GIS Application in France Archaeology

8/9/2019 GIS Application in France Archaeology

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A feel for the landscape of parts of !urgundy is provided by this ground photo.

Study Area The research area consists of the valley of the Arrou# $iver, a tributary

of the 2oire $iver, in the !urgundy region of east-central "rance . The study area is shown from space with this S 3T image that has been

merged with 04+ data to give a three-dimensional sense of relief )somewhate#aggerated 1 Autun is in the dar/ area in the upper right&

http://www.franceway.com/regions/bourgogn/intro.htm

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http://www.franceway.com/regions/bourgogn/intro.htm

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=hile the region retains a mostly rural character, there are severalmodern threats to cultural resources in the region. The most serious of theseare a series of gravel mines )sabliers that run along the ban/s of the river.

These mines are ta/ing much of the land immediately adjacent to the river. The mines are destroying a large number of archaeological resources in thearea, and one aspect of the project is to locate and document these sitesbefore they are destroyed.

Aeria& '%oto"ra(%yArchaeologists have been using aerial prospecting and photography

since just after =orld =ar 3ne to locate buried structure, roads, and otherfeatures of ancient landscapes. Several archaeologists who served as pilots inthat war noticed strange circles and s:uare patterns from the air that were notvisible on the ground. After the war they returned to these locations to 6ndthat these were actually archaeological sites, ancient roads, etc. 4arly

pioneers of ;aerial archaeology; conducted the 6rst such surveys in 4urope andthe +iddle 4ast in the >?'(;s. *harles 2indbergh also conducted similarsurveys in *entral America in the >?7(;s. @ow is it possible to see ancientlandscapes and the remains of structures that can be a thousand years old

"aint lines and color changes visible from the air are often invisible onthe ground, and can be caused by buried cultural remains. Aerialarchaeologists refer to these as crop, soil, and shadow mar/s. *rop mar/sform because there can be notiecable variations in crop vigor, color, or heightwhen crops or natural vegetation grows over buried walls or other culturalremains. T%ese are ca&&ed )#e"ati*e) cro( +ar!s , as the crop is lessvigorous due to the lac/ of moisture or root vigor caused by the buried walls.

The opposite are ;positive; crop mar/s, where the crops are taller or morevigorous when growing over pits or post holes. There is more moisture andbetter root growth, so the crops grow better. These di erences are heightenedin times of crop stress, such as a drought. In the major "rench drought of >?BCthousands of new archaeological sites were discovered from the air. Soildi erences also can be visible, such as where a road or ditch was 6lled in withsoil from a di erent place. These are called ;soil; mar/s . Small variations intopography causing shadows that are visible early or late in the day, these arecalled ;shadow; mar/s.

>8-'(& The aerial photo below shown a $oman %illa discovered in >?B?during a low level aerial survey for this project. This is a ;negative; crop mar/.=hat /ind of detail of the structure can you see 2oo/ in the upper rightportion of the photo. There is a green s:uare, a ;positive; crop mar/. =hat doyou thin/ that this might be

http://www.univie.ac.at/Luftbildarchiv/

http://www.informatics.org/rsm/soil.jpg

http://www.informatics.org/rsm/shadow.jpg

http://www.univie.ac.at/Luftbildarchiv/

http://www.informatics.org/rsm/soil.jpg

http://www.informatics.org/rsm/shadow.jpg



>8-'>& The ground photo below was ta/en the same day )see the personwal/ing in the bac/ground for scale . *an you see the outline of the structureIf you were wal/ing along, would you be able to tell there is a buried structurehere

'ro,ect -istoric Aeria& '%oto"ra(%yAn e#cellent source of remote sensing information for archaeologists is

archival aerial photography, the older the better. D.S. Army Air *orps aerialrecconnaissance photos of the region dating from September >?EE wereac:uired from the D.S. 0efense Intelligence Agency using a "reedom of Information Act $e:uest )"3IA . These photos were ac:uired during the Alliedpush into the region near the end of the Second =orld =ar. 3ver '(( blac/and white vertical aerial photos of a scale of appro#imately >&E(,((( wereac:uired and have been manually and digitally analy ed to search forarchaeological sites, roads, etc. Fumerous features have been located andmapped.



