Employment, Utilization, and Development of Airborne Laser Scanning in Fenno-Scandinavian Archaeology-A Review

This paper gives a presentation of how airborne laser scanning (ALS) has been adopted in archaeology in the North over the period 2005-2019. Almost two decades have passed since ALS first emerged as a potential tool to add to the archaeologist's toolbox. Soon after, it attracted the attention of researchers within archaeological communities engaged with remote sensing in the Fenno-Scandinavian region. The first archaeological ALS projects gave immediate good results and led to further use, research, and development through new projects that followed various tracks. The bulk of the research and development focused on studying how well-suited ALS is for identifying, mapping, and documenting archaeological features in outfield land, mainly in forested areas. The poor situation in terms of lack of information on archaeological records in outfield areas has been challenging for research and especially for cultural heritage management for a long period of time. Consequently, an obvious direction was to study how ALS-based mapping of cultural features in forests could help to improve the survey situation. This led to various statistical analyses and studies covering research questions related to for instance effects on detection success of laser pulse density, and the size and shape of the targeted features. Substantial research has also been devoted to the development and assessment of semi-automatic detection of archaeological features based on the use of algorithms. This has been studied as an alternative approach to human desk-based visual analyses and interpretations of ALS data. This approach has considerable potential for detecting sites over large regions such as the vast roadless and unbuilt wilderness regions of northern Fennoscandia, and has proven highly successful. In addition, the current review presents how ALS has been employed for monitoring purposes and for landscape studies, including how it can influence landscape understanding. Finally, the most recent advance within ALS research and development has been discussed: testing of the use of drones for data acquisition. In conclusion, aspects related to the utilization of ALS in archaeological research and cultural heritage management are summarized and discussed, together with thoughts about future perspectives.Peer reviewe

Sensing Archaeology in the North: The Use of Non-Destructive Geophysical and Remote Sensing Methods in Archaeology in Scandinavian and North Atlantic Territories

In August 2018, a group of experts working with terrestrial/marine geophysics and remote sensing methods to explore archaeological sites in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Scotland and Sweden gathered together for the first time at the Workshop ‘Sensing Archaeology in The North’. The goal was to exchange experiences, discuss challenges, and consider future directions for further developing these methods and strategies for their use in archaeology. After the event, this special journal issue was arranged to publish papers that are based on the workshop presentations, but also to incorporate work that is produced by other researchers in the field. This paper closes the special issue and further aims to provide current state-of-the-art for the methods represented by the workshop. Here, we introduce the aspects that inspired the organisation of the meeting, a summary of the 12 presentations and eight paper contributions, as well as a discussion about the main outcomes of the workshop roundtables, including the production of two searchable databases (online resources and equipment). We conclude with the position that the ‘North’, together with its unique cultural heritage and thriving research community, is at the forefront of good practice in the application and development of sensing methods in archaeological research and management. However, further method development is required, so we claim the support of funding bodies to back research efforts based on testing/experimental studies to: explore unknown survey environments and identify optimal survey conditions, as well as to monitor the preservation of archaeological remains, especially those that are at risk. It is demonstrated that remote sensing and geophysics not only have an important role in the safeguarding of archaeological sites from development and within prehistorical-historical research, but the methods can be especially useful in recording and monitoring the increased impact of climate change on sites in the North

