Qualitative evaluation of COSMO SkyMed in the detection of earthen archaeological remains: the case of Pachamacac (Peru).

Lasaponara, Rosa and Masini, Nicola and Pecci, Antonio and Perciante, Felice and Pozzi Escott, Denise and Rizzo, Enzo and Scavone, Manuela and Sileo, Maria Qualitative evaluation of COSMO SkyMed in the detection of earthen archaeological remains: the case of Pachamacac (Peru). Journal of Cultural Heritage. ISSN 1778-3674 (In Press)

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Abstract

Archaeological prospection of earthen buried structures, namely non-fired sun-dried mud bricks mixed with organic material, is a critical challenge to address. In fact this building material exhibits a very low geophysical contrast compared to its surroundings and, therefore, earthen structures are very complex to be identified using remote sensing. In order to cope with this issue, in this paper we focus on the evaluation of satellite X-band radar data (COSMO-SkyMed) capability for detecting earthen buried structures in a desert area. The results obtained from satellite radar data have been validated for a test site in Pachacamac (Peru) by using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and geomagnetic techniques. The test site is outside the fenced protected zone of Pachacamac, today in the tentative UNESCO list. This paper is the first attempt made until now in evaluating the detectability of earthen archaeological remains using satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data. Outcomes from our investigations clearly point out that the approach we adopted can be useful applied for preventive archaeology and for the planning of future excavation campaigns.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Available online 7 December 2016
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Satellite remote sensing; SAR; COSMO-SkyMed; UAV; Pleiades; Earthen archaeology; Magnetometry; Archaeogeophysics; Inca; Pachacamac; Peru
Subjects:	600 Tecnologia - Scienze applicate
Depositing User:	dottoressa Stefania Santangelo
Date Deposited:	09 Mar 2017 11:20
Last Modified:	09 Mar 2017 11:20
URI:	http://eprints.bice.rm.cnr.it/id/eprint/15906

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