Abstract
Archaeological heritage in the Near East is under an ever increasing threat from multiple vectors such as looting and systematic destruction, militarization, and uncontrolled urban expansion in the absence of governmental control among others. Physically monitoring endangered sites proves to be infeasible due to the dangerous ground conditions on the one hand, and the vast area of land on which they are dispersed. In recent years, the abundant availability of Very High Resolution (VHR) imaging satellites with short revisit times meant that it was possible to monitor a large portion of these sites from space. However, such images are relatively expensive and beyond the means of many researchers and concerned local authorities. In this paper, I present an approach that uses open source data from two of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Copernicus Constellation, Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 in order to generate disturbance patches, from which looting and destruction areas are classified using Machine Learning. Such an approach opens the door towards sustainable monitoring over large swaths of land over long periods of time.
Highlights
Cultural heritage is generally seen in a positive light, and its preservation seen as a step that benefits everyone (Silverman et al, 2007: 3)
All the used Sentinel-1 data is acquired as a Single Look Complex (SLC) in Interferometric Wide Swatch (IW) mode which results in a 250 km swatch width and a 5 m by 20 m spatial resolution and an incidence range that varies between 29.10 degrees and 46.00 degrees at the near and far ranges (ESA, 2020b)
Once the data is normalized, we reduce the dimension of the feature vector using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to a total of 8 principal components, this value showed the most promising results on the available data and preserved 95 per cent of the data variance (Figure 2)
Summary
Cultural heritage is generally seen in a positive light, and its preservation seen as a step that benefits everyone (Silverman et al, 2007: 3) This heritage is increasingly under threat in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), as well as other regions around the world, where a power vacuum means that the relevant authorities are not able to protect these sites. Visual inspection of the satellite images is one of the methods that yields the most accurate results at the moment as trained operators can directly distinguish the presence of damage at the observed sites, as well as the damage type This method comes with two major disadvantages; the high prices of up-to-date VHR imagery, and the large number of sites to be monitored by operators
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