>8-''& 2oo/ at the photo below. =hat /ind of mar/s do you see =hat doyou thin/ they are

>8-'7& !elow are a >?EE aerial photo of +t. 0ardon and the >? 7>&'8,((( IGF map. =hat di erences do you see



Moder# Re+ote Se#si#" Data This project has used a variety of modern remote sensing data. Since

archaeological remains are very small, airborne data are very useful inconjunction with satellite data.

The Aries scanner system is a "rench airborne digital radiometer systemthat was used on this project. It was constructed by the Laboratoire deMetrorologie Dynamique )*F$S, "rance . It has two channels, normally setwith one in the area of the visible and near infrared, and the other in thethermal portion of the spectrum ) erisset and Tabbagh, >? >&> 8 . Internalcalibration of the thermal scanner can provide apparent temperaturerecording capability. The spatial resolution of the data is dependent on aircraftelevation, but >-' meter data are typical for missions such as ours. "or thisproject, the A$I4S scanner system was mounted in a single engine ilatusaircraft, and three corridors within the research area were 5own in >? B.



This airborne thermal scanner image shows the location of the $omanvilla structure which has been destroyed by a gravel mining operation )shownby a star on the image . The 6eld is now a la/e. T%is is a $air&y co++o#situatio# i# Euro(e a#d (art o$ t%e (ro,ect acti*ities is to &ocatearc%aeo&o"ica& resources so t%at t%ey ca# e studied e$ore t%ey aredestroyed y +oder# acti*ites .

>8-'E& In the airborne thermal image above can you see any patterns inany of the 6elds

A somewhat more ambiguous e#ample appears in the image below. Thisis the area in the upper left of the above infrared image. The <arrow)H < mar/spoint to a faint but perhaps meaningful curved )arc pattern which may alsobe an ancient wall or some other buried structural feature.



>8-'8& @ow can thermal I$ imagery help in 6nding buried archaeologicalremains

S'OT I+a"ery The Autun project has used a variety of satellite imagery over the years,

including 2andsat +SS ) ( meter and "rench S 3T )'( and >( meter data. The S 3T data has a spatial resolution of '( meters for multi-spectral data,which records information in three bands of the spectrum, and a >( meterspatial resolution for a panchromatic band. The resolution of these imagesavailable from space can provide signi6cant improvements in the utility of these data for regional archaeological and environmental applications,especially )as in "rance where the 6eld si e is very small. @ere is a false colorS 3T image that includes part of the research area. In this image, Autun is atthe upper right and +t. !eauvrag at the upper left.

Accurate modern landcover maps were produced using S 3T satelliteimagery. The upper part of this ne#t image classi6cation corresponds to theabove S 3T scene1 loo/ for the blue horseshoe pattern to 6t it in.



Radarsat I+a"ery*anadian $A0A$SAT-> satellite imagery has been ac:uired for the region

on E Fovember, >?? , shown below. =ith a spatial resolution of meters, thissystem is di erent from S 3T or 2andsat in that it is an active radar systemthat sends its own burst of electromagnetic radiation down to the groundwhich bounces o the surface and recorded by the satellite. This system canoperate day or night and through cloud cover. It provides a di erent and newway of visuali ing the area. The 6rst scene below shows the area aroundAutun. !elow it is another $adarsat image that illustrates the hilly topographyin parts of the study area.



GIS A#a&ysis: T%e 'ro,ect GIS Data ase The GIS data base covers an area of about 7( by C( /m, covering the

majority of the Arrou# $iver %alley and its immediate environs. The currentbasic raster layers of the GIS data base include& e&e*atio# )generated fromthe "rench digital elevation data as(ect )derived from the digital elevation

data s&o(e )derived from the digital elevation data S'OT i+a"es )'(meter false color infrared S'OT i+a"es )>( meter panchromatic &a#duse/&a#d co*er +a(s )derived from Spot image data "eo&o"y )generatedfrom >& (,((( geology map of the upper ' 7 part of the region $au&ts )fromthe same >& (,((( geology map %ydro&o"y )from the three >&8(,((( topomaps +oder# roads )from the three >&8(,((( topo maps a#cie#t roads)from project information and old maps !#o0# Ce&tic %i&&$orts )from projectinformation and old maps . 0ata layers showing di erent distance categories,or bu er ones, from roads, streams, faults, archaeological sites, hillforts, andancient roads )also generated from the data above . Additional data haverecently been added that were derived from the >&'8,((( maps.

