A Review of Remote Sensing Application in Archaeological Research

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Aerial Photography The majority of remotely sensed data in archaeology relies on the basic notion that most of human history can be studied by identifying and analyzing the impacts of human behavior upon their geographic surroundings (Sever, 1998a). As a result, aerial photographs have been used to “record and interpret archaeological and environmental data as tonal and textural differences in growing crops, tonal differences in bare soil and as shadows cast by relief features” (Cox, 1992:251) (figure 3). A B C Figure 3. Various environmental traits which allow archaeologist to identify sites or features using aerial photography. A) Iron age enclosure, visible by the setting sun, B) Belgic settlement, visible through crop retardation, and C) Roman villa, visible through chalky soil from foundation wall (photos from Schollar, 1990). 7
In western Canada, aerial photography has greatly facilitated in the recording, understanding, and visual perception of aboriginal features such as large effigies, medicine wheels, bison kill sites and drive lanes, as well as camp sites and teepee rings (Bryan, 1991). A big benefit in aerial photography has always been the accurate and rapid assessment of regional, large-scale areas. Large sections of land can be surveyed for prominent archaeological sites much quicker using aerial photography techniques as opposed to ground survey techniques. The accuracy in detecting large features comes from the ability, with aerial photographs, to be able to visually inspect large areas and recognize tonal, textural, or topographic differences within associated targets signifying past human influence. These techniques for identifying sites are still being widely used today in revealing new archaeological finds. In lowland England, ridges and furrows from the late Saxon period are being detected and mapped using vertical aerial photographs through the analysis of their high-profile shadows created during sunlit winter conditions (Hall and Palmer, 2000). Romano-British settlements dating to around AD 48 are being discovered in England through aerial photograph analysis of textural and tonal differences in farmers’ fields (Potter and Robinson, 2000) (figure 4). Increasingly however, aerial photography is being used in conjunction and, or comparison with other airborne remote sensors to more fully analyze regional landscapes for archaeological resources. 8
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A Review of Remote Sensing Application in Archaeological Research

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