Archaeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives

Historical archives of vertical photographs and satellite images acquired for other purposes (mainly declassified military reconnaissance) offer considerable potential for archaeological and historical landscape research. They provide a unique insight into the character of the landscape as it was over half a century ago, before the destructive impact of later 20th century development and intensive land use. They provide a high quality photographic record not merely of the landscape at that time, but offer the prospect of the better survival of remains reflecting its earlier history, whether manifest as earthworks, cropmarks or soilmarks. These various sources of imagery also provide an opportunity to examine from the air areas of Europe and beyond whose skies are still not open to traditional archaeological aerial reconnaissance. Tens of millions of such images are held in archives around the world, but their research potential goes very largely untapped. A primary aim of this volume is to draw to wider attention the existence, scope and potential access to historical archival aerial and satellite photographs, in order to encourage their use in a range of archaeological and landscape research. By drawing attention to this massive archival resource, providing examples of its successful application to archaeological/landscape questions, and offering advice how to access and utilise the resource, the volume seeks to bring this material to wider attention, demonstrate its huge potential for archaeology, encourage its further use and stimulate a new approach to archaeological survey and the study of landscape evolution internationally.

List of contents

Table of contents: Introduction
1. William S. Hanson and Ioana A. Oltean, 'A Spy in the Sky: the potential of historical archival aerial and satellite photography for archaeological research' Opening doors: aerial and satellite archives
2. David C. Cowley, Lesley M. Ferguson and Alan Williams, 'The Aerial Reconnaissance Archives: a global aerial photographic collection'
3. Peter McKeague and Rebecca H. Jones, 'Blitzing the Bunkers: finding aids - past, present and future.'
4. Martin J.F. Fowler, 'Declassified intelligence satellite photographs.' Historical aerial and satellite photographs in archaeological research
5. Birger Stichelbaut, Wim De Clercq, Davy Herremans and Jean Bourgeois, 'First World War aerial photography and medieval landscapes: moated sites in Flanders.'
6. Tony Pollard and Peter Barton, 'The use of First World War aerial photographs by archaeologists: a case study from Fromelles, northern France.'
7: Andrew Young, 'Historic Vertical Photography and Cornwall's National Mapping Programme'
8: Patrizia Tartara, 'The Use of Historical Aerial Photographs in Italy: Some Case Studies'
9. Ioana A. Oltean, 'A Lost Archaeological Landscape on the Lower Danube Roman Limes: The Contribution of Second World War Aerial Photographs
10. Zsolt Visy, 'The Value and Significance of Historical Air Photographs for Archaeological Research: Some Examples from Central and Eastern Europe'
11. Iván Fumadó Ortega and José Carlos Sánchez-Pardo, 'Archaeology from Aerial Archives in Spain andPortugal: Two Examples from the Atlantic Seaboard'
12. Natal'ya S. Batanina and Bryan K. Hanks, 'Soviet Period Air Photography and Archaeology of the Bronze Age in the Southern Urals of Russia'
13. Robert Bewley and David Kennedy, 'Historical Aerial Imagery in Jordan and the Wider Middle East'
14. José Iriarte, '"Down Under in the Marshes": Investigating Settlement Patterns of the Early Formative Mound-Building Cultures of South-Eastern Uruguay Through Historic Aerial Photography'
15. Anthony Beck and Graham Philip, 'The archaeological exploitation of declassified satellite photography in semi-arid environments.'
16. Rog Palmer, 'Uses of Declassified corona Photographs for Archaeological Survey in Armenia
17. Damian Evans and Elizabeth Moylan, 'Pixels, Ponds and People: Mapping Archaeological Landscapes in Cambodia Using Historical Aerial and Satellite Imagery'
18. Ioana A. Oltean and William S. Hanson, 'Integrating Aerial and Satellite Imagery: Discovering Roman Imperial Landscapes in Southern Dobrogea (Romania)'

About the author

Bill Hanson is the author or co-author of 4 books/monographs and editor or co-editor of 4 more, with over 100 published papers to his name in the fields of Roman and aerial archaeology. He has been active in aerial photographic research for over 25 years, having directed aerial survey programmes in both Scotland and Romania. He teaches archaeological remote sensing to undergraduates and for over 10 years has been responsible for a postgraduate taught Masters programme on aerial archaeology, currently the only one of its kind in Europe. Ioana Oltean is a Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Exeter where, amongst other things, she teaches an undergraduate module on aerial archaeology. Her research in Roman Dacia and Moesia has focused on the utilisation of aerial and satellite data, including archival material, for the elucidation of landscape evolution. She has published one book and several papers on this theme, and undertaken her own aerial survey programme in Romania.

Summary

Historical archives of vertical photographs and satellite images acquired for other purposes (mainly declassified military reconnaissance) offer considerable potential for archaeological and historical landscape research. They provide a unique insight into the character of the landscape as it was over half a century ago, before the destructive impact of later 20th century development and intensive land use. They provide a high quality photographic record not merely of the landscape at that time, but offer the prospect of the better survival of remains reflecting its earlier history, whether manifest as earthworks, cropmarks or soilmarks. These various sources of imagery also provide an opportunity to examine from the air areas of Europe and beyond whose skies are still not open to traditional archaeological aerial reconnaissance. Tens of millions of such images are held in archives around the world, but their research potential goes very largely untapped.
 
A primary aim of this volume is to draw to wider attention the existence, scope and potential access to historical archival aerial and satellite photographs, in order to encourage their use in a range of archaeological and landscape research.
By drawing attention to this massive archival resource, providing examples of its successful application to archaeological/landscape questions, and offering advice how to access and utilise the resource, the volume seeks to bring this material to wider attention, demonstrate its huge potential for archaeology, encourage its further use and stimulate a new approach to archaeological survey and the study of landscape evolution internationally. ​

Additional text

From the reviews:
“Hanson, Oltean, and 27 colleagues (mostly British) focus on historical aerial and satellite images, motivated by a NATO-sponsored workshop (2000) and a 2007 conference on aerial photography. The editors provide informative discussions on the existence, scope, and potential access to images. … The 18 chapters are supplemented by 101 figures (28 in color) and four tables. … Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.” (C. C. Kolb, Choice, Vol. 50 (10), June, 2013)

Report

From the reviews:
"Hanson, Oltean, and 27 colleagues (mostly British) focus on historical aerial and satellite images, motivated by a NATO-sponsored workshop (2000) and a 2007 conference on aerial photography. The editors provide informative discussions on the existence, scope, and potential access to images. ... The 18 chapters are supplemented by 101 figures (28 in color) and four tables. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above." (C. C. Kolb, Choice, Vol. 50 (10), June, 2013)

Product details

• Assisted by: A Oltean (Editor), A Oltean (Editor), William S. Hanson (Editor), Ioana A. Oltean (Editor), Willia S Hanson (Editor), William S Hanson (Editor)
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 11.05.2012
• EAN: 9781461445043
• ISBN: 978-1-4614-4504-3
• No. of pages: 344
• Dimensions: 158 mm x 240 mm x 25 mm
• Weight: 711 g
• Illustrations: XXIV, 344 p.
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Antiquity; B, Anthropology, Social Sciences, Archaeology, Geographical information systems & remote sensing, Geographical Information Systems/Cartography, Geographical Information System, Geographical information systems