Big Earth Data for Cultural Heritage in the Copernicus Era

Digital data is stepping in its golden age characterized by an increasing growth of both classical and emerging big earth data along with trans- and multidisciplinary methodological approaches and services addressed to the study, preservation and sustainable exploitation of cultural heritage (CH). The availability of new digital technologies has opened new possibilities, unthinkable only a few years ago for cultural heritage. The currently available digital data, tools and services with particular reference to Copernicus initiatives make possible to characterize and understand the state of conservation of CH for preventive restoration and opened up a frontier of possibilities for the discovery of archaeological sites from above and also for supporting their excavation, monitoring and preservation. The different areas of intervention require the availability and integration of rigorous information from different sources for improving knowledge and interpretation, risk assessment and management in order to make more successful all the actions oriented to the preservation of cultural properties. One of the biggest challenges is to fully involve the citizen also from an emotional point of view connecting “pixels with people” and “bridging” remote sensing and social sensing

Archaeological site identification from open access multispectral imagery: Cloud computing applications in Northern Kurdistan (Iraq)

This paper presents the results of an archaeological survey carried out in the Navkur Plain, Iraqi Kurdistan, as part of the ‘Asingeran Archaeological Project’. The survey was prepared using remote sensing products accessed via Google Earth Engineⓒ, a large-scale cloud computing service freely available to the scientific community that allows processing remote sensing big data. Outputs generated with a multitemporal approach are particularly successful for archaeological research, because it is possible to maximize the visibility of archaeological sites, improving their detection. Multispectral imagery from Landsat 5, Landsat 7 and Sentinel-2 collections were used and processed, testing their utility for finding unknown ancient settlements in the densely studied area of Northern Mesopotamia. Seventeen new sites were discovered in an already surveyed area of limited size (<100 km2), showing the potentialities of this method. The advantages of cloud computing for Near Eastern Archaeology and the results of the survey are also presented and discussed

Evaluation of Multi-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar for Subsurface Archaeological Prospection in Arid Environments

The discovery of the subsurface paleochannels in the Saharan Desert with the 1981 Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-A) sensor was hugely significant in the field of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing. Although previous studies had indicated the ability of microwaves to penetrate the earth’s surface in arid environments, this was the first applicable instance of subsurface imaging using a spaceborne sensor. And the discovery of the ‘radar rivers’ with associated archaeological evidence in this inhospitable environment proved the existence of an earlier less arid paleoclimate that supported past populations. Since the 1980’s SAR subsurface prospection in arid environments has progressed, albeit primarily in the fields of hydrology and geology, with archaeology being investigated to a lesser extent. Currently there is a lack of standardised methods for data acquisition and processing regarding subsurface imaging, difficulties in image interpretation and insufficient supporting quantitative verification. These barriers keep SAR technology from becoming as integral as other remote sensing techniques in archaeological practice The main objective of this thesis is to undertake a multi-frequency SAR analysis across different site types in arid landscapes to evaluate and enhance techniques for analysing SAR within the context of archaeological subsurface prospection. The analysis and associated fieldwork aim to address the gap in the literature regarding field verification of SAR image interpretation and contribute to the understanding of SAR microwave penetration in arid environments. The results presented in this thesis demonstrate successful subsurface imaging of subtle feature(s) at the site of ‘Uqdat al-Bakrah, Oman with X-band data. Because shorter wavelengths are often ignored due to their limited penetration depths as compared to the C-band or L-band data, the effectiveness of X-band sensors in archaeological prospection at this site is significant. In addition, the associated ground penetrating radar and excavation fieldwork undertaken at ‘Uqdat al-Bakrah confirm the image interpretation and support the quantitative information regarding microwave penetration

Satellite Remote Sensing Analysis of the Qasrawet Archaeological Site in North Sinai

North Sinai is of significant historical interest primarily because of its role since late prehistoric times as a land bridge between Egypt and the Levant. Access to this region is challenging due to its harsh geography and security concerns. Remote sensing constitutes a convenient method for archaeological prospection and monitoring over such regions with its low cost (relative to ground based sensing techniques), global coverage, and high temporal and spatial sampling. This paper describes part of a study to revisit a number of sites investigated during the North Sinai Survey (1972&ndash;1982) with very high resolution optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite imagery. These were acquired throughout the summer of 2017 in the framework of a European Space Agency research project. The Synthetic Aperture Radar data includes Spotlight and Staring Spotlight modes of the TerraSAR-X mission, while the optical imagery was acquired by the Pleiades mission. The TerraSAR-X data were processed to derive filtered amplitude and consecutive coherence time series. The results of the TerraSAR-X data processing, and the pan-sharpened Pleiades data were compared with the results of the North Sinai Survey to detect possible additional buried structures in the radar data, or newly excavated sites in the optical data. While the analysis is still ongoing, results are reported here of the Qasrawet archaeological site, which was partially investigated by the North Sinai Survey expedition, but assumed to cover a much larger area. Herein, a number of newly excavated structures are apparent in the remote sensing data. The similarity of features in both the TerraSAR-X and Pleiades data suggest that all structures are surface residues, and therefore, that the subsurface mapping capabilities of the TerraSAR-X data in this area are limited. The utility of both data types for archaeological site monitoring are discussed

Satellite Remote Sensing Analysis of the Qasrawet Archaeological Site in North Sinai

North Sinai is of significant historical interest primarily because of its role since late prehistoric times as a land bridge between Egypt and the Levant. Access to this region is challenging due to its harsh geography and security concerns. Remote sensing constitutes a convenient method for archaeological prospection and monitoring over such regions with its low cost (relative to ground based sensing techniques), global coverage, and high temporal and spatial sampling. This paper describes part of a study to revisit a number of sites investigated during the North Sinai Survey (1972&ndash;1982) with very high resolution optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite imagery. These were acquired throughout the summer of 2017 in the framework of a European Space Agency research project. The Synthetic Aperture Radar data includes Spotlight and Staring Spotlight modes of the TerraSAR-X mission, while the optical imagery was acquired by the Pleiades mission. The TerraSAR-X data were processed to derive filtered amplitude and consecutive coherence time series. The results of the TerraSAR-X data processing, and the pan-sharpened Pleiades data were compared with the results of the North Sinai Survey to detect possible additional buried structures in the radar data, or newly excavated sites in the optical data. While the analysis is still ongoing, results are reported here of the Qasrawet archaeological site, which was partially investigated by the North Sinai Survey expedition, but assumed to cover a much larger area. Herein, a number of newly excavated structures are apparent in the remote sensing data. The similarity of features in both the TerraSAR-X and Pleiades data suggest that all structures are surface residues, and therefore, that the subsurface mapping capabilities of the TerraSAR-X data in this area are limited. The utility of both data types for archaeological site monitoring are discussed