Aerial photography is the simplest and easiest to understand of all the remote sensing techniques. All that it requires is some sort of camera and a way to get it airborne, above the potential archaeological site. From a higher vantage point, variations within the site become obvious that would have been totally unnoticed from the ground. Hot air balloons, airplanes, helicopters, and tethered blimps are all potentially useful ways of getting these kinds of pictures.

History

Aerial observation began with the military after the development of the hot air balloon. It truly took root during the American civil war, a time when there were also advancements in photography. By the beginning of the 20th century, cameras were getting smaller and taking sharper photographs while balloons were becoming more common and more durable.

Early efforts of applying this technology to archaeology focused on known monuments, such as Stonehenge, which was the subject of perhaps the first archaeological aerial photo shoot. During World War I, further advancements were made to the camera, including high speed film and film spools to make reconnaissance photography faster and better. That set the stage for photos being taken with a standard camera from something airborne. Later advancements, which improved the photos themselves, include color film and infrared color film.

"The first known aerial photographs of an archaeological site were taken from a war balloon by Lieutenant P. H. Sharpe in the early 1900s. The target was Stonehenge in England. During World War I, photographers conducting military reconnaissance flights kept running across sites of archaeological interest. It wasn't long before military officers began actively seeking out such sites on their own.

One such pioneer was Lieutenant-Colonel G. A. Beazeley, who discovered the extensive outlines of ancient canals in Mesopotamia's Tigris-Euphrates plain. But as useful as aerial photographs are, they have their limitations: namely, airplanes can fly only so high and human eyes can see only so much." (Nova Online)

Uses in Archaeology

Photographs from the air allow an archaeologist to easily see aspects of the site that are invisible from a ground based vantage point without some very intense mapping. The lay of ancient riverbeds, prehistoric roadways, large scale affects on vegetation, and the layout of large monuments are all examples of common uses of aerial photography.

Cost

Since aerial photography requires only a standard camera and film, the main expense comes from renting an aircraft to take the archaeologist over the site. This varies widely from area to area.

Links

Aerial Archive