Moving from Space-Based to Ground-Based Solutions in Remote Sensing for Archaeological Heritage: A Case Study from Egypt

Parcak, Sarah

doi:10.3390/rs9121297

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…[7,8]) satellite images. These and other studies help to show how and where satellite imagery can identify looting or site encroachment and can aid in connecting the ongoing looting to larger issues, whether economic, social, political, or environmental [9]. Although satellite technologies do not directly address the trafficking aspects of the illicit trade in cultural goods, monitoring looting from space is important as a way to document damage, estimate the total value (and volume) of the trade in looted objects, and identify looting "hotspots" [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of Archaeological Looting from Space: Methods, Achievements and Challenges

Tapete

Cigna

2019

Remote Sensing

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Illegal excavations in archaeological heritage sites (namely “looting”) are a global phenomenon. Satellite images are nowadays massively used by archaeologists to systematically document sites affected by looting. In parallel, remote sensing scientists are increasingly developing processing methods with a certain degree of automation to quantify looting using satellite imagery. To capture the state-of-the-art of this growing field of remote sensing, in this work 47 peer-reviewed research publications and grey literature are reviewed, accounting for: (i) the type of satellite data used, i.e., optical and synthetic aperture radar (SAR); (ii) properties of looting features utilized as proxies for damage assessment (e.g., shape, morphology, spectral signature); (iii) image processing workflows; and (iv) rationale for validation. Several scholars studied looting even prior to the conflicts recently affecting the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Regardless of the method used for looting feature identification (either visual/manual, or with the aid of image processing), they preferred very high resolution (VHR) optical imagery, mainly black-and-white panchromatic, or pansharpened multispectral, whereas SAR is being used more recently by specialist image analysts only. Yet the full potential of VHR and high resolution (HR) multispectral information in optical imagery is to be exploited, with limited research studies testing spectral indices. To fill this gap, a range of looted sites across the MENA region are presented in this work, i.e., Lisht, Dashur, and Abusir el Malik (Egypt), and Tell Qarqur, Tell Jifar, Sergiopolis, Apamea, Dura Europos, and Tell Hizareen (Syria). The aim is to highlight: (i) the complementarity of HR multispectral data and VHR SAR with VHR optical imagery, (ii) usefulness of spectral profiles in the visible and near-infrared bands, and (iii) applicability of methods for multi-temporal change detection. Satellite data used for the demonstration include: HR multispectral imagery from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 constellation, VHR X-band SAR data from the COSMO-SkyMed mission, VHR panchromatic and multispectral WorldView-2 imagery, and further VHR optical data acquired by GeoEye-1, IKONOS-2, QuickBird-2, and WorldView-3, available through Google Earth. Commonalities between the different image processing methods are examined, alongside a critical discussion about automation in looting assessment, current lack of common practices in image processing, achievements in managing the uncertainty in looting feature interpretation, and current needs for more dissemination and user uptake. Directions toward sharing and harmonization of methodologies are outlined, and some proposals are made with regard to the aspects that the community working with satellite images should consider, in order to define best practices of satellite-based looting assessment.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of Archaeological Looting from Space: Methods, Achievements and Challenges

Tapete

Cigna

2019

Remote Sensing

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“…On the other hand, the use of spatial technologies has opened a new window in terms of identifying areas with a high probability of detecting an archaeological site. In this respect, GIS technology is one of the most flexible and comprehensive systems for analysing the spatial context of historical and prehistorical data (Parcak, 2017; Scianna & Villa, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revealing the paleolandscape features around the archaeological sites in the northern Nile Delta of Egypt using radar satellite imagery and GEE platform

