The contribution of historical aerial and satellite photos to archaeological and geo-archaeological research: case studies in Italy and Turkey

G Scardozzi

doi:10.5194/adgeo-24-111-2010

Abstract

Abstract. The paper evidences the importance of old aerial and satellite photos of ancient topography studies, with examples concerning archaeological and geo-archaeological research conducted in Italy and Turkey, during a cooperation between the Ancient Topography, Archaeology and Remote Sensing Laboratory (AnTAReS Lab) of the Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage of the Italian National Research Council (IBAM-CNR) and the Ancient Topography and Photogrammetry Laboratory (LabTAF) of Salento University. The historical aerial photos, i.e. those before the big transformations of the 1950's and 1960's, and the space photos taken in the 1960's and 1970's, particularly useful for the Near East, represent a fundamental tool for the study of the territory. In many cases, in fact, they document landscapes that have been modified by urbanization, building of large infrastructures, transformations in the land use and diffusion of mechanized agricultural methods. Only through the detailed analysis of these aerial and space photos it is possible to recover a fundamental documentation concerning the existence, the location and the layout of archaeological evidence and paleo-environmental elements otherwise lost; so, their use during research is very important for the reconstruction of the ancient topography of urban and territorial contexts.

Highlights

The historical aerial photos, i.e. those before the big transformations concerning Italy during 1950’s and 1960’s, and the space photos taken in the 1960’s and 1970’s, useful for the Near East, represent a fundamental tool for the study of the territory during ancient topography research
Some archaeological and geo-archaeological research conducted in Italy and Turkey during a collaboration between the Ancient Topography, Archaeology and Remote Sensing Laboratory (AnTAReS Lab) of the Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage of the Italian National Research Council (IBAM-CNR) and the Ancient Topography and Photogrammetry Laboratory of the Salento University (LabTAF), can evidence the importance of old aerial and Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union
The aerial photos of the “Fondo S.A.R.A.– Ala Littoria S.A.” allow us to have a view of large parts of the Viterbo Province before any transformations of the second post-war period and allow us to gather a considerable amount of extremely important data for the study of ancient topography, town planning and generally of the territory of this area

Summary

Introduction

The historical aerial photos, i.e. those before the big transformations concerning Italy during 1950’s and 1960’s (for Italy see Piccarreta and Ceraudo, 2000; Guaitoli, 2003; Scardozzi 2008a), and the space photos taken in the 1960’s and 1970’s, useful for the Near East (for examples see Galiatsatos, 2004; Beck et al, 2005, 2006, 2007; Ur, 2005 and 2007; Wilkinson et al, 2005; Goossens et al, 2006; Scardozzi, 2008b), represent a fundamental tool for the study of the territory during ancient topography research.

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Conclusion