Archaeology via Internet

[mirrorshard]

Via boing boing - "Google Earth turns up Roman ruin in blogger's back yard".

http://www.boingboing.net/2005/09/17/google_earth_turns_u.html

Looking for shadows like this is a standard technique, because the shadow makes the buried archaeology stand out by highlighting the height difference.

But it's normally done either by overflying in an actual plane, or buying satellite time, which gets expensive.

Comments

[malvino.livejournal.com]

Groovy, wonder what's in my back yard :)

[hellison.livejournal.com]

There are also GIS programmes you can buy (if you have a few grand to spare) that will let you run a 'day' of shading to see what shows up at different times. The Discovery lot - www.discoveryprogramme.ie used it to great effect at Tara, showed up lots of stuff that had never been seen before.

Aerial photographs are a great way of finding stuff tho. I have an unbreakable tendancy to 'spot' things when approaching airports, much the same way I can't pass a hole in the ground without looking in.
Circling Heathrow is fun, and if you ever fly into Belfast International, keep an eye out, you can see loads ;)

[unsomnambulist.livejournal.com]

That's insanely amazing. ;)