Towards a Satellite System for Archaeology? Simulation of an Optical Satellite Mission with Ideal Spatial and Temporal Resolution, Illustrated by a Case Study in Scotland

McGrath, Ciara; Scott, Charlie; Cowley, David; Macdonald, Malcolm

doi:10.3390/rs12244100

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Therefore, it is also worth considering the use of times-series data in the future, which may highlight humidity anomalies occurring periodically or even episodically. Our observations are in line with the conclusions regarding the construction of a hypothetical optimal satellite system for archaeology [118].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Potentialities and Limitations of Research on VHRS Data: Alexander the Great’s Military Camp at Gaugamela on the Navkur Plain in Kurdish Iraq as a Test Case

Pirowski

Marciak

Sobiech³

2021

Remote Sensing

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This paper presents a selected aspect of research conducted within the Gaugamela Project, which seeks to finally identify the location of one of the most important ancient battles: the Battle of Gaugamela (331 BCE). The aim of this study was to discover material remains of the Macedonian military camp on the Navkur Plain in Kurdish Iraq. For this purpose, three very high resolution satellite (VHRS) datasets from Pleiades and WorldView-2 were acquired and subjected to multi-variant image processing (development of different color composites, integration of multispectral and panchromatic images, use of principle component analysis transformation, use of vegetation indices). Documentation of photointerpretation was carried out through the vectorization of features/areas. Due to the character of the sought-after artifacts (remnants of a large enclosure), features were categorized into two types: linear features and areal features. As a result, 19 linear features and 2 areal features were found in the study area of the Mahad hills. However, only a few features fulfilled the expected geometric criteria (layout and size) and were subjected to field groundtruthing, which ended in negative results. It is concluded that no traces have been found that could be interpreted as remnants of an earthen enclosure capable of accommodating around 47,000 soldiers. Further research perspectives are also suggested.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Potentialities and Limitations of Research on VHRS Data: Alexander the Great’s Military Camp at Gaugamela on the Navkur Plain in Kurdish Iraq as a Test Case

Pirowski

Marciak

Sobiech³

2021

Remote Sensing

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“…and a degree of training". This end-user perspective is highly interesting, given that it echoes similar considerations that are found across several scientific papers published by archaeologists and heritage professionals [54][55][56]. Furthermore, the above barriers and actions that are supposed to facilitate effective user uptake substantially match with those that previous review papers have highlighted [4,6,11,12].…”

Section: Satellite Remote Sensingsupporting

confidence: 68%

Monitoring of Damages to Cultural Heritage across Europe Using Remote Sensing and Earth Observation: Assessment of Scientific and Grey Literature

2023

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This research is part of a wider framework of index literature studies that have been conducted in the past few years. Some of these have had a focus on specific remote sensing (RS) technologies, while others have tackled specific threats to cultural heritage and landscapes. By considering both damages to heritage sites and technologies used for documentation and the monitoring of such occurrences, this paper unveils the current trends on a global scale in the study of the threats to heritage caused by both human-induced and natural hazards. Papers published by Europe-based researchers over the last 20 years using RS and Earth Observation (EO) techniques were surveyed alongside recommendations and programmatic documents issued by institutions in charge of heritage protection and management of several countries in Europe. Around 300 documents, including scientific articles (published from 2000 until 2022) and Grey literature (from 2008 and 2022), were analysed. The data collection and analysis were undertaken by a working group that was intentionally composed to bring together diverse perspectives and expertise, i.e., requirements of heritage professionals using RS and EO technologies, knowledge on technologies and their use in the field, and expertise in methodology implementation to support heritage management. The results highlight the type of hazards considered the most and the geographical distribution of the archaeological sites and monuments targeted by these studies; the countries the researchers are affiliated with; the types of RS and specifically satellite-based technologies used (and hence the type of data used); the tendencies of satellite data usage—visual interpretation, image processing, employment of machine learning, and AI; the technologies most applied by public institutions and practitioners; and many others. Recommendations and future trajectories are then outlined to efficiently reframe discrepancies between types of damage that have received the greatest attention in the literature and the most impactful ones in terms of the number of sites damaged.

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“…Most archaeological researchers emphasised the need for very high spatial resolution data to identify and characterise archaeological anomalies [64,118], reflecting the scale of conventional objects of study: physical features produced by human activities, which are observed at a micro-scale from sub-meter to 10 s of meters [53,119,120]. Improved sampling and coverage of sensing data were also listed as key needs across this group.…”

Section: For Development-led Archaeologists and Archaeological Resear...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Practicing Critical Zone Observation in Agricultural Landscapes: Communities, Technology, Environment and Archaeology

Opitz

Smedt

Mayoral-Herrera

et al. 2023

Land

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The aims of agricultural land management change continuously, reflecting shifts in wider societal priorities. Currently, these include addressing the climate crisis, promoting environmental sustainability, and supporting the livelihoods of rural communities while ensuring food security. Working toward these aims requires information on the character of agricultural land and how dynamic processes influence it. Remote and near-surface sensing data are important sources of information on the characteristics of soils, plants, water, topography, and related processes. Sensing data are collected, analysed, and used in decision-making by specialists in multiple domains connected to land management. While progress has been made to connect the use of sensing data across agricultural and environmental applications under the umbrella of integrated sustainable land management, archaeological and heritage uses of these data remain largely disconnected. This creates barriers to accounting for the impacts of past human activities on contemporary agricultural landscapes through the alteration of soils, topography, and plant communities. In parallel, it hinders the creation of knowledge about the archaeological features which form an essential part of the heritage of agricultural landscapes. The ipaast-czo project explores the potential of a coordinated approach across all these domains, which would reduce these barriers and provide benefits by better integrating information generated using sensing. To do so, both conceptual and practical barriers to developing shared practices and how these might be overcome were considered. In this study, a conceptual framework designed to create a shared understanding of how agricultural landscapes work and enable collaboration around their management was proposed. This framework treats present-day rural agricultural landscapes as Critical Zones: complex entities shaped by long-term human–environment interactions including contemporary farming. Practitioners in precision agriculture and archaeological remote and near-surface sensing, as well as users of these data, were engaged using workshops and interviews. The relationships between practitioners’ objectives, data requirements for their applications, and their perceptions of the benefits and disadvantages of changing working practices were interrogated. The conceptual framework and assessment of practical benefits and challenges emerging from this work provide a foundation for leveraging shared sensing data and methods for long-term integrated sustainable land management.

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Towards a Satellite System for Archaeology? Simulation of an Optical Satellite Mission with Ideal Spatial and Temporal Resolution, Illustrated by a Case Study in Scotland

Cited by 9 publications

References 33 publications

Potentialities and Limitations of Research on VHRS Data: Alexander the Great’s Military Camp at Gaugamela on the Navkur Plain in Kurdish Iraq as a Test Case

Potentialities and Limitations of Research on VHRS Data: Alexander the Great’s Military Camp at Gaugamela on the Navkur Plain in Kurdish Iraq as a Test Case

Monitoring of Damages to Cultural Heritage across Europe Using Remote Sensing and Earth Observation: Assessment of Scientific and Grey Literature

Practicing Critical Zone Observation in Agricultural Landscapes: Communities, Technology, Environment and Archaeology

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