Two of the thematic maps listed above are of special utility in the GISanalysis described below. 3n the left is a map of the *eltic road networ/developed in or after $oman times. 3n the right is a map of /nown hill forts of



the time. These are helpful in calculating distance from any vantage point tospeci6c features.

-istoric Ma( Di"iti1atio#An original year >C8? map of the region and two >B8? maps of the

research area were digiti ed using E,((( by E,((( digital **0 array devicethat converts maps or photographs into digital format. The >C8? map whichwas scanned from the original, entered into the GIS, georeferenced, andentered into the GIS system as a data layer li/e any other. This map is :uitegeneral in its spatial accuracy, but it is the oldest map yet found that coversthe research area. @ere is part of this map&

Two >B8? maps were also scanned into the system and patched togetherto ma/e a single data layer. @ere is the *assini map centered around +t.0ardon. It clearly shows the roads, rivers, topography, and every individualhouse and structure.



These >B8? maps were produced for the famous *assini triangulationsurvey of "rance conducted in the mid >B((;s. This massive wor/ too/ three

generations of the *assini family to complete, and was the 6rst accuratesurvey of an entire nation using modern surveying and mapping techni:ues.



$eproductions of the maps are available for all of "rance from the InstitutGeographi:ue Fational in aris. These historic maps are e#tremely detailedand accurate, much more so than the older map we possess created >((years before it.

The *assini maps provide us with the oldest, reasonably accurate, recordof the location of roads, bridges, towns, and villages of the area. It also showsinformation about the vegetation and land-cover of the area at that time. Themaps contain an astounding level of detail, and have been digiti ed torepresent a series of GIS layers representing the cultural and environmentalma/eup of the area at that time.



GIS A#a&ysis: 2i#e3O$3Si"%t Deter+i#atio#3ne of the more interesting results from the GIS analysis was the &i#e3

o$3site a#a&ysis )+adry and $a/os >??C . This GIS techni:ue allows one todetermine what parts of the landscape are visible from any given location. Theresearch demonstrated that the old *eltic road networ/ connecting thehillforts of the area tended to follow within the line-of-sight of the hillforts,rather than ta/e more direct paths )as originally proposed in +adry and*rumley >??( . =e have run the same line-of-site analysis from four locationson each of the /nown *eltic hillforts in the research area . These four line-of-site maps for each hillfort were then combined to generate a map of completeinter-visibility from each entire hillfort, assuming that the forts were mannedby watchers from each of the four <corners< of the ramparts. An eye height of 8 meters above the terrain was used, assuming that towers of just over 7meters height were strategically located around the ramparts )and that theeye level was just under ' meters above that height .

These individual line-of-site maps are combined to produce the mapbelow which shows )in red the total portion of the research area and eachground transect that is within line-of-site of each hillfort, and for the totalnetwor/ of hillforts in the region. This analysis shows that the *eltic roadsde6nitely tend to follow paths that stay within the view of the hillforts, even if they are less direct or re:uire a steeper climb. Additional wor/ was done tomodel the location of *eltic and Gallo-$oman roads where the e#act locationof segments is not /nown.

'redicti*e Mode&i#"Site location modeling is a useful GIS product for archaeologists who

wish to locate and protect un/nown cultural resources. It allows us to model



where archaeological sites of a given period may be located, based on the/nown site locations and various environmental and cultural data in the GIS.redictive models were developed on this project using site data generatedfrom 6eld surveys conducted in >?B and >?B?. A model based onenvironmental and cultural data was created that accounts for B .?J )E8 of 8B of all Gallo-$oman sites in only '?.'J of the total area that was 6eldsurveyed. The same model also includes C?.'J )7C of 8' of the Iron Age sitesand (.7J )E? of C> of the +edieval period sites located in the 6eld survey.

This model was then generali ed to include a much larger area surroundingthe transects )E.B times as large . Few layers in the GIS containing theselocations were produced along with new maps showing the areas with thehighest probability of site locations. These areas of higher probability of archaeological sites have a high correlation with areas that are threatened bycurrent gravel mining activities in the area.

