From the Aerial Photo to High Resolution Satellite Image. Tools for the Archaeological Research

The aim of this project is to evaluate the possibilities that the high resolution satellite image offers in the field of archaeological research. More specific, the present study concerns the identification of buried archaeological remains with the aid of the Pansharpened (fused) image Quickbird-2. For this purpose, the fused image (spatial resolution 0.70m and spectral resolution 4 bands), that covers an extended area of the archaeological site of Philippoi in N. Greece, has been used. The new image has been produced from the fusion of two ortho images. The latest have been derived from the panchromatic image and the multispectral image as well. The generation of the above two ortho images has been based on a DTM of the area, photogrammetrically produced, and on the Quickbird sensor model. The fusion has been established with the PCA technique. The fused image has been evaluated with statistical criterions. Enhancement technique, as PCA was applied to facilitate the optical interpretation for the detection of the revealing traces. Comparing the interpretation results with the results coming out from previous research, based on photogrammetric data, has been found out that both of them converge. The advantage of the use of the fused image is that it offers additional valuable information to the archaeologists and/or to other technology oriented experts, as for example information about the land use etc. Additionally, the high spatial resolution of it offers the possibility for an accurate surveying of the detected traces.