LiDAR for Landscape Archaeology Research Papers (original) (raw)

El procesamiento de datos fotogramétricos mediante VANT para resaltar rasgos arqueológicos. Dos aplicaciones en la cuenca de México. (En prensa: Sistemas de información geográfica para arqueólogos: Repensando el espacio en contextos arqueológicos mesoamericanos. Armando Trijullo (ed.) El colegio Mexiquense.)-NO CITAR SIN EL PERMISO DE LOS AUTORES-Resumen: El uso de vehículos aéreos no tripulados (VANT´s) es cada vez más frecuente en arqueología con el fin de obtener ortofotos de alta resolución o modelos digitales de elevación resultado del procesamiento fotogramétrico. No obstante, los resultados pueden procesarse mediante diferentes algoritmos que han demostrado su utilidad en el procesamiento de modelos LiDAR (Ligth Detection and Range), permitiendo eliminar la vegetación y destacar rasgos de probable origen antrópico. Si bien los datos obtenidos por los sensores aerotransportados mediante VANT´s requieren de una capacidad de cómputo respetable y del uso de softwares especializados, se obtienen resultados importantes en un tiempo relativamente corto y a un costo mucho menor a si se utilizaran datos LiDAR tradicionales. En esta aportación presentamos los resultados obtenidos en el Cerro Yohualtécatl (Cerro Guerrero), en la Sierra de Guadalupe y en las chinampas arqueológicas de San Gregorio Atlapulco, Xochimilco, en donde empleamos análisis del tipo Sky View Factor, Red Relief Map, entre otros, los cuales fueron muy útiles para localizar y definir estructuras de tipo antrópico. Introducción: Vehículos aéreos no tripulados (VANT´s) y análisis geográficos, una necesidad en arqueología. La arqueología a lo largo de su historia ha adoptado diferentes metodologías para el registro y la investigación del patrimonio, dentro de éstas, el análisis mediante fotografía aérea ha adquirido un papel fundamental (Forte y Campana, 2016; Musson et al., 2013). En este

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- Archaeology, Photogrammetry, Landscape Archaeology, Aztecs

Local relief models (LRM) are proposed as a new tool for archaeological prospection. A data processing approach is presented which produces LRM from LiDAR-derived high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs). The LRM represents local, small-scale elevation differences after removing the large-scale landscape forms from the data. The LRM greatly enhances the visibility of small-scale, shallow topographic features irrespective of the illumination angle and allows their relative elevations as well as their volumes to be measured directly. This makes the LRM an improved basis for spatially extensive archaeological prospection over a wide range of landscapes. The LRM raster map of local positive and negative relief variations can be used for the mapping and prospection of archaeological features such as burial mounds, linear and circular earthworks, sunken roads, agricultural terraces, ridge and furrow fields, kiln podia and mining/quarrying sites. This approach is currently being used in a project aimed at the complete archaeological mapping and prospection of the state Baden-Württemberg (Germany), covering an area of 35751 km2.The goal of the project is the verification and extension of the existing archaeological data base. An object-based local relief vector layer is produced as a by-product; however, due to the common amalgamation of natural and anthropogenic features this cannot be used efficiently for archaeological prospection at present.

- by Ralf Hesse
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- Archaeological Prospection, LiDAR for Landscape Archaeology

SUMMARY: Chapter 3, in Renfrew & Bahn's textbook (Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice), covers many approaches to looking for and finding sites, and archaeological remains within sites, such as historical and local reports, ground reconnaissance (e.g., walking surveys; sampling strategies), aerial surveys (e.g., LiDAR; crop marks), satellite remote sensing, recording & mapping (e.g., GIS), subsurface detection (e.g., probes), ground-based remote sensing (seismic; acoustic; electromagnetic; magnetic; etc.), excavation techniques, underwater archaeology, and processing & classification. In my view, this is one of the best college textbooks available, and is invaluable for students, archaeologists, and the public in general, to obtain a top notch overview of approaching and interpreting the archaeological record. REVISED: Jan. 2023.

