Abstract
This paper provides an overview on the application of satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology in archaeology. The growing developments of space SAR technologies in terms of observational capabilities (spatial, spectral, radiometric, and temporal coverage) had made the use of these technologies very attractive for archaeological investigations. Although several achievements have been made in recent years on the basis of pioneering efforts addressed to the assessment of the potentiality of the L-, C-, and X-band SAR in archaeology, the full capability of these technologies for archaeological site detection is still incompletely evaluated until now. Moreover, significant advances are expected from the most recent satellite data available at 25 cm in X-band (TerraSAR) and at 1 m in multipolarized L-band (PALSAR). These enhanced characteristics, in terms of spatial resolution and radiometric quality, take the most recent SAR technologies to a new level for archaeological applications, addressed to object detection and target recognition.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Adamesteanu D (1973) Le suddivisioni di terra nel Metapontino. In: Finley MI (ed) Problèmes de la terre en Grèce ancienne. Mouton, Paris, pp 49–61
Adams REW (1980) Swamps, canals, and the locations of ancient Maya cities. Antiquity 54(212):206–214
Adams R, Brown W, Culbert T, Mapping SAR (1981) Archeology, and ancient Maya land use. Science 213:1457–1463
Berger M, Aschbacher J (2012) Preface: the sentinel missions-new opportunities for science. Remote Sens Environ 120:1–2
Blom R, Clapp N, Zarins J, Hedges G Space technology and the discovery of the Lost City of Ubar. Paper read at IEEE Aerospace Conf. February 1-8, 1997
Carter JC (1990) Between the Bradano and Basento: archaeology of an ancient landscape in. In: Kelso W, Most R (eds) Earth patterns. Essays in landscape archaeology. University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville, pp 227–243
Chen F, Masini N, Yang R, Milillo P, Feng D, Lasaponara R (2015) A space view of radar archaeological marks: first applications of COSMO-SkyMed X-band data. Remote Sens 7:24–50
Chen F, Lasaponara R, Masini N (2017), An overview of satellite synthetic aperture radar remote sensing in archaeology: From site detection to monitoring, Journal of Cultural Heritage, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2015.05.003
Cigna F, Tapete D, Lasaponara R, Masini N (2013) Amplitude change detection with Envisat ASAR to image the cultural landscape of the Nasca region, Peru. Archaeol Prospect 20:117–131
Comer DC, Chapman BD, Comer JA (2017) Detecting Landscape Disturbance at the Nasca Lines Using SAR Data Collected from Airborne and Satellite Platforms. Geosciences, 7, 106
El-Baz F (1998) Prehistoric artifacts near paleo-channels revealed by radar images in the western desert of Egypt. Remote sensing in archaeology from spacecraft, aircraft, on land, and in the deep sea. Boston University, Boston
Erasmi S, Rosenbauer R, Buchbach R, Busche T, Rutishauser S (2014) Evaluating the quality and accuracy of TanDEM-X digital elevation models at archaeological sites in the Cilician plain, Turkey. Remote Sens 6(10):9475–9493. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6109475
Guo H (1997) Spaceborne multifrequency, polarametric and interferometric radar for detection of the targets on earth surface and subsurface. J Remote Sens 1:32–39
Holcomb DH, Shingiray IL (2007) Imaging SAR in archaeological investigations: an image processing perspective. In: Wisemann J, El-Baz F (eds) Remote sensing in archaeology. Springer, Verlag, Berlin/Heidelberg, pp 11–45
Jiang A, Chen F, Masini N, Capozzoli L, Romano G, Sileo M, Yang R, Tang P, Cheng P, Lasaponara R, Liua G (2016) Archeological crop marks identified from Cosmo-SkyMed time series: the case of Han-Wei capital city, Luoyang, China. International Journal of Digital Earth, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2016.1254686
https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/s/sir-a
Lasaponara R, Masini N (eds) (2008) Advances in remote sensing for archaeology and cultural heritage management. In: Proceedings of I international EARSeL workshop “Advances in remote sensing for archaeology and cultural heritage management”. Rome 30 September–4 October, 2008. Aracne: Roma. ISBN: 978-88-548-2030-2
Lasaponara R, Masini N (2013) Satellite synthetic aperture radar in archaeology and cultural landscape: an overview. Archaeol Prospect 20:71–78
Linck R, Busche T, Buckreuss S, Fassbinder JWE, Seren S (2013) Possibilities of archaeological prospection by high-resolution X-band satellite radar-a casestudy from Syria. Archaeol Prospect 20:97–108
Matthews Jr KD, Cook AW (1957) Cities in the sand: Leptis Magna and Sabratha in Roman Africa. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia
McCauley JF, Schaber GG, Breed CS, Grolier MJ, Haynes CV, Issawi B, Elachi C, Blom R (1982) Subsurface valleys and geoarchaeology of the eastern Sahara revealed by shuttle radar. Science 218:1004–1020
Pope KO, Dahlin BH (1989) Ancient Maya wetland agriculture: new insights from ecological and remote sensing research. J Field Archaeol 16:87–106
Richason III FB, Hritz C (1998) The use of digitally enhanced SARsat SAR imagery in the interpretation of archaeological sites in the Nippur, Iraq, area of the lower Mesopotamian plain. Proceedings of the international conference on remote sensing in archaeology from spacecraft, aircraft, on land and in the deep sea, Boston
Stewart C, Lasaponara R, Schiavon G (2013) Alos palsar analysis of the archaeological site of pelusium. Archaeol Prospect 20:109–116
Stewart C (2017) Detection of Archaeological Residues in Vegetated Areas Using Satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar. Remote Sens 9(2): 118; http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs9020118
Wisemann J, El-Baz F (eds) (2007) Remote sensing in archaeology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin
Zhu X, Chen F, Guo H (2018) Reconstruction of the Water Cultivation Paleoenvironment Dating Back to the Han and Tang Dynasties Surrounding the Yangguan Frontier Pass Using X- and L-Band SAR Data. Remote Sens 10:1536.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lasaponara, R., Masini, N. (2020). Active Satellite Sensors in Cultural Heritage Research: The Use of SAR for Archaeological Prospection. In: Hadjimitsis, D., et al. Remote Sensing for Archaeology and Cultural Landscapes. Springer Remote Sensing/Photogrammetry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10979-0_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10979-0_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-10978-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-10979-0
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)