*urrent research involves analysis of aerial photography and site surveys

using G S in the areas predicted to have higher site potential by the predictivemodels. *oordinates of high probabililty areas are entered into G S units,which are used in the 6eld to search for the e#act location of thearchaeological sites. G S receivers are also used in the aircraft whileconducting aerial prospecting and photography. The G S allows us to locateour position and the location of the photographs much easier than loo/ing onmaps for individual 6elds while the aircraft is ban/ing and turning.



These $oman sites tend to cluster along the rivers in 5at bottomlands,and also along the $oman roads. *eltic living sites tend to be more in uplandsand near the *eltic hillforts on the hilltops. The largest single area of highprobability is the area shown below, ne#t to the river, where the $oman villawas located and later destroyed. The gravel operations continue to wor/ in thearea, and researchers are trying to locate additional sites using thesetechni:ues before they are destroyed.



4isua&i1atio# a#d Si+u&atio# This project has used a variety of visuali ation tools to assist in better

understanding both the data and the region. Few technologies allow us toview our data in interesting ways from the laboratory when it is not possible tobe in the 6eld. "or e#ample, we can <5y< through the study area and loo/ atdi erent GIS layers draped over the terrain. "irst we need a digital elevationmodel )04+ showing the topography of the region. "or this project this wasgenerated from the "rench >&'8,((( scale topographic maps.

Shown on the left above is the gray-scale 04+ image of the Arrou# rivervalley. 2ower elevations along the river are shown in blac/, shading to whitewhich represents the highest terrain in the region, including the site of thehillforts. "rom this a slope steepness map, seen on the right, can be derivedusing colors to indicate small intervals of slope values in degrees. These datacan be displayed in several ways& one is the S 3T image of the study areawith topographic e ects superimposed, as we saw near the top of this page.

0rawing upon an appropriate topographic rendition, we can createperspective views that ultimately can be combined to produce a 7-0 5y-through of the valley )described below , which shows the region in three

dimensions as we 5y up the river. =e may choose to overlay any individual orcombination of GIS data layers in these views.As seen from an obli:ue aerial perspective, the GIS scene for an instant

might loo/ li/e this&



To generate the 5y-by, we have applied a program that uses input datasuch as we have created to generate a movie-li/e run through the scene.Kuic/time %irtual $eality )KT%$ lets us pan and oom interactively on ourcomputer )or over the web to see the actual view from given locations in thestudy area. This is very useful in determining the accuracy of 2ine of Sight GIScomputations, and also in allowing people to e#perience a virtual visit to theresearch area on the =eb. To view the Kuic/time %$ movie you will need todownload a free plug-in available from Apple *omputer )the software runs inboth +acintosh and =indows . "or futher information, clic/ on the%isuali ation word found on the @ome age of the =eb site set up by thisresearch team. That site also has bac/ground that supplements the overviewon this Tutorial page and has the .mov 6le. It is your choice as to trying todownload that 6le and run the movie. Dnless you already have Kuic/time, thatprogram ta/es up to an hour to download.

The visuali ation is outward from the perspective centered around thesummit of the *eltic hillfort of +t. 0ardon you have seen in the images. Loucan see the commanding view this hillfort had of the surrounding terrain, andportions of the *eltic ramparts which have survived intact.

Aerial imagery, and even more, GIS data are somewhat diMcult for manypeople to relate to. They are abstract and it is hard for many people to relate

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/

http://www.informatics.org/france/france.html

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/

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what they see on the computer screen with what is actually on the ground.%isuali ation tools li/e KT%$ allow us to bridge the gap between the imageryand reality, providing the ability for us to ;visit; the research area and comparethe actual landscape with what we see on the various images and GIS layers.

Co#c&usio#s This project has used a variety of tools to study the regional

archaeological patterns of a large area in "rance. articular emphasis has beenplaced on 6nding archaeological sites and then predicting the location of un/nown sites before they can be destroyed by modern land use practices. Itis the combination of new technologies and techni:ues, such as aerialphotography, GIS, G S, remote sensing, and visuali ation, that provides thegreatest value to the researchers. =or/ on this project is continuing.



