Ancient quarries are intriguing archaeological sites, but their detailed recording is complex. This paper presents a cost-effective approach to mapping of the Roman quarry site of Pitaranha (Portugal-Spain). First, aerial photographs were acquired using a radio-controlled digital reflex camera attached to a Helikite, which allowed the acquisition of the necessary low-altitude aerial footage in the very unstable wind conditions above the quarry. Using computer vision algorithms, the resulting set of photographs was semi-automatically transformed into a Digital Surface Model (DSM) and a corresponding orthophotograph. Besides focusing on the acquisition and processing method, this paper evaluates the accuracy of the generated products. The orthophotograph proved to be satisfactorily accurate for 1:200 hard-copy mapping.
During the past 100 years, various devices have been developed and applied in order to acquire archaeologically usefulaerialimagery fromlow altitudes (e.g. balloons, kites, poles).Thispaper introduces Helikiteaerialphotography (HAP), a new form ofcloserange aerialphotography suitable for site or defined area photography, based on a camera suspended from a Helikite: a combination of both a helium balloon and kite wings. By largely overcoming the drawbacks of conventional kite-and balloon-based photography,HAPallows foravery versatile, remotely controlled approach to low-altitude aerial photography (LAAP). In addition to a detailed outline of the whole HAP system, its working procedure and possible improvements, some of the resulting imagery is shown to demonstrate the usefulness of HAP for several archaeological applications.
Using Montarice in central Adriatic Italy as a case study, this paper focuses on the extraction of the spectral (i.e., plant colour) and geometrical (i.e., plant height) components of a crop canopy from archived aerial photographs, treating both parameters as proxies for archaeological prospection. After the creation of orthophotographs and a canopy height model using image-based modelling, new archaeological information is extracted from this vegetation model by applying relief-enhancing visualisation techniques. Through interpretation of the resulting data, a combination of the co-registered spectral and geometrical vegetation dimensions clearly add new depth to interpretative mapping, which is typically based solely on colour differences in orthophotographs.
The Roman town of Ammaia (in Marvão Region) is considered one of the most important recent findings of the Roman presence in Portuguese territory. It was settled in Republican times and abandoned in the seventh century. In this research, 17 masonry mortars and renders from the West Tower (South Gate), the residential area near the West Tower, the macellum, the peristylium, the public bath building, the podium of the temple and the portico of the forum were analysed. The methodology of chemical, mineralogical and microstructural characterization has involved several complementary techniques, including stereomicroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, thermal analysis and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy. The results indicate that the mortars from the beginning of the town's edification were mainly composed of soil (clays). Later, during the main Roman building period, mortars were composed using a calcitic binder and the mortar composition varied according to their use and function. The samples from a period subsequent to the Roman occupation are based on a dolomitic binder. From the present study, relevant information has been acquired about the technological evolution of Roman construction in Ammaia, the historical context of the archaeological structures and guidelines for the conservation and restoration of mortars.
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