Mapping of Archaeological Sites using UAV Aerial Survey and PPK GNSS Ground Survey Techniques in Central Asia

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Geospatial technologies such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are becoming popular in various applications also for archaeological purposes. This is due to the abilities also the usefulness of UAV and GNSS technologies for digitally documenting and recording archaeological sites in great detail. Such information is crucial for the efforts of preserving and protecting historical sites. This paper demonstrates the workflows and results of mapping techniques using consumer-grade UAV for aerial survey and low-cost Post-Processing Kinematics (PPK) GNSS ground survey for documentation of two archaeological sites in Batken State, Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia. Both UAV and PPK GNSS data were acquired simultaneously during the fieldworks in early winter while processing were explicitly done using currently available commercial and open-source software. Results of the UAV and PPK GNSS was combined and qualitatively evaluated. Despite advantages and disadvantages identified in both UAV and PPK GNSS results, it was learned that the combination of both techniques found to be very beneficial for mapping of archaeological sites.