- by Gregory Mumford
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- Ancient History, Archaeology, Anthropology, Geoarchaeology
- by Daniel Muntz
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- Geology, LiDAR, Inca Archaeology, Arqueología
- by Heiko Prümers
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- Amazonian Archaeology, LiDAR for Landscape Archaeology

Celem tekstu jest podkreślenie biograficznego charakteru kultury materialnej. To znaczy, rzeczy i krajobrazy również mają swoje biografie, historie życia, które łączą się z historiami konkretnych jednostek. Za studium przypadku posłuży... more

- by Dawid Kobiałka
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- Archaeology, Anthropology, Historical Archaeology, Material Culture Studies

Seminario (on line) organizado por DOCUGRAF. Laboratorio de Documentación Gráfica sobre el Patrimonio Arqueológico, que es un Proyecto de Innovación y Mejora de la Calidad Docente (PIMCD) 256/2020, aprobado por el Vicerrectorado de... more

- by Jesús Salas Alvarez and +7
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- Fotogrametría, Patrimônio Arqueológico, LiDAR for Landscape Archaeology, Arqueología romana / Roman archeology

... The Modagspace project: Lidar data and landscape archaeology in southern France (Languedoc). Nicolas Poirier ( Auteur correspondant. ) 1, 2, 3 , Rachel Opitz 1, 3 , Laure Nuninger ( Auteur correspondant. ) 1, 3, 4 , Krištof Oštir 2,... more

- by Nicolas Poirier
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- Geography, Archaeology, Remote Sensing, Spatial Analysis

Slave cabins within two settlements at Bush Camp Field and Behavior on Sapelo Island, Georgia deviate from typical low country Georgia architectural and landscape patterns. Rather than poured tabby duplexes arranged in a linear fashion, excavations in the 1990s by Ray Crook identified two wattle and tabby daub structures—both with slightly different architecture, and both built in an African creolized style. A 2016 University of Tennessee project attempted to locate additional slave cabins in both settlements to test if these structures are pattern or anomaly. LiDAR, historical maps, pedestrian surveys, and shovel tests allowed for the identification of an additional cabin, also made of wattle and tabby daub. Following Crook’s analysis and using Geechee oral history, we argue that the nonlinear cabin placement and creolized African, Caribbean, and European architectural elements are both examples of one end of the spectrum of independence within 19th century low country slavery.

- by Lindsey Cochran
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- Archaeology, Geophysics, Historical Archaeology, LiDAR

Archaeological excavations are currently active at Orgeres - La Thuile in the Aosta Valley (NW Italy). The efforts from both academic players and local policy makers are addressed to operate an inclusive synergy, where excavations are the focus around which research, didactic, local business and tourism can rotate to generate mutual benefits. The declared research goal is to look for traces suggesting reading keys useful to describe ancient occupations of the area. In spite of the well-known applications of Geomatics in archaeology, in this work authors explicitly intend to make clear the high potentialities resident in those geographical data, generally released for free from institutional players by Geoportals, that were not specifically intended for an archaeological use. In the case study here presented some suggestions are given about the possibility of jointly using medium density point clouds from ALS, aerial hyperspectral images, high resolution true colour RGB aerial digital orthoimages. Presented results are preliminary.

- by Robert M. Rosenswig
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, LiDAR, Complexity

This paper presents selected examples of landscape transformations that took place in western Poland after World War II. My interpretations will be based on archival and contemporary aerial photographs, Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data and historical sources. The cultural landscape of western Poland after World War II was a product of discourse based on opposition and denial in the relationship to German culture. It was a subject of propaganda driven by the need to justify border changes. That destructive process reflects not only the new political order, but also major changes in the understanding of values such as national identity, tradition and cultural heritage.

- by Grzegorz Kiarszys
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- Aerial Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Conflict, Cold War

The objective of this research is to detect and extract traces of past human activities on the Etruscan site of San Giovenale (Blera) in Northern Lazio, Italy. Investigations have been conducted by integrating high-resolution satellite data with digital models derived from LiDAR survey and multisensory aerial prospection (traditional, thermal and near infrared pictures). The use of different sensor technologies is requested to cope with (i) different types of surface covers, i.e. vegetated and non-vegetated areas (trees, bushes, agricultural uses, etc), (ii) variety of archaeological marks (micro-relief, crop marks, etc) and (iii) different types of expected spatial/spectral feature patterns linked to past human activities (urban necropoleis, palaeorivers, etc). Field surveys enabled us to confirm remotely sensed features which were detected in both densely and sparsely vegetated areas, thus revealing a large variety of cultural transformations, ritual and infrastructural remains such as roads, tombs and water installations. Our findings clearly point out a connection between the Vignale plateau and the main acropolis (San Giovenale) as well as with the surrounding burial grounds. Our results suggest that the synergic use of multisensory/multisource data sets, including ancillary information, provides a comprehensive overview of new findings. This facilitates the interpretation of various results obtained from different sensors when studied in a larger prospective.

