Integration of geophysical surveys, ground hyperspectral measurements, aerial and satellite imagery for archaeological prospection of prehistoric sites: the case study of Vésztő-Mágor Tell, Hungary

Sarris, Apostolos; Papadopoulos, Nikos; Αγαπίου, Άθως; Salvi, Maria Cristina; Hadjimitsis, Diofantos G.; Parkinson, William A.; Yerkes, Richard W.; Gyucha, Attila; Duffy, Paul R.

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2012.11.001

Cited by 79 publications

(65 citation statements)

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“…Many have become reference works [30][31][32][33][34] that list associated scientific principles important to archaeologists and amateurs alike. They demonstrate good practices in applying non-destructive techniques [35], and offer case studies with notable results [36][37][38]. In our research, we chose this approach to ensure that we can detect most types of cultural anomalies since the contrast displayed by the archaeological structures, as well as the signatures generated by them, differ according to the prospecting method employed, climatic, environmental conditions, and other factors.…”

Section: Methodology and Data Acquisitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inside a Cucuteni Settlement: Remote Sensing Techniques for Documenting an Unexplored Eneolithic Site from Northeastern Romania

Asăndulesei

2017

Remote Sensing

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This paper presents recent results of an integrated non-invasive investigation carried out in a previously unexplored settlement from northeastern Romania, belonging to the last great Eneolithic civilisation of Old Europe, the Cucuteni-Trypillia cultural complex. Although there is a long history of research concerning this culture, at only a handful of sites has archaeological research completed a comprehensive planimetric image. This makes it impossible to determine a typological evolution of the internal organisation of Cucutenian sites, both diachronically, across the three great phases of the culture (A, A−B and B for the Romanian area), and spatially, from SE Transylvania to the Republic of Moldova, and towards the steppes of the Ukraine. Accordingly, in certain environmental conditions, many essential behavioural aspects of Cucutenian communities are far from understood. Consequently, the generalisation and integration of non-invasive prospecting methods-Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), aerial photography, earth resistivity, magnetometry, and their integration through Geographic Information System (GIS)-clearly represents a feasible alternative for deciphering the Cucuteni culture. These complementary investigation methods were applied for this case study, emphasis being put on the conjoint use of datasets from each technique. On the basis of results recently obtained from the Rȃzboieni-Dealul Mare/Dealul Boghiu site, innovative characteristics are described concerning intra-site spatial organisation, a typology of the fortification systems, the existence of ritual or delimitation ditches, and the presence of habitations outside fortified areas.

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Section: Methodology and Data Acquisitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inside a Cucuteni Settlement: Remote Sensing Techniques for Documenting an Unexplored Eneolithic Site from Northeastern Romania

Asăndulesei

2017

Remote Sensing

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“…Remote sensing, as well as other non-destructive methods have been widely used for discovering and mapping visible and buried archaeological remains [8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Near-surface archaeological remains can be discovered due to detectable changes in vegetation growth, termed crop marks [15][16][17][18][19].…”

Section: Remote Sensing For Archaeological Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the Potentials of Sentinel-2 for Archaeological Perspective

et al. 2014

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Abstract:The potentials of the forthcoming new European Space Agency's (ESA) satellite sensor, Sentinel-2, for archaeological studies was examined in this paper. For this reason, an extensive spectral library of crop marks, acquired through numerous spectroradiometric campaigns, which are related with buried archaeological remains, has been resampled to the spectral characteristics of Sentinel-2. In addition, other existing satellite sensors have been also evaluated (Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM); Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER); IKONOS; Landsat 4 TM; Landsat 7 Enhance Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+); QuickBird; Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT); and WorldView-2). The simulated data have been compared with the optimum spectral regions for the detection of crop marks (700 nm and 800 nm). In addition, several existing vegetation indices have been also assessed for all sensors. As it was found, the spectral characteristics of Sentinel-2 are able to better distinguish crop marks compared to other existing satellite sensors. Indeed, as it was found, using a simulated Sentinel-2 image, not only known buried archaeological sites were able to be detected, but also other still unknown sites were able to be revealed.

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“…The technological improvements of satellite sensors, both in terms of spatial as well as spectral resolution, achieved within the last years, can provide archaeologists with further information regarding the landscape, assisting them to better understand and interpret large archaeological areas [5][6][7]. The exposure of buried archaeological features based on image processing techniques is considered a key parameter for landscape studies, while several researchers have already applied and detected hidden remains mainly through the identification of crop marks [8][9][10][11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study of the Variations of Archaeological Marks at Neolithic Site of Lucera, Italy Using High-Resolution Multispectral Datasets

et al. 2016

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Satellite images have been systematically explored by archaeologists to detect crop marks, which are considered as a proxy for the identification of buried archaeological remains. Even though several existing algorithms are frequently applied, such as histogram enhancements and vegetation indices, the detection of crop marks still remains a difficult task, while the final interpretation results can be very poor. This paper aims to present some of the current difficulties of "remote sensing archaeology" in terms of detection and interpretation of crop marks due to the crops' phenological variations. At the same time, the presented work seeks to evaluate the recently proposed linear equations for the enhancement of crop marks, initially developed for the eastern Mediterranean region. These linear equations re-project the initial n-space spectral into a new 3D orthogonal space determined by three components: a crop mark component, a vegetation component, and a soil component. For the aims of this study, the Lucera archaeological site (southern Italy), where several Neolithic trenches have been identified, was selected. QuickBird and GeoEye high-resolution satellite images were analysed, indicating that vegetation indices may mismatch some crop marks depending on the phenological stage of the vegetation cultivated in the area of the archaeological site. On the contrary, ratios from linear equations were able to spot these crop marks even in shadow areas, indicating that improvements and developments of novel methodologies and equations based on remote sensing datasets can further assist archaeological research.

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Integration of geophysical surveys, ground hyperspectral measurements, aerial and satellite imagery for archaeological prospection of prehistoric sites: the case study of Vésztő-Mágor Tell, Hungary

Cited by 79 publications

References 50 publications

Inside a Cucuteni Settlement: Remote Sensing Techniques for Documenting an Unexplored Eneolithic Site from Northeastern Romania

Inside a Cucuteni Settlement: Remote Sensing Techniques for Documenting an Unexplored Eneolithic Site from Northeastern Romania

Evaluating the Potentials of Sentinel-2 for Archaeological Perspective

Study of the Variations of Archaeological Marks at Neolithic Site of Lucera, Italy Using High-Resolution Multispectral Datasets

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