A Polish perspective on optical satellite data and methods for archaeological sites prospection

摘要

The presented overview is a result of the first phase of ESA-funded ArchEO (Archaeological application of Earth Observation techniques) project which aims to identify conditions favourable for analysis of archaeological sites and landscapes with use of satellite-based techniques. The project focuses on the region of Central Europe that has highly anthropogenically transformed landscapes with a large percentage of agricultural lands, what under certain ground conditions (favourable crop type, moisture, soil depth, bedrock, agricultural treatments, local biological processes etc.) foster the development of marks allowing identification of archaeological remains. The most important factor determining the choice of satellite data sources and techniques of processing is the characteristics of archaeological sites typical for the analysed region. Relatively small size of archaeological features and significant dispersion of past human activity residues require the use on satellite data on the highest possible spatial resolution. Often the resolution of multispectral bands needs to be increased with pansharpening techniques to provide valuable information - it determines the choice of further processing techniques. Nevertheless, the ability for acquisition of data in NIR spectral range is still the most important added value offered by optical satellite remote sensing, it enables to analyse vegetation characteristics and thus to better identify cropmarks. The archival data from various satellite sensors, obtained under different vegetative, soil, seasonal and anthropogenic conditions enable comparative studies on conditions for distinguishing marks appearance. The conducted analysis of archaeological community requirements clearly indicates that their needs go further than archaeological features detection - delineation of an archaeological site protective border and threats monitoring is equally important.