Landscape applications of photogrammetry using unmanned aerial vehicles

James O'Driscoll

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.09.010

Landscape applications of photogrammetry using unmanned aerial vehicles

James O'Driscoll

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

36 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Photogrammetry is quickly becoming an important, cost effective technique for recording cultural heritage. Beyond the micro-scale of site evaluation, however, there are also effective landscape applications, with drone-based image collection allowing for large-scale survey. This combination of highly portable technology, which is not fully automated, can be used to create accurate and dense three-dimensional models at a fraction of the cost of LiDAR, and often at a much high spatial resolution. Yet, despite this, few studies have assessed the viability of this technique in regard to landscape studies. Those that have, such as Muñoz-Nieto et al. (2014), highlight the effectiveness of this technique and its ease of use. This paper assesses the viability of this technology for mapping large archaeological sites such as hillforts, providing a case study for its application to landscape archaeology.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	32-44
Number of pages	13
Journal	Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Volume	22
Early online date	18 Sept 2018
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.09.010
Publication status	Published - Dec 2018

Bibliographical note

The author would like to thank the various colleagues who read early drafts of this paper, as well as the two anonymous reviewers whose comments and suggests helped to improve and focus the final paper. I would also like to thank the Royal Irish Academy and the Leverhulme funded Comparative Kingship Project for support.

Funding Information:
Survey of the site was funded by a Royal Irish Academy grant which aimed to record in detail the Western Stone Forts on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in Ireland. In total, 166 geo-tagged aerial images were captured, resulting in the generation of a DSM and orthomosaic 11.69 ha in size ( ). This took approximately 17 min to collect in-field. The DSM consists of 13,519,874 three-dimensional data points with an average density of 186.84 points per square metre. This data was then processed in GIS to produce hillshade ( ) and slope ( ) models which were analysed to create a plan ( ) of the visible archaeological features. Figs. 3–4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. 7

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

Drone
GIS
Hillforts
Landscape archaeology
Photogrammetry
Topographical survey

Access to Document

10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.09.010

Cite this

@article{eacf14da311543ccbd59896b43b42ba4,

title = "Landscape applications of photogrammetry using unmanned aerial vehicles",

abstract = "Photogrammetry is quickly becoming an important, cost effective technique for recording cultural heritage. Beyond the micro-scale of site evaluation, however, there are also effective landscape applications, with drone-based image collection allowing for large-scale survey. This combination of highly portable technology, which is not fully automated, can be used to create accurate and dense three-dimensional models at a fraction of the cost of LiDAR, and often at a much high spatial resolution. Yet, despite this, few studies have assessed the viability of this technique in regard to landscape studies. Those that have, such as Mu{\~n}oz-Nieto et al. (2014), highlight the effectiveness of this technique and its ease of use. This paper assesses the viability of this technology for mapping large archaeological sites such as hillforts, providing a case study for its application to landscape archaeology.",

keywords = "Drone, GIS, Hillforts, Landscape archaeology, Photogrammetry, Topographical survey",

author = "James O'Driscoll",

note = "The author would like to thank the various colleagues who read early drafts of this paper, as well as the two anonymous reviewers whose comments and suggests helped to improve and focus the final paper. I would also like to thank the Royal Irish Academy and the Leverhulme funded Comparative Kingship Project for support. Funding Information: Survey of the site was funded by a Royal Irish Academy grant which aimed to record in detail the Western Stone Forts on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in Ireland. In total, 166 geo-tagged aerial images were captured, resulting in the generation of a DSM and orthomosaic 11.69 ha in size ( ). This took approximately 17 min to collect in-field. The DSM consists of 13,519,874 three-dimensional data points with an average density of 186.84 points per square metre. This data was then processed in GIS to produce hillshade ( ) and slope ( ) models which were analysed to create a plan ( ) of the visible archaeological features. Figs. 3–4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. 7 Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 Elsevier Ltd",

year = "2018",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.09.010",

language = "English",

volume = "22",

pages = "32--44",

journal = "Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports",

issn = "2352-409X",

publisher = "Elsevier",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Landscape applications of photogrammetry using unmanned aerial vehicles

AU - O'Driscoll, James

N1 - The author would like to thank the various colleagues who read early drafts of this paper, as well as the two anonymous reviewers whose comments and suggests helped to improve and focus the final paper. I would also like to thank the Royal Irish Academy and the Leverhulme funded Comparative Kingship Project for support. Funding Information: Survey of the site was funded by a Royal Irish Academy grant which aimed to record in detail the Western Stone Forts on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in Ireland. In total, 166 geo-tagged aerial images were captured, resulting in the generation of a DSM and orthomosaic 11.69 ha in size ( ). This took approximately 17 min to collect in-field. The DSM consists of 13,519,874 three-dimensional data points with an average density of 186.84 points per square metre. This data was then processed in GIS to produce hillshade ( ) and slope ( ) models which were analysed to create a plan ( ) of the visible archaeological features. Figs. 3–4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. 7 Publisher Copyright: © 2018 Elsevier Ltd

PY - 2018/12

Y1 - 2018/12

N2 - Photogrammetry is quickly becoming an important, cost effective technique for recording cultural heritage. Beyond the micro-scale of site evaluation, however, there are also effective landscape applications, with drone-based image collection allowing for large-scale survey. This combination of highly portable technology, which is not fully automated, can be used to create accurate and dense three-dimensional models at a fraction of the cost of LiDAR, and often at a much high spatial resolution. Yet, despite this, few studies have assessed the viability of this technique in regard to landscape studies. Those that have, such as Muñoz-Nieto et al. (2014), highlight the effectiveness of this technique and its ease of use. This paper assesses the viability of this technology for mapping large archaeological sites such as hillforts, providing a case study for its application to landscape archaeology.

AB - Photogrammetry is quickly becoming an important, cost effective technique for recording cultural heritage. Beyond the micro-scale of site evaluation, however, there are also effective landscape applications, with drone-based image collection allowing for large-scale survey. This combination of highly portable technology, which is not fully automated, can be used to create accurate and dense three-dimensional models at a fraction of the cost of LiDAR, and often at a much high spatial resolution. Yet, despite this, few studies have assessed the viability of this technique in regard to landscape studies. Those that have, such as Muñoz-Nieto et al. (2014), highlight the effectiveness of this technique and its ease of use. This paper assesses the viability of this technology for mapping large archaeological sites such as hillforts, providing a case study for its application to landscape archaeology.

KW - Drone

KW - GIS

KW - Hillforts

KW - Landscape archaeology

KW - Photogrammetry

KW - Topographical survey

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85053412677&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.09.010

DO - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.09.010

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85053412677

SN - 2352-409X

VL - 22

SP - 32

EP - 44

JO - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

JF - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

ER -

Landscape applications of photogrammetry using unmanned aerial vehicles

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this