Hi-tech Archeology - Roman Ruins Uncovered

[Theodosius the Great]

Hi-tech Archeology

[url:2s1zh425]http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050912/pf/050912-6_pf.html[/url]

[Magnus]

Hey, that's pretty darn cool!!!

How much of the site will they be able to excavate at any given time? I know little about how such digs happen.

[Jason Hoffman]

Depends on amount of people and funding avaliable, think years not mounths.

[Goffredo]

Hi guys
using Google Earth
I tried looking for Hadrian's wall but the resolution is too poor.
Is it a feature or a bug (my lousy PC)?

[caiusbeerquitius]

For everything else but the US there are so far no high-resolution pics
Only for a few areas, which are in a browner shade, there is better resolution available.

[Antonius Lucretius]

Aerial pictures were a giant improvement in the field of archaeology and no doubt satellite pictures are another giant step. I am thinking not only about european archaeology, but also about pre-columbian archaeology where almost everything is still to be discovered and more often that not archaeological sites are almost inaccessible by land.

Goffredo: "This sentnce has three erors."

Sentnce: 1st error.
Eror: 2nd error.
The fact that there are two errors only: the 3rd error.
Ha!

[Goffredo]

But then the sentence is true! Hmmm. The sentence ocillates between being wrong and true. Different levels of truth! Ah che bello

[Arahne]

I suppose that this is the site?
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b169/ ... parma4.jpg

[Theodosius the Great]

Aerial pictures were a giant improvement in the field of archaeology and no doubt satellite pictures are another giant step.

Yup, now you don't have to soil your hands in 2,000 year old muck :lol:

Well, not yet. Maybe soon though :wink:

[Gaius Decius Aquilius]

Here is a link to world wide imagery. There is an international standard restricting shared satellite imagery to 5m. resolution, unless that has changed.

http://geoengine.nima.mil/geospatial/SW ... _roam.html

Use the point and click navigation, or lat/long to go where you want.

When imagery is combined with a Geographical information System (GIS) it is the optimal tool for site specific analysis. For those of you who may not know, A GIS differs from a CAD in that it is a spatial database with a graphic interface. Like "Plot all find sites of Segmentata type fittings that are within 1000 m. of Auxillia fort locations > 100m. sq. and < 500m. sq." All you have to have is a regional data set. The purpose of GIS is analysis to spatial relationships and distributions at any level.

If there is no data set of Roman sites, it would be fun to build one... This would consist of location along with diagnostic and descriptive attributes. Once the database structure is built (critical, done right first time), and a data input protocol established, any interested party could download a browser GIS that is capable of analyzing and displaying data, without monkeying around with the original data set. Like ARC/Explorer.

I have licensed ARC/Info, and ArcView 9 (not cheap) on my home PC. I was trying to use GIS for crime analysis and emergency planning with local Police agencies, but there was no real interest in using GIS as a crime interdiction or emergency planning tool. Political turf wars prevailed. Now comes Katrina and Rita. Nuff said.

Gaius Decius Aquilius
(Ralph Izard)

[Goffredo]

Hi guys
for fun I used google-earth to look at Instanbul and was happy to see that photos are of good resolution. Check out the walls! From the satellite photos there are very long stretches of walls free of nearby buildings. I haven't visited Istanbul yet but when I do I will certainly take a taxi or rent a car to visit the walls.

[Arthes]

Greetings,
a fantastic find....
On a historical forum recently we were asked to use a similar sytem to look at what could be a Roman encampment and give our opinions.
I will be checking out 'oop here' in the North of England a bit more, I was told by somebody a few years back of something they saw that has since disappeared into the undergrowth and they couldn't remember exactly where it was...that sounded Roman. In a village I lived in for a few years, were supposedly the traces of a Roman road and Roman and Saxon dwellings....I used to be forever walking around trying to find traces of them..!!!

Yup, now you don't have to soil your hands in 2,000 year old muck

Oh I would love to.....!!!
regards
Arthes