PHOTOGRAMMETRICAL APPLICATIONS TO AERIAL ARCHAEOLOGY AT THE INSTITUTE FOR PREHISTORY OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA, AUSTRIA
Michael Doneus
Institute for Prehistory, University of Vienna
Franz-Kleingasse 1, A-1190 Wien, Austria
e-mail: michael.doneus@univie.ac.at
ISPRS Comission V, Working Group 4
KEY WORDS: Archaeology, Cultural_Heritage, Mapping, Visualization, Aerial Archaeology, Prospection
ABSTRACT
The presented paper tries to introduce non-terrestrical applications of photogrammertry within archaeology. Especially
aerial archaeology, which is a widely used prospection technique, needs photogrammetry to map the buried remains of
archaeologigal sites. At the Institute for Prehistory at the University of Vienna photogrammetry has been becoming an
essential part not only of aerial archaeology. Using photogrammetrical hard- and software, vertical and oblique
photographs are analized, digital terrain models are measured and digital orthophotos calculated. All these data are
used to enhance the understanding of a site’s contexts, reconstruct archaeological landscapes thus bringing the past
back to (virtual) life.
KURZFASSUNG
Die vorliegende Arbeit versucht nicht-terrestrische photogrammetrische Anwendungen für die Archäologie vorzustellen.
Unter diesen wird die Photogrammetrie vor allem im Rahmen der Luftbildarchäologie, einer weit verbreiteten
Prospektionsmethode, benötigt. Dabei werden die Spuren archäologischer Fundstellen dokumentiert und kartiert. Am
Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte der Universität Wien hat sich die Photogrammetrie zu einem unverzichtbaren
Bestandteil (nicht nur) der luftbildarchäologischen Forschung entwickelt. Senkrecht- und Schrägaufnahmen werden
mittels photogrammetrischer Hard- und Software ausgewertet, digitale Geländemodelle vermessen und interpoliert
sowie digitale Orthophotos berechnet. Die gewonnenen Daten helfen dem Archáologen, Zusammenhánge leichter zu
erkennen. Sie ermöglichen außerdem, archäologische Landschaften zu rekonstruieren, visualisieren und animieren,
und somit die Vergangenheit zu beleben.
Among several different prospection techniques, aerial
archaeology is a very cheap and productive aid for
archaeological survey: Archaeological sites show up on
the ground surface, depending on their state of
preservation, by light-shadow-contrasts (shadow marks),
tonal differences in the soil (soilmarks) or differences in
height and colour of the cultivated cereal (cropmarks). In
that way, settlements, graveyards, fortifications etc.
produce spezific structures, that can be identified easier
from a high viewpoint. Especially cropmarks sometimes
produce detailled and clear projections of the buried
1. INTRODUCTION
The potential of photogrammetrical support to
archaeology is quite big. There are several different fields
of application covering both aerial and close-range
photogrammetry. This paper tries to present both
photogrammetrie's assistance to aerial archaeology and
its usage at the institute for prehistory of the University of
Vienna.
2. AERIAL ARCHAEOLOGY
It is not only the upstanding remains of our cultural
heritage, that is increasingly threatened with destruction.
There is an even bigger amount of archaeological sites
still hidden in the subsoil. Many of them are in a very bad
condition due to intensive agriculture and the exploitation
of our resources. Others are already vanished. If they
were prior unknown - which comes true of a good deal of
these - they are leaving irretreavable holes in the
archaeological landscape. To prevent this, the
archaeologist tries to detect, document and map
archaeological sites, aiming to protect them or at least to
extract from them as much information as possible,
before they are destroyed.
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structures (Figure 1).
Both vertical and oblique aerial photographs are used for
interpretation. Photogrammetrical analysis of vertical
ones is, due to the calibrated cameras, the more or less
met normal case and the visual angle, relatively easy, but
their motiv is a certain area. Archaeological sites are - if
at all - recorded by chance and certainly not from the best
angle of view. At oblique photographs, which are made by
ourselves, ancient traces are the main motiv. Here, the
photographs are taken from the most advantageous
position, in order to improve interpretation. Their
disadvantage lies in the used "amateur"-cameras, that
have sometimes big (and unknown) distortions.
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXI, Part B5. Vienna 1996
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