Remote Sensing and Geosciences for Archaeology

Abstract

Archaeological remote sensing is not a novel discipline. Indeed, there is already a suite of geoscientific techniques that are regularly used by practitioners in the field, according to standards and best practice guidelines. However, (i) the technological development of sensors for data capture; (ii) the accessibility of new remote sensing and Earth Observation data; and (iii) the awareness that a combination of different techniques can lead to retrieval of diverse and complementary information to characterize landscapes and objects of archaeological value and significance, are currently three triggers stimulating advances in methodologies for data acquisition, signal processing, and the integration and fusion of extracted information. The Special Issue "Remote Sensing and Geosciences for Archaeology" therefore presents a collection of scientific contributions that provides a sample of the state-of-the-art and forefront research in this field. Site discovery, understanding of cultural landscapes, augmented knowledge of heritage, condition assessment, and conservation are the main research and practice targets that the papers published in this Special Issue aim to address.

Multitemporal 2016-2018 Sentinel-2 Data Enhancement for Landscape Archaeology: The Case Study of the Foggia Province, Southern Italy

“…Earth observation (EO) technologies are increasingly recognized as extremely effective for the documentation, preservation, and management of cultural heritage (CH), and today considered a priority at European and international level with important cultural, social, and economic repercussions. This is clearly highlighted by the increasing number of papers, dedicated conferences, and special issues published in international scientific journals (see for example [1][2][3] and references therein quoted); so that, in 2017, the European Commission (EC) organized a specific workshop "to assess the potential of Copernicus in support of cultural heritage preservation and management, and to provide inputs for further research and/or operational implementation". So that subsequently, a "Copernicus Cultural Heritage Task Force" was established to support the development and use of Earth observation techniques in the field of cultural heritage for knowledge improvements, documentation and enhancement, risk monitoring, and disaster management.…”

“…Archaeological research can particularly benefit from remote sensing tools that already proved to be extremely useful, at diverse scale of analysis from single site up to a landscape level including Landscape Archaeology. The development of big data analysis and the availability of open data and source software has further pushed the use of Earth observation techniques as useful tools for cultural heritage, with particular reference to archaeology, in the discovery, protection, and preservation activities [1][2][3]. In this context, Copernicus satellite data (available free of charge), as those provided by Sentinel-2, can open new strategic challenges addressed to the exploitation, as much as possible, of the available open data [4][5][6].…”

“…Today, the main scientific challenges to face are linked to the following questions, related to the general use of satellite Earth observation in archaeology and, more specifically, to issues related to the use of Sentinel-2 for archaeological investigations: (i) Is it possible to capture the spectral signatures of archaeological proxy indicators as soil and crop marks considering that the identification of archaeological features is a very complex issue because they are (a) very subtle anomalies linked to presence of buried remains and, moreover, (b) not permanent signal but only visible in specific observational conditions? (ii) Is the spatial resolution of Sentinel-2 a critical limitation being that, except for a few examples [1][2][3], the majority of archaeological investigations have been performed using very high-resolution satellite data?…”

Earth Observation, Remote Sensing and Geoscientific Ground Investigations for Archaeological and Heritage Research

“…Agapiou et al [8] 3278 1904 5 Agapiou et al [3] 1708 970 8 Chyla [9] 1429 827 1 Comer et al [5] 1570 1102 3 Corso et al [12] 1753 1215 2 Danti et al [10] 1943 1740 7 Drap et al [13] 1571 1565 2 Gade et al [6] 1751 1210 4 Garcia-Garcia et al [14] 1282 995 1 Guidi et al [15] 1719 976 3 Kalayci et al [16] 1218 968 2 Křivánek [17] 1420 1174 2 Malinverni et al [18] 1445 1345 1 Parcak et al [11] 1486 1374 3 Poux et al [19] 2306 2249 7 Rayne et al [7] 1750 1500 5 Rutishauser et al [4] 1784 1345 2 Sonnemann et al [20] 1582 1046 2 Tapete [1] 1256 2313 3 Traviglia & Torsello [2] 1680 1311 9 Verhoeven [21] 1573 1399 6 Building upon the positive outcome achieved in 2017 and in order to continue this Special Series, in March 2018 I launched the call for papers for a second edition of the Special Issue with the title "Earth Observation, Remote Sensing and Geoscientific Ground Investigations for Archaeological and Heritage Research".…”

Observing Geohazards from Space

“…Readers interested in the use of geospatial and remote sensing data and methods for the investigation of natural hazards and disasters, in addition to this Special Issue, can also refer to papers published in other recent Special Issues of Geosciences such as "Mapping and Assessing Natural Disasters Using Geospatial Technologies" collecting articles published in 2016-2017 [15], "Advances in Remote Sensing and GIS for Geomorphological Mapping" published in 2015-2016 [16], "Remote Sensing and Geosciences for Archaeology" published in 2017 [17], and "Geological Mapping and Modeling of Earth Architectures" published in 2014-2016 [18].…”