The paper aims to present the early stages in the implementation of a Geographic Information System in the field of archaeology and its advantages. This field uses the spatial information in the required activities, whether in research or management. The chosen area of study is located in the West part of Gala i City. We used as support data the orthophotoplans of that area, produced by National Agency for Cadastre and Land Registration, a topographical map produced by D.T.M, sets of photographs of archaeological sites in the area, taken from the helicopter and a LiDAR dataset for the archaeological site from “B rbo i”.I wanted to highlight the placement of these objectives in the area of study and to present the potential that LiDAR technology has in archaeology. For this I drew up a situation plan based on the digitised data, I realised a Digital Terrain Model using contours and points of known elevation from the topographic map. I generated a Digital Terrain Model based on LiDAR ...

- by Doru Mihai and +1
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- LiDAR, Field Archaeology, LiDAR for Landscape Archaeology

Viimeisen vuosikymmenen kuluessa Lidar-kaukokartoitusaineistoista on tullut eri puolilla maailmaa monille arkeologeille jokapäiväinen työväline. Suomessa Maanmittauslaitoksen avoimet pistepilviaineistot tarjoavat erinomaisen lähtökohdan arkeologisten tutkimusten suunnitteluun ja toteuttamiseen. Arkeologeille korkeusmalliaineisto on ensiarvoisen tärkeää esimerkiksi kivikauden tutkimuksessa ympäristöennallistuksia tehtäessä. Jääkauden jälkeisen isostaattisen maankohoamisen ja vesistöjen pinnanmuutosten takia muinaisrannoilla sijainneet kohteet voivat olla kymmeniä metrejä nykyrantaa korkeammalla. Lisäksi tarkan Lidar-aineiston pohjalta on mahdollista löytää uusia, ennen tuntemattomia muinaisjäännöksiä jo ennen maastoon lähtöä. Esittelen muutaman tapaustutkimuksen avulla millaisissa yhteyksissä minä ja yhteistyökumppanini ovat Lidar-dataa viime vuosina hyödyntäneet, sekä millaisilla algoritmeillä aineistoja on muokattu ja analysoitu. Laserkeilausaineistoja on käytetty jo yli kymmenen vuoden ajan apuna muun muassa omien kenttätöideni ja Metsähallituksen laajojen kulttuuriperintöinventien kohdentamisessa. Käytän tässä esimerkkeinä muutamia kivikautisia kohteita sekä 1900-luvun konfliktiarkeologisia jäänteitä Helsingin seudulla ja Lapissa.

- by Oula Seitsonen
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- Archaeology, LiDAR, Airborne Laser Scanning, Conflict Archaeology

This document provides color illustrations for Chapter 9 of my book, "An Archaeology of the Sacred." As originally published the illustrations were limited to black and white. As the book made extensive use of LiDAR imagery, the color... more

Processing and analysis of lidar data in Nottinghamshire has identified the survival of earthwork field systems beneath woodland in some of the oldest established parts of Sherwood Forest. The morphology and alignment of these field systems strongly suggests that these represent a survival of the late Iron Age and Roman brick-work plan field systems of North Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire with considerable potential to elucidate the history of abandonment of these fields and the establishment of Sherwood Forest.

- by Steve Malone
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- LiDAR, Roman Britain, LiDAR for Landscape Archaeology, LiDAR for Archaeology
- by Benedict Alexander
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- Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, LiDAR, Archaeological GIS

Recent lidar and pedestrian surface surveys have remapped the well-known Mesoamerican site of Izapa and the surrounding Soconusco piedmont. These data document: 1) occupation from the surrounding piedmont environment, 2) significantly larger estimates of the site's size during both the Formative and Classic periods as well as 3) new architectural features from the monumental site core. Methodological issues are outlined for combining high precision lidar mapping with ground truthing and pedestrian survey that focuses on surface collection of temporally diagnostic artifacts. Results are presented for 670 mounds documented in an area of 43.1 sq km in and around the ancient capital of Izapa.

