Aerial archeology

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Workplace and equipment of an aerial archaeologist
Historic aerial camera, 1950

Aerial archeology or archaeological flight prospecting or aerial projection is an archeological research method in which archaeological remains or anthropogenic soil disturbances are photographed from a great height. Different aircraft are used, e.g. B. Airplanes , helicopters , balloons and also drones . Also recordings of archaeological sites, taken from space e.g. B. from earth exploration satellites are used for research ( satellite or space archeology ).

In addition to the inspection, aerial photography and satellite archeology are the most important areas of prospection .

history

Aerial archeology began in England. The first attempt to photograph an archaeological site from the air was made in 1906 by Lieutenant PH Sharpe out of a military balloon. When he was being carried by the wind towards the stone circle of Stonehenge during an exercise over Salisbury , he pointed his camera down with presence of mind.

The British pilot Osbert Crawford , who photographed archaeological sites in England from an airplane after the First World War, is considered to be the founder of scientific aerial archeology . He published the recordings, made primarily in 1924 with A. Keiller, in the work Wessex from the Air in 1928 . For the first time, he presents aerial archeology as a separate research and prospecting method and not as a substitute for ground measurements. Another pioneer of aerial archeology is Erich Friedrich Schmidt , who became famous for his work on the excavations in Persepolis .

The scientific evaluation of aerial photos by the German-Turkish Monument Protection Command ( Kite Aerial Photography ) and the Bavarian Aviation Department 304 from the First World War in Palestine archeology is also known . It was used particularly intensively after 1991 for archaeological exploration of the regions that previously belonged to the GDR . An example of this is the Slavic castle Gana .

Areas of application

Floor plan of a Gallo-Roman warehouse

Aerial archeology is used for comprehensive and economic exploration of soil monuments . Well-known monuments are examined with the help of aerial archeology for signs of changes or endangerment. Excavations are prepared, supported and documented with aerial photographs. Up to now unknown monuments can be localized on the basis of special features, whereby even completely buried prehistoric complexes can be explored due to their influence on the vitality of the vegetation growing above. Since aerial archeology is a type of remote sensing , it cannot replace other archaeological methods on the ground, such as geophysics, inspection, drilling or sounding.

In the case of traces of settlement under water or earlier port facilities, aerial photo archeology can, under favorable circumstances, such as a calm water surface and high water transparency, be used up to a water depth of around three meters.

Due to the increase in robbery excavations , the location of the sites is only given approximately in the publications.

Features in the soil and vegetation

Scheme drawing of the dependence of the soil vegetation on the soil properties.

Ground monuments can be indicated from the air by various features:

  • Vegetation characteristic : vegetation anomalies are observed, which occur both over wall remnants and over trenches that have since been filled.
  • Shadow feature: Appears over sites that have not yet been completely leveled and makes them visible through shadows. Especially seen in the late evening.
  • Snow and frost characteristics: In the wintry landscape, snow drifts also make minimal differences in level visible. Furthermore, the differences in moisture and cold in the soil, which already occur at the vegetation feature, lead to the development of snow and frost features.
  • Characteristic of flood: Usually occurs in flood areas or on very swampy ground.
  • Moisture feature: Appears after heavy rainfall. The soil dries faster over wall remnants and slower over filled trenches than the surrounding earth.

In satellite archeology, additional data from earth surveys are added which fall into the field of geophysical archeology when flying over aircraft, such as infrared images, magnetometry or radar. With the modern generations of satellites, such data are available in the mid-2010s in sufficient detail in the decimeter range to at least identify structural structures.

Examples of discoveries through aerial archeology

Well-known aerial archaeologists

See also

literature

  • Helmut Becker (ed.): Archaeological prospection. Aerial archeology and geophysics. Karl M. Lipp Verlag, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-87490-541-1 ( Bavaria. Workbooks of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation 59).
  • Stephan WE Blum, Frank Schweizer, Rustem Aslan: Aerial photos of ancient landscapes and sites in Turkey. With aerial photos by Hakan Öge. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2006, ISBN 3-8053-3653-5 ( Special Edition of the Ancient World ; Zabern's illustrated books on archeology ).
  • Jörg Bofinger : Airplane, laser, probe, spade. Remote sensing and archaeological field research using the example of the early Celtic princely seats . Regional Council Stuttgart, State Office for Monument Preservation, Esslingen a. N. 2007 ( online [PDF; 5.8 MB ; accessed on December 13, 2010]).
  • Otto Braasch , Kirsten Thiel: From the clear sky ... aerial archeology. Society for Prehistory and Early History, Esslingen 2005, ISBN 3-9808926-1-1 ( Portrait Archeology 1).
  • Gustaf Dalman : Hundreds of German aviator pictures from Palestine. Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 1925, ( publications of the German Palestine Institute 2, ZDB -ID 510394-0 ).
  • Georg Gerster : Flight into the past. Archaeological sites of mankind in aerial images. Published by Charlotte Trümpler. Verlag Schirmer-Mosel, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-8296-0190-5 (exhibition catalog).
  • Thomas R. Lyons et al: Aerial Remote Sensing Techniques in archeology. Chaco Center - National Park Service - US Dept. of the Interior, Albuquerque NM 1977 ( Reports of the Chaco Center 2).
  • Johannes Nollé , Hertha Schwarz: With the eyes of the gods. Aerial images of ancient and Byzantine Greece. The mainland. With aerial photos by Georg Gerster . Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2004, ISBN 3-8053-3379-X ( Special Edition of the Ancient World ; Zabern's illustrated books on archeology ).
  • Judith Oexle (Ed.): From the air - pictures of our history. Aerial archeology in Central Europe. State Office for Archeology Saxony with State Museum for Prehistory, Dresden 1997, ISBN 3-910008-20-8 (exhibition catalog).
  • Dieter Planck , Otto Braasch, Judith Oexle , Helmut Schlichtherle : Underground Baden-Württemberg. 250,000 years of history and archeology in the air. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-8062-0497-7 .
  • Klaus Leidorf , Baoquan Song , Eckhard Heller: Aerial archeology. Archaeological search for traces from the air , WBG Theiss, Darmstadt 2019, ISBN 978-3-8062-3887-7

Audio

Web links

Commons : Aerial archeology  - collection of images, videos and audio files
photos

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Space Archaeologists. popsci.com; Archeology. jpl.nasa.gov; Spying on the Past: Declassified Satellite Images and Archeology peabody.harvard.edu, accessed March 15, 2011.
  2. ^ CORONA Satellite Imagery-based Digital Archaeological Atlas of the Near East. cast.uark.edu; Satellite photography helps uncover the lost city of Altinum. sciencefocus.com, accessed March 16, 2011.