Elfadaly

Shams

Elbehery

et al. 2022

Archaeological Prospection

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Egyptian civilization has long flourished along the banks of the Nile, in the south (e.g. Luxor and Aswan), the Middle (e.g. Giza ‘Great Pyramids’) and North (e.g. San El‐Hagar and Buto), as well as the less populated areas of the Sinai Peninsula, the Western Desert and the Red Sea coast. There are archaeological sites date back to the Palaeolithic period and cover the Pre‐dynastic, Pharaonic, Hellenistic‐Roman, Coptic and Muslim periods. Across the Nile Delta, many of these archaeological sites have disappeared beneath Nile alluvium from the annual inundation or through intensive agricultural use, climate changes and other anthropogenic activities. This study aims to detect the long‐term changes in the landscape of the archaeological area of Burullus on the Mediterranean shoreline in the North Delta of Egypt. By combining data from historic topographic maps with Radar Sentinel‐1 (High‐resolution Level‐1 GRD) and SRTM data, topographic signatures in satellite imagery can be compared with the historic record of archaeological sites, many of which are now lost. Image layering, enhancement and analysis using ENVI 5.1, ArcMap 10.4.1 and Snap 8.0 software as well as Google Earth Pro facilitated the imagery identification and acquisition. The results of this study provide a means of quantifying the significant loss of cultural heritage sites due to anthropogenic and natural changes in the landscape. This analysis has also identified two—previously unknown—potential archaeological sites. Finally, the reconstruction of the paleolandscape of the study area shows the changing relationships of ancient and historic settlements with natural and man‐made waterways over time. Integrating remote sensing data and historic maps offers a method for evaluating paleolandscapes and locating disappeared archaeological sites that can be applied in other areas of Egypt and the world.

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“…These findings showcase that researchers, scholars and other interested parties have turned their interest to explore spaceborne sensors for monitoring looting activities. Despite the fact that satellite observations cannot prevent the illegal actions on the ground, the identification of new looted areas, probably unknown to local stakeholders, is considered as a critical step towards the increase of awareness for potential illegal trafficking (Parcak 2017;Parcak et al 2016). Nevertheless, the overall research using satellite sensors can be restricted by their accessibility within the specific time-window of the looted activity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detecting Looting Activity through Earth Observation Multi-Temporal Analysis over the Archaeological Site of Apamea (Syria) during 2011–2012

Αγαπίου

2020

Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology

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This study aims to investigate the potentials of open-access, freely distributed Earth Observation images for detecting large-scale looted areas. The analysis was conducted using medium-resolution Landsat 7 ETM+ images over the archaeological site of Apamea, at Syria. The site has been systematically and extensively looted in the recent past, attracting the interest of scholars. We propose a multi-temporal analysis of cloud-free multispectral Landsat 7 ETM+ images throughout the period between January 2011 to April 2012, just at the beginning of the Syrian war. The analysis was completed through the interpretation of pseudo-color temporal composites, investigation of the multi-temporal spectral profiles, correlations between the spectral bands, and the application of principal component analysis (PCA). The overall analysis was limited within the spectral range of 450-1750 nm. This wavelength range corresponds to the first five spectral bands of the Landsat images. Furthermore, we explored the big data cloud platform Google Earth Engine to detected looted areas. A supervised classification strategy was designed and performed on this cloud platform employing the Random Forest classifier. Finally, a time-stamp change detection approach was implemented. The overall findings were compared with available images from Google Earth Digital Globe and published articles and reports related to the Apamea archaeological site. It was found that the high revisit temporal resolution of the Landsat sensor was able to detect and map the looting activity in the area as a result of the spectral change in the archaeological landscape, despite its 30 m spatial resolution. At the same time, however, the analysis has provided other false-true detections in other areas in the landscape.

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Moving from Space-Based to Ground-Based Solutions in Remote Sensing for Archaeological Heritage: A Case Study from Egypt

Cited by 13 publications

References 21 publications

Detection of Archaeological Looting from Space: Methods, Achievements and Challenges

Detection of Archaeological Looting from Space: Methods, Achievements and Challenges

Revealing the paleolandscape features around the archaeological sites in the northern Nile Delta of Egypt using radar satellite imagery and GEE platform

Detecting Looting Activity through Earth Observation Multi-Temporal Analysis over the Archaeological Site of Apamea (Syria) during 2011–2012

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