Abstract
The scope of this work is to present an integrated methodological multi-scale and multi-temporal approach for the study of ancient monuments in their environmental context. The presented work showcases the interdisciplinary research experience gained during the last years by the Remote Sensing and Geo-Environment Lab (ERATOSTHENES Research Centre) of the Cyprus University of Technology. The developed capabilities of the Eratosthenes Research Centre derived from the successful implementation of various national and European research projects within the wider area of architectural heritage study and protection. In this framework geospatial tools, earth observation and in situ monitoring and measurements were merged and further investigated. The case study concerns Paphos town in Cyprus and particularly the archaeological site of Nea Paphos and the Hellenistic necropolis “Tombs of the Kings”, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The study encompasses a variety of technological tools to approach the area of interest, moving from a landscape level to isolated monument scale. For the landscape approach, novel, earth observation (macro scale) and aerial image (semi-macro scale) processing techniques have been employed, while in a monument level, the study extents from the geometric documentation of a tomb to the image processing for the mapping of surface weathering features, as well as to the seismic performance of single monuments (micro scale). The overall results demonstrate that such geospatial data linked to the individual characteristics of each monument can assist towards the implementation of various directives and conventions, while offering an integrated understanding of the monuments state of preservation, seen not as an isolated unit, but as part of their natural and anthropogenic context, which inevitably affects their viability in time and place.
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Acknowledgement
The present paper is under the Athena project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 691936 and work programme H2020 under “Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation”; call H2020-TWINN-2015: Twinning (Coordination and Support Action). Acknowledgment is due to the Director of the Department of Antiquities Dr. Marina Solomidou-Ieronymidou for supporting research by granting all necessary permissions and access to the sites.
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Lysandrou, V., Agapiou, A., Kyriakides, N., Hadjimitsis, D. (2018). From Space to Ground. Digital Techniques for the Investigation of Monuments and Sites. In: Koui, M., Zezza, F., Kouis, D. (eds) 10th International Symposium on the Conservation of Monuments in the Mediterranean Basin. MONUBASIN 2017. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78093-1_65
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