- by Caroline Antonelli and +2
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- Mesoamerican Archaeology, LiDAR, LiDAR for topographic mapping, LiDAR for Landscape Archaeology
- by David Vích
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- History, LiDAR, Archaeological GIS, LiDAR for Landscape Archaeology

Nearest neighbor settlement relationships are methodically analyzed in network connection diagrams with the use of Delaunay triangulation in this GIS-based study. Probable routes by land and river are calculated with lost cost path analysis on the basis of digital surface models and compared with the local archaeological record.
In contrast to the neighboring Roman Empire, no centralized sites in the sense of transregionally significant settlements are definitively verifiable outside of the Limes Germanicus in the research area at the middle Main River. Some fortified hill forts, however, do exist. Starting in late antiquity these sites were temporarily occupied in times of internal and external conflict. Hill forts in the Babaricum were, without exception, sited on spurs at the Main or its tributaries. The course of the Main River constituted the primary transport route for the Romans into the Babaricum, although clear evidence of ship or harbor facilities has yet to be discovered for this period.
The well-known hierarchical settlement and road system in the Roman Empire is not apparent in the Babaricum although numerous sunken roads in multiple path networks were discernible. Precise dating of these features to the Roman Iron Age or Migration Period has not been possible due to heavy soil erosion in the vicinity. Particular stretches of this network of paths were only seasonally in use depending on weather conditions and soil moisture, and so it is not realistic to discuss roadways as usable year-round in the Babaricum as they are in the Roman Empire. Some of these paths were fortified, although the dating of these fortifications is not possible due to the continued use of some of these pathways into the Early Modern Period.
Many Germanic settlement sites were in continuous use throughout the Roman Iron Age and even into the Migration Period. With the beginning of the latter in the late 4th and 5th centuries AD, many settlements at the middle Main were abandoned and few new ones were founded. Due to difficulties in precise dating it is not possible to confirm whether settlement intensity, having continuously increased throughout the Roman Iron Age, also increased in the Early Migration Period. Through the identification of new sites, however, and comprehensive investigation of previously known ones from the Late Roman Iron Age, extensive changes to settlement structure in the Migration Period can be determined. The revolutionary processes of the Migration Period also led to drastic changes in settlement structure in other inner barbarian territories. The 5th to 6th centuries AD constituted a significant transitional phase in Germania libera.

This paper was published in the Co. Roscommon Historical and Archaeological Society Journal, 30th Anniversary edition, 2013 (pages 97 - 101)

Airborne remote sensing encompasses applications using a range of airborne/satellite sensors for detecting and understanding sites and landscapes without making direct physical contact. These noninvasive and non-destructive approaches underpin primary reconnaissance survey in many environments. The main data sources are described, with discussion of applications, scale, and future developments.

- by DAVE COWLEY
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- Radar, Airborne Laser Scanning, Archaeological Prospection, Earth Observation

Die hochauflösende Laservermessung aus der Luft eröffnet faszinierende und neue Einblicke in ganze Kulturlandschaften und hat sich in wenigen Jahren zu einem wichtigen Werkzeug der archäologischen Denkmalpflege entwickelt. Seit Mai 2009 läuft beim Landesamt für Denkmalpflege ein Projekt zur flächendeckenden archäologischen Erkundung Baden-Württembergs mittels hochauflösender digitaler Geländemodelle. Dieses Projekt wird seit 2010 im Rahmen des internationalen Projektverbundes Archaeolandscapes Europe durch die Europäische Kommission unterstützt.

- by Ralf Hesse
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- Cultural Heritage, Second World War, World War II, Cultural Heritage Management

The integration of remote sensing technologies, GIS and mobile mapping platforms is producing new insights into the archaeology of historic water management systems. Our case study of the gold rush in 19th-century Victoria, Australia, has identified ditches, dams, mining claims and sediment sinks at site and landscape scales that are normally obscured by dense vegetation. New technologies including LiDAR provide solutions to these challenges and make possible the analysis and interpretation of these spatially diffuse but historically linked sites. For the first time it is possible to record and analyse a complex archaeological landscape in north-east Victoria that is the result of alluvial mining activity in the later 19th and early 20th century. This approach offers a significant advance in Australasian archaeological science and provides an important model for other researchers examining industrial landscapes.

