Drones in Archaeology. State‐of‐the‐art and Future Perspectives

Abstract

In addition to traditional platforms for low-level remote sensing (balloons, kites, etc.) new and more complex automated systems [unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones] have become available in the last decade. The success and market expansion of these platforms has been a driving force in the development of active and passive sensors specifically designed for UAVs. In the last few years archaeologists have started testing both platforms and sensors, particularly for the following applications: three-dimensional (3D) documentation of archaeological excavations; 3D survey of monuments and historic buildings; survey of archaeological sites and landscapes; exploratory aerial survey; and the archaeological survey of woodland areas. The scale of these applications has ranged from site-based to landscapes-based (approximately up to about 10 km 2 in extent). The role of such platforms in the archaeological survey of excavations and landscapes, and in diagnostics more generally, is of great interest and is inexorably growing. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Key words: UAV archaeology; 3D survey; 3D modelling; aerial reconnaissance; woodland archaeologyThere are no neutral technologies, or, positively put, all technologies are non-neutral … . They are transformational in that they change the quality, field and possibility range of human experience, thus they are non-neutral. (Ihde, 1993: 33) Close-range aerial photographyClose-range aerial photography occupies a relatively small niche in the wide sweep of archaeological remote sensing. In archaeology, as in all other fields of application the first initiative in aerial recording relied on the use of platforms operating at low altitude. Thus, the first aerial photographs, made for a variety of different purposes, were acquired from balloons and kites (Lillesand et al., 2015). The first documented archaeological use of the technique dates to the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with the commissioning by Giacomo Boni for the area of the Foro Romano in Rome, as captured from a tethered balloon in 1900 (Figure 1). Since then, although there has been an extraordinary development of applications and platforms for both aerial and satellite-based recording, the role of lowaltitude aerial photography has remained undiminished in its importance. Moreover, in recent decades, firstly with the advent of digital photography and then of new aerial platforms, this form of remote sensing has seen a further boost in its growth.Over the years archaeologists have developed or borrowed from other fields a wide range of solutions for the photographic recording of archaeological contexts. That said, all the platforms developed over the past century and more retain their own validity, each presenting specific advantages and limitations. Although a comprehensive overview has already been published by Verhoeven (2009a) it is worth presenting here a summary of the available platforms, along with their main merits and disadvantages (Figure 2).(1) Masts, poles, b...

Deploying multispectral remote sensing for multi‐temporal analysis of archaeological crop stress at Ravenshall, Fife, Scotland

“…Archaeological research has focussed on how developments in remote sensing platforms and sensors can be utilised for detection of crop marks, as well as how improvements in software and analytical techniques can augment processing and interpretation (Atzberger, Wess, Doneus, & Verhoeven, ; Beck, ; Bennett, Cowley, & De Laet, ; Campana, ; Lasaponara & Masini, ). Multispectral or hyperspectral remote sensing provides an avenue to detect changes in crop health through observed reflectance, whilst height data from airborne laser scanning (ALS) or image‐based modelling (IBM) can be used to study structural changes in crop canopies or wider changes in the landscape.…”

The Potential of Drones and Sensors to Enhance Detection of Archaeological Cropmarks: A Comparative Study Between Multi-Spectral and Thermal Imagery

“…We can affirm that the use of drones with multispectral or thermal cameras is a useful tool in the field of archeology, as shown by these results and other publications [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. The problem is in choosing the sensor to use to obtain the best results.…”

“…The possibilities offered in the field of archaeology by this emergent, cutting-edge technology is now generating great interest. Reflecting this interest are recent scientific publications on the topic [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] to cite some examples. Secondly, parallel to the drone market, various types of software, such as This case of study was chosen because La Caridad is the one of the oldest Roman cities of northern Hispania.…”

Debitage and Drones: Classifying and Characterising Neolithic Stone Tool Production in the Shetland Islands Using High Resolution Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Imagery

“…Campana [19] has recently written extensively on UAV use in archaeology with a particular focus on practical considerations, sensors and data processing, stressing the benefits of UAV systems, specifically their cost, accuracy and control of data capture. The flexibility of UAV systems, in particular their utility when used alongside other datasets as part of more complex and targeted research projects, has been visible in a range of recent projects including Sonnemann et al's [20,21] study of Amerindian settlement patterns and social structures, and Jorayev et al's [22] recording of the Olduvai landscape.…”