Using Geospatial Imaging Techniques to Reveal and Share the Secrets of Stonehenge

Abstract

Stonehenge is perhaps the most famous prehistoric monument in the world. Begun as a simple earthwork enclosure, it was built in several stages with the unique lintelled stone circle being erected in the Neolithic period around 2,500 BC. Today Stonehenge, together with Avebury and other associated sites, forms the heart of a World Heritage Site (WHS) with a unique and dense concentration of outstanding prehistoric monuments. In 2011 English Heritage embarked on a new survey of the monument using a range of geospatial imaging techniques. Undertaken by the Greenhatch Group, a commercial survey company based near Derby, they used a combination of laser scanning and photogrammetric approaches to generate the scale and detailed level of outputs required by English Heritage. This paper will describe the background to this project and its context within previous survey activities at the site. It will explain the data acquisition technology and processes undertaken on site, the datasets derived from post-processing and their filtering and analysis within both subsequent research projects. Alongside a description of how the data is currently being exploited and proposed future applications within the conservation and management of the site, it will finish by considering the impact of developing geospatial imaging technologies.