Aerial Photography in Archaeology

The numerous archaeological investigations conducted in the last few years with the aid of aerial photography provide us with much material for reflecting on the importance of this tool, which is now fundamental in ancient landscapes studies, and an opportunity to restate some of the practice's basic concepts. With its many applications, aerial photography represents one of the greatest sources of useful material for studies in this field. A correct assessment of the question of method requires for aerial photography to be considered as a source of data from which to draw a seemingly infinite amount of information in the course of a regional topographical investigation. It must be reaffirmed, however, that such line of research is valid only if founded upon solid cultural bases, connected to a well rooted tradition of studies and with professionalism and competence tied up with the activity on the territory. We are now witnessing the emergence of some inadequate practices, such as certain excessively technical abstractions (unfortunately in line with the present mentality), which seem more interested in the projects themselves than in the work context, or certain confusions, due to the lack of basic training, by which research instruments are sometimes confounded with disciplines (we allude here – to remain in our sphere – to survey, aerial recognition and relative oblique photographs). Among these “tools”, the use of aerial photography has known a notable increase in different directions: on the one hand the sectors that are open to experimenting with archaeological photo interpretation have increased, and on the other hand there is a pronounced interest in cartographic representations of the territory, both as cartography of base – essential support for territory knowledge and protection – and as photogrammetry, adapted to archaeological use. The last years have seen a significant development in the use of aerial reconnaissance and aerial photography in studies of ancient topography, with archaeologists acquiring their own oblique images, which, together with new remote sensing systems and technologies, represent the greatest advance in this field. Reference can be made here to infrared (false colour and thermal) photographic images, multispectral and hyperspectral scanning sensors, radar and LiDAR systems and the continuous evolution of the use of satellite images.