The Potential of Airborne LiDAR for Detection of New Archaeological Site in Romania

Vizireanu, Ioana; Mateescu, Răzvan

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-57577-3_37

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…In the Belize River Valley, TPI was used to identify ancient Maya house mounds among a modern semi-urban community and to test the impact of land use (developed vs. undeveloped) and vegetation class (pasture, orchard, or forest) on the visibility of archaeological remains using a TPI landscape model [41]. These techniques have also been used outside of the Maya region, in places such as Western Romania, for the detection of hillforts [38].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…LRM/SLRM identifies local variations in topography, essentially flattening extreme variations on the landscape such as peaks and valleys and highlighting minor landscape variations [33] (p. 93) and is ideal for small variations in elevations, such as building foundations, structures, and depressions [1]. There are several methods to produce an LRM/SLRM dataset, including a free LRM toolbox download [75], a model builder work-flow [38], and the RVT version 1.3 [30,68,71]. Like other archaeologists in the Maya region [1], I used the RVT to calculate the SLRM.…”

Section: Local Relief Model (Lrm) and Simple Local Relief Model (Slrm)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Detecting Classic Maya Settlements with Lidar-Derived Relief Visualizations

Thompson

2020

Remote Sensing

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In the past decade, Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) has fundamentally changed our ability to remotely detect archaeological features and deepen our understanding of past human-environment interactions, settlement systems, agricultural practices, and monumental constructions. Across archaeological contexts, lidar relief visualization techniques test how local environments impact archaeological prospection. This study used a 132 km2 lidar dataset to assess three relief visualization techniques—sky-view factor (SVF), topographic position index (TPI), and simple local relief model (SLRM)—and object-based image analysis (OBIA) on a slope model for the non-automated visual detection of small hinterland Classic (250–800 CE) Maya settlements near the polities of Uxbenká and Ix Kuku’il in Southern Belize. Pedestrian survey in the study area identified 315 plazuelas across a 35 km2 area; the remaining 90 km2 in the lidar dataset is yet to be surveyed. The previously surveyed plazuelas were compared to the plazuelas visually identified on the TPI and SLRM. In total, an additional 563 new possible plazuelas were visually identified across the lidar dataset, using TPI and SLRM. Larger plazuelas, and especially plazuelas located in disturbed environments, are often more likely to be detected in a visual assessment of the TPI and SLRM. These findings emphasize the extent and density of Classic Maya settlements and highlight the continued need for pedestrian survey to ground-truth remotely identified archaeological features and the impact of modern anthropogenic behaviors for archaeological prospection. Remote sensing and lidar have deepened our understanding of past human settlement systems and low-density urbanism, processes that we experience today as humans residing in modern cities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Local Relief Model (Lrm) and Simple Local Relief Model (Slrm)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Detecting Classic Maya Settlements with Lidar-Derived Relief Visualizations

Thompson

2020

Remote Sensing

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“…The NC-LBA sites inventory was compiled firstly by consulting the archaeological repertoires [5,[46][47][48][49]. In addition, due to the partial visibility of the ashmound structures on the topographic surface, we were able to identify a significant number of novel sites [34] by using the LiDAR database [50]; aerial photographs; and the orthophotos available on different portals, such as Inis Viewer, Bing Maps, and Here Maps. The georeferenced database was generated in Google Earth Pro 7.1.5 and exported as a shapefile in ArcGIS Pro [7].…”

Section: Lba Settlements Inventory and Nc Site Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inside Late Bronze Age Settlements in NE Romania: GIS-Based Surface Characterization of Ashmound Structures Using Airborne Laser Scanning and Aerial Photography Techniques

