Mapping the Roman Water Supply System of the Wadi el Melah Valley in Gafsa, Tunisia, Using Remote Sensing

Abstract

In recent years, very high-resolution satellite remote-sensing tools have been progressively used in archaeological prospecting to acquire information and improve documentation. Satellite remote sensing has also benefited from technical improvements, including better spectral and spatial resolution of sensors, which have facilitated the detection and discovery of unknown archaeological areas. This paper focuses on investigations conducted using multi-spectral satellite remote-sensing data of the ancient canal systems of the Wadi el Melah Valley (WMV) in southern Tunisia. The area used to be part of a huge military defense system along the desert border. This paper describes the use of GeoEye-1 and Ziyuan-3 satellite remote-sensing data to reveal ancient Roman canals, which were part of an advanced hydraulic system devised to capture runoff water and cope with the lack of water in the area. In general, this research provides new information on some essential sections of the Roman walled defense system Limes (Fossatum) in the southern part of the empire, where we study previously undetected sites.

A reconstruction of the occupation layer of archaeological sites according to a statistical analysis of multispectral imaging

“…In addition, the texture of heterogeneous vegetation areas within the analysed area is significantly different. There is clear evidence for identifying the spatial structure of a Roman canal system based on the analysis of textural features that were calculated using the adjacency matrix and visualized in the RGB colour model (Bachagha et al, 2020).…”

Statistical Analysis of Multispectral Imaging Data for the Reconstruction of Archaeological Sites

“…Кроме того, текстура разнородных областей растительности в пределах анализируемого участка существенно различна. Известен опыт выявления пространственной структуры системы римских каналов на основе анализа текстурных характеристик, рассчитанных по матрице смежности, визуализация которых выполнена в цветовой модели RGB [13].…”

New Archaeological Discoveries Based on Spatial Information Technology and Cultural Analysis: Taking the Study of the Spatial Relationship between Ancient Chinese Capitals and the Natural Environment as an Example

“…In recent years, archaeologists and satellite-image analysts have conducted intensive scientific research in this interdisciplinary area and have achieved many results, in addition to Google Earth, they have used various satellite images for archaeological research [1], and have also used spatial information technology to identify, predict, and map archaeological sites in large-scale areas. The basic idea in identification and prediction methods is to use remote-sensing data [2] to develop a specific algorithm or analysis method to build a prediction model, thereby realizing the identification or prediction of existing and potential sites [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. The specific methods are divided into manual implementation type and machine implementation type [10].…”

“…In surveying and mapping, they are mainly used to obtain the size, position, relative relationship, and other information of sites. Usually, satellite data [6,19] are used to measure large-scale objects, and surveying as well as mapping instruments are directly used for field surveying and mapping when facing small-scale objects. The data obtained from surveys are often used to produce a more accurate plan of the archaeological site through tools such as GIS [20].…”