The use of satellite remote sensing in archaeology is rapidly spreading, with a growing interest from the archaeological community and important results at different levels of application. The paper has been developed within the Ebla Chora Project (ECP), in the framework of ERG IDEAS Programme, which offers a unique opportunity to test theories and models about the rise and structure of the early state by expanding the level of analysis to the landscape around the archaeological site. In fact, the case of Ebla, in northern Syria, is certainly one of the most favourable ones for enhancing our understanding of mechanisms of functioning of the early state. The discovery, in 1975, of royal archives consisting of 17.000 cuneiform tablets dating to c. 2300 BC has supplied the scientific community with an invaluable mass of documents dealing with all aspects of state organization. With the aim of building a multi-tier explanatory pattern which can be applied to other early foci of urbanization in the Near East or elsewhere, the research in the ECP encompasses different disciplines in a multidisciplinary modern scientific approach, involving e. g. Geomatics, Geology, Geomorphology, Agriculture, Landscape Analysis. In this context, remote sensing data supply an invaluable source of information for the current situation of the territory and for the recent past, as well as providing essential keys for interpreting ancient patterns (Lasaponara & Masini 2012). Classification of multispectral imagery, 30 feature extraction and several image analysis procedures are being carried out and the first results are presented here.
Remote Sensing as an essential tool for a multidisciplinary project in archaeology: the case of the Ebla Chora Project
BITELLI, GABRIELE;MANDANICI, EMANUELE;MANTELLINI, SIMONE;MARCHETTI, NICOLO';VITTUARI, LUCA
2013
Abstract
The use of satellite remote sensing in archaeology is rapidly spreading, with a growing interest from the archaeological community and important results at different levels of application. The paper has been developed within the Ebla Chora Project (ECP), in the framework of ERG IDEAS Programme, which offers a unique opportunity to test theories and models about the rise and structure of the early state by expanding the level of analysis to the landscape around the archaeological site. In fact, the case of Ebla, in northern Syria, is certainly one of the most favourable ones for enhancing our understanding of mechanisms of functioning of the early state. The discovery, in 1975, of royal archives consisting of 17.000 cuneiform tablets dating to c. 2300 BC has supplied the scientific community with an invaluable mass of documents dealing with all aspects of state organization. With the aim of building a multi-tier explanatory pattern which can be applied to other early foci of urbanization in the Near East or elsewhere, the research in the ECP encompasses different disciplines in a multidisciplinary modern scientific approach, involving e. g. Geomatics, Geology, Geomorphology, Agriculture, Landscape Analysis. In this context, remote sensing data supply an invaluable source of information for the current situation of the territory and for the recent past, as well as providing essential keys for interpreting ancient patterns (Lasaponara & Masini 2012). Classification of multispectral imagery, 30 feature extraction and several image analysis procedures are being carried out and the first results are presented here.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