Brașoveanu,

Mihu-Pintilie,

Brunchi

2023

Remote Sensing

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The identification and delineation, through aerial photography, of the archaeological structures that present temporal resolution, as well as their characterization based on high-resolution LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)-derived DEMs (Digital Elevation Models) are modern techniques widely used in the archaeological prospecting of various landscapes. In this study, we present an application of Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) and aerial photography (AP) techniques, used in order to compute geomorphometric indices specific to the ashmound structures of Late Bronze Age (LBA) archaeological sites that are visible on the soil surface. The necessity of determining the ashmounds’ geoarchaeological description stems from the fact that despite the majority of archaeologists weighing in on the subject, there is still no accepted explanation regarding their initial functionality. Thus, we believe that the GIS-based high-resolution characterization of 200 ashmound features identified in 21 Noua Culture (NC) archaeological sites will contribute to a better understanding of the ashmounds’ functionality and evolution in the heterogeneous landscape of the study area (NE Romania). Therefore, various shape indices, such as the area (A), perimeter (P), length (L), form factor (RF), circularity ratio (RC), and elongation ratio (RE) were computed for microlevel characterizations of the visible ashmounds’ structures. Additionally, LiDAR-derived DEMs with a 0.5 m resolution were used to generate more surface characteristics such as the slope (S) and hypsometric indices (HI). The outcomes indicate that the ashmounds have relatively diverse shapes (an RF range from 0.37 to 0.77; a RC range from 0.79 to 0.99; a RE range from 0.68 to 0.99), and the micro-relief slightly varies from positive to negative landforms (HI range from 0.34 to 0.61) depending on the erosion intensity (S range from 1.17° to 19.69°) and anthropogenic impact (e.g., current land use and agriculture type). Furthermore, each morphometric parameter is an indicator for surface processes, aiding in the identification of the geomorphologic and surface-erosion aspects that affect the archaeological remains, contributing to the assessment of the conservation status of the ashmound structures within the current landscape configuration. In this regard, this article presents and discusses the remote sensing (RS) techniques used, as well as the morphometric data obtained, exploring the implications of our findings for a better characterization of the NC in Romania.

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“…Several archaeological sites in Romania, however, have benefited from full LiDAR surveys (Szentmiklosi et al 2011;Opreanu & Lăzărescu 2014;Vizireanu & Mateescu 2018;Gogâltan et al 2019), and more archaeological studies have recently emerged in which LiDAR DTMs were used (Asăndulesei 2017;Asăndulesei et al 2020;Berzovan et al 2020;Niculiță 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Freely Available LiDAR-based Digital Terrain Model (DTM) Uncovers the Heart of the Dacian World

Pețan¹,

Hegyi²

2022

Preprint

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Throughout history, the unique Dacian landscape has aroused the imagination of many. For decades, researchers have been fascinated by the magnificent structures the Dacians built and how they altered the mountains to their advantage. Dacian sites, despite their grandeur, remain mostly unknown due to their position deep within Romania's vast forests, generally in remote regions and hidden from the naked eye. Ground exploration in densely forested mountain regions is extremely difficult, and even if such campaigns existed, they would be insufficient to provide a comprehensive picture of the Dacian world. The lack of high-resolution remote-sensing data for wide areas made big-scale assessments of the landscape impractical. This is about to change, as new large datasets of LiDAR-derived digital elevation models, covering the entire heart of Dacian world, are now freely available. This paper reports on one of the most recent freely available LiDAR-based high-resolution digital elevation models in Romania, its impact on Romanian mountain archaeology, and how this can shape future research directions in understanding the Dacian landscape.

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The Potential of Airborne LiDAR for Detection of New Archaeological Site in Romania

Cited by 3 publications

References 3 publications

Detecting Classic Maya Settlements with Lidar-Derived Relief Visualizations

Detecting Classic Maya Settlements with Lidar-Derived Relief Visualizations

Inside Late Bronze Age Settlements in NE Romania: GIS-Based Surface Characterization of Ashmound Structures Using Airborne Laser Scanning and Aerial Photography Techniques

Freely Available LiDAR-based Digital Terrain Model (DTM) Uncovers the Heart of the Dacian World

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