"or more information o the Internet&>. Time;s patterns pieced An article for the DF* 4ndeavors maga ine about

this project'. Satellite remote sensing for archaeology7. Aerial archaeology An e#cellent overview of aerial archaeology by one of

the best sourcesE. G$ASS visuali ation Includes lin/s to other visuali ation programs8. DSGS GIS rovides an overview of GISC. Aerial archive lin/s )D. =ien An rich site dealing with archaeological

topics, including use of aerial and satellite imageryB. !ibliography for !urgundy Archaeology Study&. apers by Scott +adry )co-authors indicated

http://research.unc.edu/endeavors/win98/crumleytl.html

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/mjff/homepage.htm

http://www.univie.ac.at/Luftbildarchiv/intro/aa_aaint.htm

http://www.cecer.army.mil/grass/GRASS.main.html

http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/gis_poster/

http://www.univie.ac.at/Luftbildarchiv/links/aa_links.htm

http://research.unc.edu/endeavors/win98/crumleytl.html

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/mjff/homepage.htm

http://www.univie.ac.at/Luftbildarchiv/intro/aa_aaint.htm

http://www.cecer.army.mil/grass/GRASS.main.html

http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/gis_poster/

http://www.univie.ac.at/Luftbildarchiv/links/aa_links.htm



Re$ere#ce

2ine-of-sight and *ost Surface Techni:ues for $egional Archaeological$esearch in the Arrou# $iver %alley, )with 2. $a/os , >??C, in& Few+ethods, 3ld roblems& Geographic Information Systems in +odernArchaeological $esearch, edited by @. 0.G. +aschner. *enter forArchaeological Investigations, 3ccasional aper no. '7, pp. >(E->'C.

Applications of 0igital Terrain 0ata, Archival +aps, and @istorical Aerialhotographs for $egional Archaeological Analysis, )with $. =ince/ ,April ', >??8, paper presented at the '7rd annual meeting of the*omputer Applications in Archaeology conference, 2eiden, theFetherlands,

Dn 4mploe des Systemes de Teledetection et d;information Geographi:uedans une Analyse $egionale de $epartition Spatiales Archaeologi:ues,>??> In& Archeologues et 3rdinateurs, 2ettres d;Information du *entre

de $echerches Archeologi:ues. >B&>->>. aris& *entre Fationale de la$echerche Scienti6:ue.An Application of $emote Sensing and GIS in a $egional Archaeological Survey

)with *arole 2. *rumley , >??(. in Interpreting Space& GIS andArchaeology, N. Allen, S. Green, and 4. Oubrow, eds. Taylor P "rancis,2ondon.

Application des Systemes d;Information Geographi:ue InformatiseQ et de Teledetection en $eleve Archeologi:ue $egionale !ourgogne, "rance,et *aroline du Ford, DSA., >??( in 9ournees d;4tude Internationales&

Teledetection et *artographie Themati:ue en Archeologie, %albonne,"rance *F$S *$A.

$emote Sensing and GIS Analysis in 2arge Scale Survey 0esign in Forth+ississippi, 9ay 9ohnson, S. +adry, and T. Sever, %ol. B, Fumber ',=inter >? , pp. >'E->7> Southeastern Archaeology.$emote Sensing in a Temperate $egional Archaeological Survey in "rance,>? B in $egional 0ynamics& Southern !urgundy from the Iron Age tothe resent, edited by *. 2. *rumley and =. @. +ar:uardt-published byAcademic ress.

TQledetection,)$emote Sensing , >? C, in %ol. Fo. 8C pp. '-C. in 4chos 0uassQ, $evue eriodi:ue de l;Association 2es Amis 0u 0ardon,Gueugnon, "rance.

2a Grenouilliers erdue, >? 8, %ol l. Fo. 8E. in 4chos 0u assQ, $evueeriodi:ue de l;Association 2es Amis 0u 0ardon, Gueugnon, "rancewith 0r. *arole 2. *rumley.

$emote Sensing in Archaeology, in Archaeology, +ay-9une, l? 7 )l -l? .$eprinted in "rench in 4chos du assQ, !ulletin du 2es Amis du0ardon, Gueugnon, "rance, l? 8.

rimary Author& 0r. Scott +adry email& madryRinformatics.orgInformatics International, Inc. and 0ept. of Anthropology , DF*-*@

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.informatics.org/

http://www.unc.edu/depts/anthro

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.informatics.org/

http://www.unc.edu/depts/anthro

GIS Application in France Archaeology

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