- by Susan Lawrence
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- LiDAR for Landscape Archaeology

This article presents the archaeological potential of the western Banjšice Plateau from the prehistory to the Early Middle Ages. It discusses all sources, archaeological finds and sites known and available until the present day and also... more

An archaeology of the Second World War deals with different material remains of the war. Accordingly, this paper follows an archaeological interest in the Second World War and discusses the results of field research conducted on 11-13 June 2015 in the forests around Chojnice, Pomeranian province. During the research the authors documented many field fortifications related to the war in the region. Among them were the remains of trenches, shell craters, munitions depot, mortar depot, shelters, among others. These categories of the archaeological record are still underestimated by archaeologists. However, it is argued in the paper that they offer an insight into microhistories of the global conflict. Forests hide many aspects of the last war that wait to be documented and analyzed by archaeology. One of the methods that enables archaeologists to document and analyze the material memories of the Second World War are LiDAR data which were used in the study.

- by Dawid Kobiałka and +2
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- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology, Remote Sensing, Landscape Archaeology

LiDAR—like photography and other visual technologies—not only produces pictures but extends our power to detect, record, and imagine landscapes. It allows very precise three-dimensional mapping of the surface of the earth, generating as it does high-resolution topographic data even where surface is obscured by forest and vegetation. Interpretation of LiDAR data poses much more than just technical challenges. What makes LiDAR different from other topographic techniques is absence of selectiveness: data are typically gathered across complete landscape blocks recording landscape in an indiscriminate way. This allows us to address complex sites as integral parts of landscapes and as landscapes in themselves. In this way we can analyze complex sites as palimpsests, created through processes and practices that accumulated and inscribed new traces or erased old ones. Study of complex sites is thus part of the study of landscapes, landscape archaeology.

Der Harz wurde in seinem heutigen Aussehen durch Jahrhunderte des Bergbaus geformt, was neben den reichen Gangvererzungen im Unterharz und den Steinkohlevorkommen bei Opperode vor allem auf das am südöstlichen Harzrand ausbeißende Kupferschieferflöz zurückzuführen ist.
Der größtenteils von Fichten- und Buchenwäldern bedeckte Ostharz ist eine Region mit großem historischem Potential. Sie birgt noch heute zahlreiche Bodendenkmale und Kulturlandschaftselemente, die sich im schützenden Wald obertägig erhalten haben. Diese lassen sich mit Hilfe digitaler Geländedaten, die durch eine lasergestützte Erfassung der Erdoberfläche generiert wurden, visualisieren. Neben Überresten des Altbergbaus können so auch Wüstungen, alte Äcker und Wegeverbindungen, Burgen und Erdwerke oder Meilerstellen sichtbar gemacht werden. Sie lassen sich nicht nur lagegenau verorten, sondern auch zerstörungsfrei in ihrer exakten Ausdehnung dokumentieren.

- by Anna Swieder
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- Landscape Archaeology, Cultural Landscapes, LiDAR, Archaeology of Mining

O r i g i n a l l y p u b l i s h e d on-l i n e b y t h e O hio A r c h a e o l o g i c a l C o u n c i l , 2 0 0 8 , h t t p : / / w w w. o h i o a r c h a e o l o g y. o r g / 3 9-r e s o u r c e s / r e s e a r c h / a r t i c l e... more

O r i g i n a l l y p u b l i s h e d on-l i n e b y t h e O hio A r c h a e o l o g i c a l C o u n c i l , 2 0 0 8 , h t t p : / / w w w. o h i o a r c h a e o l o g y. o r g / 3 9-r e s o u r c e s / r e s e a r c h / a r t i c l e sand a b s t r a c t s-2 0 0 8 / 2 6 0-l i d a r-i m a g i n g-of-t h e-g r e a t-h o p e w e l l-r o a d a c c e s s e d A p r i l 4 , 2 0 1 6 .

