A range of techniques have become established for the visualization and analysis of airborne LiDAR elevation data within the field of archaeology. In this paper we discuss the visualization of test data representing archaeological features in a variety of terrains using a suite of techniques, all available through generic geographical information system or image processing software. These comprise elevation shading using constrained colour ramps, slope analysis, hillshading, principal component analysis of multi-azimuth hill-shading, local relief models and solar insolation modelling. The strengths and weaknesses of each technique are discussed and a generic toolkit, suited to the visualization of airborne LiDAR data for archaeological purposes, is presented.
Scanning airborne laser altimetry, usually referred to as LiDAR, generates high spatial resolution, high accuracy elevation data. The technique has found considerable use in the earth sciences, for example for flood modelling and prediction. This paper examines some geoarchaeological applications for LiDAR in alluviated landscapes. The LiDAR data for several lowland river valleys in England are examined. The technique has considerable potential for identifying archaeologically significant geomorphological features through examination of the microtopography of floodplain and terrace surfaces and for mapping upstanding archaeological earthworks.
This research project developed a terrace sequence model of alluvial landscape development to aid the management of the geoarchaeological resource within a temperate valley floor threatened by aggregate extraction. The model was created using the remote sensing techniques of light detection and ranging (lidar) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR), dovetailed with other archaeological and geological data sets within a geographical information system (GIS). Lidar first pulse (FP), last pulse (LP) and intensity models were used in a combination of ways to characterize the landscape. The topographic LP model was particularly effective at defining the major alluvial landforms, such as the higher terraces and palaeochannels. Lidar intensity data defined the palaeochannels, in response to the surface sediments' ability to absorb/reflect the lidar laser pulse. The three-dimensional architecture of the sediments infilling the valley floor was elucidated and modelled by GPR survey along geospatially referenced transect lines. These surveys had their time-slices calibrated through gouge coring along the transect lines, allowing depth slicing of the sediment stratigraphy. The GPR surveys accurately defined the depth of silty clay alluvium overlying the sands and gravels. Internal structure was revealed within the terrace gravels and at the margins of palaeochannels, allowing identification of bounding surfaces and construction of relative landform chronologies. However, GPR penetration into fine-grained palaeochannel fills was generally shallow, with little internal channel stratigraphy revealed. The lidar data sets and the GPR depth slices were integrated within ArcGIS and ArcScene. The distribution of the known and sometimes visible archaeological remains is considered in context of the geomorphology. It is demonstrated that erosion and sedimentation have ‘geologically filtered’ the archaeological resource and that some areas that have previously been considered archaeologically barren have high potential for both cultural and environmental archaeological remains
The authors assess the potential contribution of lidar surveys to national inventories of archaeological resources (‘Historic Environment Records’), and compare the relative costs and sensitivity of lidar and aerial photography.
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