On the LiDAR contribution for the archaeological and geomorphological study of a deserted medieval village in Southern Italy
Rosa Lasaponara1, Rosa Coluzzi1, Fabrizio T Gizzi2 and Nicola Masini2
1 Istituto di Metodologie per l’Analisi Ambientale, IMAA-CNR, C da S Loja 85050 Tito Scalo (PZ), Italy 2 Istituto Beni Archeologici e Monumentali, IBAM-CNR, C da S Loja, 85050 Tito Scalo (PZ), Italy
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICS AND ENGINEERING - J. Geophys. Eng. 7 (2010) 155–163
Abstract
Airborne laser scanning (ALS) is an optical measurement technique for obtaining high-precision information about the Earth’s surface including basic terrain mapping (digital terrain model, bathymetry, corridor mapping), vegetation cover (forest assessment and inventory) and coastal and urban areas. Recent studies examined the possibility of using ALS in archaeological investigations to identify earthworks, although the ability of ALS measurements in this context has not yet been studied in detail. This paper focuses on the potential of the latest generation of airborne ALS for the detection and the spatial characterization of micro-topographic relief linked to archaeological and geomorphological features. The investigations were carried out near Monteserico, an archaeological area in the Basilicata region (Southern Italy) which is characterized by complex topographical and morphological features. The study emphasizes that the DTM-LiDAR data are a powerful instrument for detecting surface discontinuities relevant for investigating geomorphological processes and cultural features. The LiDAR survey allowed us to identify the urban shape of a medieval village, by capturing the small differences in height produced by surface and shallow archaeological remains (the so-called shadow marks) which were not visible from ground or from optical dataset. In this way, surface reliefs and small elevation changes, linked to geomorphological and archaeological features, have been surveyed with great detail.
Keywords: remote sensing archaeology, airborne laser scanning, full-waveform, geomorphology, Monteserico
5. Conclusion
Results from our analyses pointed out that the DTM-LiDAR data are a powerful instrument for detecting macro- and micro-elevation changes, which are generally very critical to evaluate. The DTM obtained from LiDAR provided a sound basis for geomorphological interpretation, useful to detect surface discontinuities (e.g. breaklines, lineaments) and forms as well as to identify surface features relevant for geomorphological processes of the study area. Moreover, the high resolution of LiDAR-based DTM allowed us to identify and to record small differences in height on the ground produced by surface and shallow archaeological remains (the so-called shadow marks) which were not visible from the optical multitemporal dataset. On the other side, ALS provides a detailed digital surface model which can efficiently enable the identification of archaeological sites and features, which leave traces in relief, but cannot detect buried structures without surviving in (micro-) relief. Buried structures without surviving in (micro-) relief cannot be detected by ALS, but can be successfully emphasized by using multispectral satellite images. In the current case under investigation, the availability of a multitemporal dataset, made up of aerial and VHR satellite images, allowed us to assess changes occurred over the years in the land use and land division as well as in the permanence and ‘visibility’ of archaeological features. This pointed out the importance of the data integration and the multitemporal analysis for documentation and preservation purposes. The approach we adopted for data processing can be fruitfully applied to improve a wide range of applications in remote sensing, geodesy, geophysics and geodynamics, such as semi-automatic reconnaissance of surface anomalies or discontinuities significant for geological applications and multitemporal change detection analyses, identification of low-relief terrain, identification, characterization, and mapping and monitoring of landslides.
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