Historical maps as archaeological source. Some experiences from Western Jutland

Denne artikel præsenterer, hvordan de historiske kort kan anvendes i det arkæologiske arbejde, samt et udvalg af, hvilke resultater man kan opnå ved hjælp af dem. Der er indledningsvis lagt vægt på helt praktiske erfaringer med georeferering af kortene. Der anbefales en fremgangsmåde, hvorpå man kan sikre god præcision, der samtidig gør det muligt at samle de mange kort til let anvendelige mosaikker. Med de digitalt oprettede kort er det for arkæologien helt oplagt at søge efter signaturer for fortidsminder, der eksisterede på opmålingstidspunktet, men som i mange tilfælde er helt udslettede i dag. Det drejer sig især om gravhøje fra sten- og bronzealder. Der er visse kildekritiske forhold omkring en sådan registrering, men man kan alligevel forvente en betydelig tilvækst i antallet af kendte gravhøje. En anden mulighed er at foretage en vektorisering af temaerne for arealanvendelse, der igen kan anvendes i spatielle analyser. Der er mange muligheder. I artiklen bruges data-sættet til at estimere alderen på det historiske kultur-landskab, der kan udledes af de historiske kort. Endelig præsenteres eksempler på, hvordan kortene kan hjælpe til opklaringen af arkæologiske spørgsmål, hvad enten det drejer sig om luftfotoarkæologiens afgrødespor eller udgravnings-fund.This paper presents ways in which historical maps can be implemented in archaeological research, and what can be achieved by doing so. The initial chapter focuses on the practical aspects of map georeferencing, and a best practice is suggested that allows the production of precise digital mosaics. Map searches for prehistoric monuments is the obvious starting point for the archaeologist. By far the most common group of monuments is burial mounds dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age. As demonstrated, results can be significant and add substantially to the archaeological record. Another recommended use is to vectorize the map theme of land use. An example study is presented in which the possible regression of the historical landscape on basis of data set derived from historical maps. Finally, cases are demonstrated in which the historical maps have helped solving questions in field archaeology as well as aerial archaeology

Lufotoarkæologi i Slesvig: En status.

In 2018, the aerial archaeological projectFortiden set fra Himlen ended. It marksthe culmination of thirteen years of activeaerial reconnaissance in the region of Slesvig.A brief history of the aerial archaeologicalactors and activities in Slesvig is presented.Many important sites have beendetected, especially by St. Joseph and StigJensen. Their work has resulted in importantexcavations in e. g. Dankirke, Vilslev,and Råhede. In 2005, there was a renewedinterest in the aerial archaeology in Slesvigand the author initiated two projects:one focused on investigating the Iron Agedefensive earthworks of Olgerdiget andÆ Vold, and the other project focusedon finding settlement sites dating to theViking Age. In 2009, these projects werefollowed by Fortiden set fra Himlen, whichcarried out surveying in Slesvig and theNorth Frisian islands in particular. Altogether,130 sites were detected in Slesvigbetween 2005 and 2018. Roughly halfof them can be dated to a specific periodranging from early Iron Age to historictimes. The highest intensity of finds wasmade on the island of Föhr with no lessthan 156 hectares of cropmarks. It is hardto predict when aerial reconnaissance willbe resumed in Slesvig. Nonetheless, newtools such as LiDAR scans, orthophotos,and drones ensure that aerial archaeologywill keep playing a role in the future

Integration of complementary archaeological prospection data from a Late Iron Age settlement at Vesterager-Denmark

The complementary use of various archaeological prospection data sets offers a series of new possibilities for the investigation of prehistoric settlements. In addition to the separate interpretations of the single methods, the implementation of image fusion provides an additional tool to obtain an even higher degree of data integration during the interpretation process. To investigate some possibilities and risks of image fusion, a procedure frequently used in the medical field but rarely applied in archaeology, various algorithms inside a dedicated MATLAB toolbox TAIFU (Toolbox for Archaeological Image FUsion) were tested on the geophysical prospection data from an Iron Age settlement near Vesterager in West Jutland, Denmark. The Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology had conducted large-scale, high-resolution ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometry surveys at the site in 2014, based on its discovery by the Ringkøbing Museum through aerial photos and the results of a follow-up excavation in 2009. The aim was to determine if, and to what extent, geophysical prospection together with a novel integrative interpretational approach was able to add more detailed information to an already known prehistoric settlement. Results yielded a variety of deeper insights into the separate farms (dated to around AD 400), including the discovery of several new structures and more information about the construction of the longhouses, as well as a first suggestion on how to implement image fusion into the process of analysis and archaeological interpretation of geophysical data sets