In: Wagner W., Szekely, B. (eds.): ISPRS TC VII Symposium - 100 Years ISPRS, Vienna, Austria, July 5-7, 2010, IAPRS, Vol. XXXVIII, Part 7B 
160 
THE LIGHT FANTASTIC: USING AIRBORNE LIDAR IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL 
SURVEY 
S. Crutchley 
Aerial Survey & Investigation, Research Department, Conservation and Protection, English Heritage, Kemble Drive, 
Swindon, Wilts SN2 2GZ UK - simon.crutchley@english-heritage.org.uk 
KEY WORDS: LIDAR, Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, LIDAR, Mapping, Analysis, Landscape, Understanding 
ABSTRACT: 
English Heritage is the national body with the responsibility for the survey and management of archaeological and historic remains 
in England. The Aerial Survey & Investigation team within the Research Department deals with the recording and interpretation of 
sites and landscapes visible on aerial imagery. In England aerial photography has been examined in this way for over 40 years, but it 
is only in the last decade that the potential of using lidar for archaeological survey has become apparent. As greater interest has 
developed in the technique and its use has become more widespread, it became clear that there was a need to produce guidance to 
help those intending to use the data for archaeological survey. Lidar data can be immensely useful and has unrivalled capabilities for 
mapping in certain environments, such as within particular types of woodland. There are, however, still lots of uncertainties within 
the broader archaeological community about just what it can and cannot do. There are also many aspects of the data collection that 
need to be clearly understood and correctly specified if the data provided is to be as useful as possible. To this end English Heritage 
has produced a set of guidelines to help those intending to use lidar for archaeological survey. These cover the major aspects of data 
collection (i.e. issues of resolution and data formats), as well as issues related to using the data in day-to-day survey ranging from 
producing viable hard copy printouts for use in the field, to mapping with fully interactive raster surfaces in CAD and GIS. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
England has a very long history in the use of aerial remote 
sensing in its broadest sense, for research into aspects of the 
cultural heritage. It is also recognised as one of the pioneering 
nations in this field and has developed techniques and systems 
that are used by many other countries. The earliest aerial 
photograph of an archaeological site in England was taken of 
Stonehenge over 100 years ago from a tethered balloon; the 
earliest mapping from archaeological aerial photographs was 
carried out less than 30 years later (Crawford & Keiller 1928) 
and it was only ten years later that entire landscapes were being 
mapped (Crawford 1934-38). Extensive landscapes in this 
country have been mapped from aerial photographs for over 50 
years with a national programme of mapping dating from the 
late 1980s. By contrast airborne lidar has only been recognised 
as a potential new tool since the turn of the century and as such 
is still very much in its infancy. Interest in the technique, 
however, is growing at an increasing rate and its use is 
becoming more widespread within the archaeological world. 
The experience of English Heritage, working through a number 
of projects with various partner organisations, has shown that 
there is a need for guidance to help those intending to use the 
data for archaeological survey. To this end English Heritage has 
recently produced a set of guidelines, aimed at end users of 
lidar data (Crutchley & Crow 2009). It is not the aim of this 
paper to reproduce the guidance in full, but rather to highlight 
how the guidance came about and how lidar has been developed 
to work as a practical day to day mapping tool, together with 
noting some of the key issues raised. 
2. HISTORY 
archaeological community about how to get the best use out of 
the lidar data. For example, for the most part airborne lidar is 
well suited to large area survey such as is categorised as 
English Heritage Level 2 survey. Details of the different levels 
of survey defined by English Heritage are given in the guidance 
document on understanding the archaeology of landscapes 
(English Heritage 2007). Where more detailed survey is 
required (and ground survey is not thought to be appropriate) it 
may be more fitting to use photogrammetry, including digital 
photogrammetry, that has the benefit of allowing both stereo 
viewing of colour imagery and the creation of DTMs (Stone & 
Clowes 2004). English Heritage has experienced many of the 
issues surrounding the use of lidar during the last ten years 
whilst the application of lidar for archaeological survey in this 
country was at the developmental stage (Holden et al 2002). 
After a series of projects beginning with Stonehenge World 
Heritage Site (Bewley et al 2005) working through the Forest of 
Dean (Devereux et al 2005; Hoyle 2007), Witham Valley 
(Crutchley 2006), the Mendip Hills (Truscoe 2006 & 2008) and 
Savemake Forest (Crutchley 2008; Crutchley et al 2010) we 
have now reached a stage where we are confident that the lidar 
data, in various forms, can be effectively utilised for 
archaeological research and can be integrated into the practical 
day to day mapping and interpretation carried out by the Aerial 
Survey & Investigation team. 
3. USING THE DATA 
The experience of using lidar data has shown that whilst it can 
be applied to any type of landscape it is particularly useful in 
two areas, woodland and upland areas that have not seen 
intensive modem ploughing. 
There is no doubt that lidar is an extremely useful tool in the 
analysis of certain landscapes, such as deciduous woodland. 
There are, however, still many questions within the broader 
3.1 Woodland 
Because of its ability to penetrate certain types of woodland 
canopy and reveal the archaeological remains below, lidar is