Integrated use of GIS and remote sensing techniques for landscape-scale archaeological analysis: the case study of Metaponto, Basilicata, Italy

Abstract

The study focuses on the integrated use of multiscale and multisensor remote sensing techniques and big data analysis for the identification of buried archaeological remains or areas of potential archaeological interest. Satellite multispectral data (at very high and high resolution), drone based visible, multispectral, and thermal imagery, and geophysical prospecting (gradiometer) were used. The ancient city of Metaponto was chosen as case study, as it was a very important city in the formative panorama of Italian Magna Graecia and it also is one of the most important and best preserved archaeological sites in southern Italy. The analysis of remote sensing data from different sensors, with different resolutions, and referable to different physical parameters, allowed to deepen archaeological knowledge on a landscape scale, as well as on a site scale, going from the analysis of traces of the ancient landscape (e.g. palaeo-channels, canalisation system, main roads), to the discovery of small features (e.g. secondary roads, houses, facilities).