Unearthing the past without a trowel:: A comparative study on remote sensing techniques at Voulokaliva site 1990/35, Halos, Greece (Late Neolithic to the Early Iron Age)

Remote sensing is widely applied within archaeological prospection. Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated the potential of remote sensing techniques in discovering archaeological remains. However, remote sensing data is influenced by external factors, such as climate, vegetation and moisture content. Not every remote sensing application is sensitive to each variable and detected anomalies can vary significantly between datasets. The latest trend involves the integration of remote sensing data to limit the possibility that archaeological features remain uncovered. An assessment of these external factors can be used to apply more targeted research at potential archaeological sites. Current prospection methods occasionally deliver poor results and a better understanding of external factors could lead to a significant decrease in time and money. This research aims at constructing a consolidated overview of two aerial imagery and four geophysical prospection techniques, their...Show moreRemote sensing is widely applied within archaeological prospection. Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated the potential of remote sensing techniques in discovering archaeological remains. However, remote sensing data is influenced by external factors, such as climate, vegetation and moisture content. Not every remote sensing application is sensitive to each variable and detected anomalies can vary significantly between datasets. The latest trend involves the integration of remote sensing data to limit the possibility that archaeological features remain uncovered. An assessment of these external factors can be used to apply more targeted research at potential archaeological sites. Current prospection methods occasionally deliver poor results and a better understanding of external factors could lead to a significant decrease in time and money. This research aims at constructing a consolidated overview of two aerial imagery and four geophysical prospection techniques, their applicability in archaeological prospection and the ideal conditions to collect their respective datasets. The different techniques, namely thermography, multi-spectral imagery, ground-penetrating radar, geomagnetic survey, electromagnetic induction survey and earth resistance survey, are subjected to a comparative approach executed in the opensource application QGIS. A large number of anomalies were discovered and the best results were obtained with groundpenetrating radar, geomagnetic survey and earth resistance survey. The aerial imagery did not produce many results, which can be attributed to environmental and vegetation circumstances. The results essentially correspond with the findings of previous fieldwalking surveys. Nevertheless, the remote sensing techniques provided interesting insights into feature distribution patterns and the location of structural remains. This thesis provides a framework to assess the possibilities and limitations of remote sensing within archaeological prospection and shows the potential of using an integrative approach. However, this assessment also illustrates the research gap between the theoretical and practical application of remote sensing techniques within the archaeological field.Show less

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Unearthing the past without a trowel: A comparative study on remote sensing techniques at Voulokaliva site 1990/35, Halos, Greece (Late Neolithic to the Early Iron Age)