- by William F Romain
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- LiDAR, Hopewell, LiDAR for Landscape Archaeology, Earthworks

This user manual summarises lidar data processing and evaluation (by using of ArcMap software) for the purpose of archaeological research. It is based on the Czech commercial product (DTM 5G) but after the creation of DEM the procedure... more

- by Lukáš Holata
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- Landscape Archaeology, Archaeological Method & Theory, LiDAR, Archaeological GIS

Straipsnyje pristatoma LiDAR technologija ir ją taikant gautų duomenų panaudojimas archeologijoje. Aptariami Lietuvos teritorijos LiDAR duomenys, jų panaudojimas archeologinių objektų paieškai ir analizei, parodomos skirtingos... more

- by Linas Tamulynas and +1
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- LiDAR for Forestry, LiDAR for Landscape Archaeology, LiDAR for Archaeology

De analyse van de eerste versie van het Digitaal Hoogtemodel Vlaanderen toonde op het Kempisch plateau de aanwezigheid van talrijke Celtic Field complexen in 'historische' bosgebieden . Zeer recent kwamen delen van een nieuwe versie van dit DHM Vlaanderen vrij, met een veel hogere resolutie (gemiddeld 16 meetpunten/m² voor DHM2, t.a.v. gemiddeld 1 meetpunt per 4m² voor DHM1). Dit nieuwe DHM toont voor het eerst ook in de Antwerpse Kempen de aanwezigheid van een relatief uitgestrekt Celtic Field complex, op het domein van kasteel 'De Hees' in Rijkevorsel ( , 2). Deze bijdrage bespreekt kort dit complex, en de betekenis van deze resultaten in het licht van andere gegevens in deze regio.

- by Erwin Meylemans
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- Archaeology, LiDAR, Iron Age, LiDAR for Landscape Archaeology

Mazet S., Adrian Y.M., Aubry, B., Marcigny C., L’utilisation du lidar en archéologie préventive: applications à quelques opérations de l’Inrap en Normandie, in Journées archéologiques régionales de Normandie, 2017, Caen.

Northwest Iberia can be considered as one of the main areas where tin was exploited in antiquity. However, the location of ancient tin mining and metallurgy, their date and the intensity of tin production are still largely uncertain. The scale of mining activity and its socio-economical context have not been truly assessed, nor its evolution over time. With the present study, we intend to present an integrated, multiscale, multisensor and interdisciplinary methodology to tackle this problem. The integration of airborne LiDAR and historic aerial imagery has enabled us to identify and map ancient tin mining remains on the Tinto valley (Viana do Castelo, northern Portugal). The combination with historic mining documentation and literature review allowed us to confirm the impact of modern mining and define the best-preserved ancient mining areas for further archaeological research. After data processing and mapping, subsequent ground-truthing involved field survey and geological sampling that confirmed cassiterite exploitation as the key feature of the mining works. This non-invasive approach is of importance for informing future research and management of these landscapes.

- by Brais X. Currás and +2
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- Aerial Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, LiDAR, Iron Age

Die Gegend um den Falkenstein im Ostharz wurde spätestens seit der Eisenzeit besiedelt. Im Mittelalter errichtete man dann mehrere Burgen, von denen heute nur noch die Burg Falkenstein mit Bebauung erhalten ist. Die anderen einst vielleicht ähnlich imposanten Anlagen werden lediglich durch Gräben und Wälle im Gelände bezeugt. Neben den Befestigungen entstanden auch Dörfer, die später jedoch wieder wüst fielen. Auch von ihnen sind in der Regel nur die Eintiefungen ehemaliger Hauskeller erhalten. Die archäologische Forschung lässt sich hier bestens durch die Nutzung digitaler Geländedaten ergänzen. Das mittels LiDAR erzeugte digitale Geländemodell (DGM), in dem die rezente Bebauung und der Bewuchs eliminiert wurden, zeigt in eindrücklicher Weise die Gräben und Wälle, Gruben und Hügel obertägig erhaltener Bodendenkmale und somit die Eingriffe des Menschen in die Landschaft. Sie können mittels dieser modernen Technik eindrucksvoll visualisiert, genau lokalisiert, exakt abgemessen und zerstörungsfrei weiterführend untersucht werden. In vielen Fällen sind sie durch die Auswertung des DGM überhaupt erst bekannt geworden. Das Wissen um die Vielzahl archäologischer Bodendenkmale – auch in der Mikroregion und Kulturlandschaft um den Falkenstein – ist die Grundvoraussetzung, diese auch in Zukunft zu schützen und erhalten zu können…

- by Anna Swieder
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- Remote Sensing, Medieval History, Landscape Archaeology, Cultural Landscapes

