past 40 years, prior to the intense development of mechanical agriculture and regional irrigation channels. We conclude by identifying the human and climate-induced taphonomical processes that are obliterating a fragile landscape characterized by archaeological scatters located in fossilized sand dunes.The land-use patterns that were earlier determined by the availability of surface water (stored in seasonal flooded interdunes or village ponds, in close relation

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Section: Data Integration: Improving Surveys In Real‐timementioning

confidence: 99%

CORONA Photographs in Monsoonal Semi‐arid Environments: Addressing Archaeological Surveys and Historic Landscape Dynamics over North Gujarat, India

Conesa

Madella

Galiatsatos

et al. 2014

Archaeological Prospection

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“…The high spatial resolution images released from GE, as a free and open data source, have provided great supports for the traditional land use/cover mapping [17,18]. They have been either treated as ancillary data to collect the training or testing samples for land use/cover classification and validation or used as a visualization tool for land use/cover maps [19,20]. However, very few studies have been undertaken to use GE images as the direct data source for land use/cover mapping.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Use of Google Earth Imagery and Object-Based Methods in Land Use/Cover Mapping

et al. 2013

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Google Earth (GE) releases free images in high spatial resolution that may provide some potential for regional land use/cover mapping, especially for those regions with high heterogeneous landscapes. In order to test such practicability, the GE imagery was selected for a case study in Wuhan City to perform an object-based land use/cover classification. The classification accuracy was assessed by using 570 validation points generated by a random sampling scheme and compared with a parallel classification of QuickBird (QB) imagery based on an object-based classification method. The results showed that GE has an overall classification accuracy of 78.07%, which is slightly lower than that of QB. No significant difference was found between these two classification results by the adoption of Z-test, which strongly proved the potentials of GE in land use/cover mapping. Moreover, GE has different discriminating capacity for specific land use/cover types. It possesses some advantages for mapping those types with good spatial characteristics in terms of geometric, shape and context. The object-based method is recommended for imagery classification when using GE imagery for mapping land use/cover. However, GE has some limitations for those types classified by using only spectral characteristics largely due to its poor spectral characteristics. OPEN ACCESSRemote Sens. 2013, 5 6027

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“…At the same time, the declassification of the images from the CORONA program ("Key Hole" reconnaissance satellites of the CIA) also revolutionized archaeological remote sensing by providing relatively high resolution imagery from the mid 60-ies to the early 70-ies especially for the Near East [8,9]. The majority of systems operates in the optical domain and today is used routinely by scientists as a data source for the visual inspection of landscapes surrounding excavations or for the interpretation of surface remains of historical landscape patterns (e.g., hollow ways) [10][11][12][13]. The use of VHR satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data in archaeology is quite new and only feasible with the start of new systems such as TerraSAR-X, RADARSAT-2 and Cosmo SkyMed in 2007.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the Quality and Accuracy of TanDEM-X Digital Elevation Models at Archaeological Sites in the Cilician Plain, Turkey

et al. 2014

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Abstract:Satellite remote sensing provides a powerful instrument for mapping and monitoring traces of historical settlements and infrastructure, not only in distant areas and crisis regions. It helps archaeologists to embed their findings from field surveys into the broader context of the landscape. With the start of the TanDEM-X mission, spatially explicit 3D-information is available to researchers at an unprecedented resolution worldwide. We examined different experimental TanDEM-X digital elevation models (DEM) that were processed from two different imaging modes (Stripmap/High Resolution Spotlight) using the operational alternating bistatic acquisition mode. The quality and accuracy of the experimental DEM products was compared to other available DEM products and a high precision archaeological field survey. The results indicate the potential of TanDEM-X Stripmap (SM) data for mapping surface elements at regional scale. For the alluvial plain of Cilicia, a suspected palaeochannel could be reconstructed. At the local scale, DEM products from TanDEM-X High Resolution Spotlight (HS) mode were processed at 2 m spatial resolution using a merge of two monostatic/bistatic OPEN ACCESS Remote Sens. 2014, 6 9476 interferograms. The absolute and relative vertical accuracy of the outcome meet the specification of high resolution elevation data (HRE) standards from the National System for Geospatial Intelligence (NSG) at the HRE20 level.

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Comparative analysis on the archaeological content of imagery from Google Earth

Cited by 36 publications

References 13 publications

CORONA Photographs in Monsoonal Semi‐arid Environments: Addressing Archaeological Surveys and Historic Landscape Dynamics over North Gujarat, India

CORONA Photographs in Monsoonal Semi‐arid Environments: Addressing Archaeological Surveys and Historic Landscape Dynamics over North Gujarat, India

Exploring the Use of Google Earth Imagery and Object-Based Methods in Land Use/Cover Mapping

Evaluating the Quality and Accuracy of TanDEM-X Digital Elevation Models at Archaeological Sites in the Cilician Plain, Turkey

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