Hidden in Plain Sight

Ancient archeological sites have diverse effects on the landscapes, such as changing the soils, changing the plants, or absorbing rainfall more or less quickly. These minute terrain changes are not visible to the naked eye on the ground. When utilizing remote sensing techniques, archaeologists are not necessarily "seeing" beneath the surface of the earth. Instead, they are observing the difference between the more significant and lower moisture and heat contents of buried walls, which have an impact on the soils, sands, and flora above them.

Depending on the kind of landscape, the type of satellite images, and the general study objectives of the archaeological project, people will choose to modify satellite data in a variety of different ways to get these findings. While expanding satellite photos to locate sites or landscape characteristics, the majority of satellite survey work in archaeology has been on visible archaeological site detection. Being on the ground and not viewing things from an overhead perspective might cause us to miss a lot.

As satellites provide a much wider perspective on historical landscapes, visual satellite datasets are a useful tool for general landscape visualization and site discovery. However, the amount of feature detection information a satellite can provide an archaeologist is much greater than what can be obtained just visually. Numerous archaeological features or sites remain uncovered because the complete electromagnetic spectrum is not used.

Tens of thousands of new archaeological sites and features have already been found because of the development of this technology. To locate ancient structures and features that are veiled utilizing the whole spectrum of satellite image processing tools, a specialized approach for satellite remote sensing has not yet been created. Such new discoveries would have far-reaching effects on historical and environmental research initiatives and provide invaluable insights into previous societal environments.

Surveying, often known as "ground truthing," is the second degree of archaeological inference in satellite remote sensing. It is hard to learn more about an archaeological site without ground confirmation, despite the fact that locating probable archaeological sites or features on a computer screen is crucial and depends on in-depth scientific investigation. On a computer screen, archaeologists can identify locations for surface archaeological inquiry using GPS. Satellite remote sensing enables archaeological teams to identify locations and characteristics that they would otherwise have to seek at random since there is an ever-increasing focus on cutting expenses.

The catacombs of Alexandria, Egypt, which were discovered when the top of the burial shaft was breached by donkeys wandering through it, are only one example of the numerous tombs and deposits that have been discovered accidentally during the course of archaeology. This is hardly the best way to find new sites.

In certain instances, surface material culture may point to the presence of an archaeological site, whereas in other instances, vegetation growth patterns, chemical changes in the soil, or close proximity to a covered natural feature would expose the site's presence. We can undoubtedly see several types of material culture and different colored soils on the ground when conducting a basic archaeological survey. Archaeological teams can see changes in land use through time by visually observing these characteristics and a collection of material culture across a whole region.

By enabling the detection and evaluation of hidden sites and features, satellite remote sensing, in combination with the ground survey, coring, and excavation, enables a holistic landscape reconstruction. To provide a deeper understanding of anthropogenic influences on previous landscapes, both visible and invisible archaeological elements are combined.

Targeted excavations, in which archaeologists open a small number of trenches that are carefully positioned to provide the most information about that site or that landscape, are the third level of inference in satellite remote sensing.

Archaeologists frequently utilize geophysics or ground survey to choose the optimal location for their trenches in a typical excavation that does not employ satellite remote sensing. When geophysics is not used, the archaeological team may choose to dig trenches higher up (where preservation is better) or in areas where specific surface material culture indicates specific subsurface structures (for example, the presence of significant amounts of slag on the surface of an archaeological site may suggest the presence of an underground industrial area).

However, the archaeological team can employ the electromagnetic spectrum and broader visual detection when using satellite remote sensing for excavation to disclose elements not immediately visible on the ground.