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Remote sensing and archaeological survey in the Hierapolis of Phrygia territory, Turkey

2007; SPIE; Volume: 6749; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1117/12.737046

1996-756X

Giuseppe Scardozzi,

Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History

The paper concerns the results of a research project on the application in archaeological survey of high resolution images of the QuickBird 2 satellite. The research is carried out within the activities of the Italian Archaeological Mission at Hierapolis of Phrygia (Turkey). The use of satellite images with high geometric, radiometric and spectral resolutions has constituted an important tool for archaeological research in the city and in the surrounding area, because vertical aerial photographies and recent and detailed cartographies are non-available. In fact the exceptional spatial resolution of the images makes them comparable to aerial photos on a medium scale; this type of documentation has an enormous potential in the study of urban and territorial ancient contexts. The examination of these images has permitted to detect surface anomalies and traces linked to archaeological buried structures or to paleo-environmental elements; moreover, particulary in the territory, the panchromatic images were georeferenced and used as the base field maps for the survey, in integration with GPS systems. The study of the satellite images and the ground truth verify have made fundamental contributions to the reconstruction of the urban layout of Hierapolis. Also much interesting were the results obtained in the territory of the city, with the integration of remote sensing and archaeological survey; the researches recovered numerous and important data on necropolis, aqueducts, roads, farms, quarries and villages dependent from Hierapolis. All the data collected are integrating into a GIS to produce archaeological maps.