Die über Jahrhunderte und zum Teil Jahrtausende erfolgten Eingriffe des Menschen in die Landschaftsstruktur führten zur Entstehung einer komplexen Kulturlandschaft mit zahlreichen archäologischen Denkmalen. Durch Bergbau, Rodungen, Gründung von Siedlungen, Burgenbau, Ackerbau usw. wurde der Harz grundlegend verändert. Eine Vielzahl der von dieser Entwicklung zeugenden Bodendenkmale und Kulturlandschaftselemente sind noch heute in den Harzer Wäldern erhalten und im DGM erkennbar. Leider sind sie aber beispielsweise durch den zunehmenden Einsatz von Harvestern und Forewardern in der Forstwirtschaft oft stark gefährdet oder schon beschädigt/zerstört worden. Daher sind die genaue Aufnahme (bzw. Verortung der bisher unbekannten Fundstellen), Analyse und Interpretation der obertägig erhaltenen Strukturen außerordentlich wichtig, um diese künftig schützen zu können. ││ Many thousands of archaeological monuments and cultural landscape elements are preserved in the vast forests of the Eastern Harz Mountains, up to this day. These sites can be recorded spatially with great precision and analysed non-destructively using new digital terrain data. This technique is particularly useful for recording the many surviving archaeological mining features. Excavations show that the Eastern Harz was mined at the latest since the Roman Imperial period. The first written sources set in during early medieval times. In some old mining areas, the proximity of defended sites suggests that mining was controlled by castles. In such cases, the digital terrain data can offer completely new insights into the structure and history of the cultural landscape.

- by Anna Swieder
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- Historical Geography, Medieval History, Landscape Archaeology, Cultural Landscapes

NRCS-Whitepaper: Secondary testing of the LASER method has resulted in a 92% accuracy for locating landforms which possess archaeological sites. The LASER method does not detect rock shelters, caves, sites smaller than 100sq feet, or sites destroyed prior to LiDAR flight scanning. The LASER method cannot differentiate between prehistoric, historic, or any kind of cultural association. The LASER method does show which landforms are highly likely to have some kind of archaeological site.

In this article LiDAR imagery is used to document major known mound groups within the Effigy Mounds National Monument located in Iowa. The results provide a visual record of their shapes and locations. Using LiDAR imagery, assessments are then made concerning the relationships of the mound groups to the landscape. Further, mound groups are assessed for possible astronomic alignments.

- by William F Romain
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, LiDAR, Burial mounds (Archaeology)

In the southern part of the Brețcu Mountains, on the inner arch of the Curved Carpathians, in a place called the Fairies Fortress, there is one of the most important and, at the same time, spectacular archeological sites, representative for the final stage of the Second Iron Age, the so called Dacian period.
The present study reports a series of preliminary results regarding the evolution of the anthropic habitat in the landscape in which the fortress was built.
The identification of the local roads connecting the Fairies Fortress with the summit road which in its turn links, through the mountain’s ridges, the Black River basin (via the Covasna River) with the Comandău Depression, was the main result of the preliminary LiDAR analysis. More broadly, these local routes were just segments of the more widespread network of roads that provided connection (on ridges and / or valleys’ routes through Bâsca Mică and Bâsca Mare rivers) between SE Transylvania and the communication hubs along Buzău and Teleajen Rivers and from here further on with the routes to the extra-Carpathian and Danube space.
The morphology of the northern and southwestern ridges, highlighted by the analysis of the LiDAR data and the subsequent digital elevation models as well as the results of the magnetic investigations reveal the possibility that the area inhabited or at least exploited in the past to be much wider. In this case, the Fairies Fortress (the perimeter delimited by terraces and enclosed by stone walls) should be understood, rather, as an acropolis for an area of activity that included the entire drainage basin between the ridges from the west and the small river valley from the eastern side of the fortress.

- by Dan Stefan and +1
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- Archaeology, Remote Sensing, Landscape Archaeology, LiDAR

Due to airborne laser scanning (ALS, LiDAR), the study of flint mines with anthropogenic mining relief has become easier. In recent years, the Institute of Archaeology at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw has been investigating different flint mines in Poland using LiDAR. Along with Project ISOK, which provided free ALS data for Poland, we have been checking all presumed areas, searching for flint mines. In between them was the largest area of gunflints manufacturing known from Poland territory. It is located near Cracow in southern Poland and based on Jurassic flint.

- by Michał Jakubczak and +1
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- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology, LiDAR, Flint (Archaeology)