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Mapping Archaeological Landscapes from Space pp 33–43Cite as

The CORONA Atlas Project: Orthorectification of CORONA Satellite Imagery and Regional-Scale Archaeological Exploration in the Near East

Part of the SpringerBriefs in Archaeology book series (BRIEFSARCHHERIT,volume 5)

Abstract

Declassified, Cold War-era CORONA satellite images have proven to be a critical tool in archaeology of the Near East and elsewhere, primarily because they preserve a picture of sites and landscapes that predates recent agricultural, industrial and urban development. However, unprocessed CORONA images contain extreme spatial distortions caused by a cross-path panoramic scanning system, and the absence of detailed orientation and camera information makes correction of these errors highly challenging, resulting in small-scale, piecemeal application of this resource. This chapter overviews our methods for efficient orthorectification of KH-4A and KH-4B CORONA imagery and our development of a freely accessible online database for viewing and distribution of corrected images. We also highlight our efforts to deploy regional-scale CORONA coverage to facilitate the discovery and documentation of archaeological landscapes from across the Northern Fertile Crescent.

Keywords

  • CORONA
  • Orthorectification
  • Near East
  • Settlement history
  • Site morphology

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA

    Jesse Casana & Jackson Cothren

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  1. Jesse Casana
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  2. Jackson Cothren
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Casana, J., Cothren, J. (2013). The CORONA Atlas Project: Orthorectification of CORONA Satellite Imagery and Regional-Scale Archaeological Exploration in the Near East. In: Mapping Archaeological Landscapes from Space. SpringerBriefs in Archaeology(), vol 5. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6074-9_4

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