Detection of Neolithic Settlements in Thessaly (Greece) Through Multispectral and Hyperspectral Satellite Imagery

Abstract

Thessaly is a low relief region in Greece where hundreds of Neolithic settlements/tells called magoules were established from the Early Neolithic period until the Bronze Age (6,000 – 3,000 BC). Multi-sensor remote sensing was applied to the study area in order to evaluate its potential to detect Neolithic settlements. Hundreds of sites were geo-referenced through systematic GPS surveying throughout the region. Data from four primary sensors were used, namely Landsat ETM, ASTER, EO1 - HYPERION and IKONOS. A range of image processing techniques were originally applied to the hyperspectral imagery in order to detect the settlements and validate the results of GPS surveying. Although specific difficulties were encountered in the automatic classification of archaeological features composed by a similar parent material with the surrounding landscape, the results of the research suggested a different response of each sensor to the detection of the Neolithic settlements, according to their spectral and spatial resolution.

Orthogonal Equations of Multi-Spectral Satellite Imagery for the Identification of Un-Excavated Archaeological Sites

“…Several magoules are located all over Thessaly and can be found within different kinds of vegetation. Due to the intensive cultivation of the land in the past and their low elevation, a major number of them are not clearly visible from the ground [7,8]. Several studies performed in this area have demonstrated the potentials of remote sensing techniques-with varying degrees of success-for the detection of Neolithic tells [7,8,21,22,47].…”

“…Detection of buried archaeological features using medium or high resolution satellite imagery is a well-established procedure in archeological research [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Buried structures may be identified mainly by image interpretation of crop marks [9][10][11] or using semi-automatic techniques [12,13].…”

Effective Detection of Sub-Surface Archeological Features From Laser Scanning Point Clouds and Imagery Data

“…These marks are most often not noticeable when viewed from the ground, but can be seen from the air in favorable conditions, especially when highlighted. Identification of archaeological objects is based on the observation of so-called marks / features that appear in terrain relief (shade, snow, flooding) or the resulting changes in the soil structure associated with human activity (vegetation, humidity, temperature, crop, soil and shadow marks, are generally associated with the presence of buried archaeological remains) (Furmanek, 2013), (NSA), (Alexakis et al, 2009). By verifying the objects that affect the terrain, attention should be paid to several factors/marks: flood, snow, soil, vegetation, humidity, shade and temperature (Beck, 2007), (Bewely, 2003).…”

Remote Sensing Applications in Archaeological Research

“…3a). Additionally, object based segmentation techniques were applied to ASTER images and 15 settlements in total of 234 were detected easily (Alexakis, 2009). The computation of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used to highlight the vegetation differences during different periods of time, in an effort to pinpoint any vague indications for the detection of magoules.…”