The concentration in this Action will be on providing support, both financial and technical, for aerial and ground-based survey work in parts of Europe where the use of remote sensing techniques is still in its infancy. While Britain, Germany, France and (more recently) Italy have used aerial survey extensively in recent decades there are other parts of Europe where remote sensing and aerial survey have yet to become everyday tools in the armoury of archaeologists and landscape specialists, whether for research, conservation or public communication.
The project will provide partners in Iceland, Scandinavia and other countries with additional help in their attempts to bring these techniques into fuller use in their own countries. Help will also be given for an expansion of survey work in Poland and Romania, for a initiative in Serbia, as well for air photo work of various kinds in different countries. In all of these countries emphasis will be placed on the essential follow-up work of photo-interpretation, mapping and dissemination of the results to specialists and the general public alike.
A particular objective will be to encourage this kind of work in Spain and Portugal, where aerial survey and other forms of remote sensing have so far been little used for exploration or conservation work. Intensive training schools will be mounted at least in Spain, Serbia, Hungary and Denmark, each of them introducing students and professionals to the principles and practice of "aerial archaeology', both in-flight and on the ground.
Smaller and less costly ground-based workshops will be held to introduce students and professionals to photo-interpretation, mapping, LiDAR data analyses, GIS and uses of the results in conservation work. In addition to these "practical' uses stress will also be laid on the role of aerial photographs in catching the public imagination and fostering concern for heritage landscapes and archaeological sites.
Working Package leader:
Hanna Stoger (Leiden University)