Archaeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives

of a ballistic missile early warning radar facility in Latvia (Fowler 2010 ) A further example of this application is shown in Fig 46 which comprises an extract from a gambit photograph that was acquired by Mission 4031 on 20 August 1966 of the Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) launch site at Nigrande in Latvia Guided by a declassi fi ed 1964 Photographic Interpretation Report of the site from the CREST archive (NPIC 1964 ) the four elongated launch pads for the R-14SS-5 SKEAN missiles can be readily identi fi ed together with four lsquoready buildingsrsquo in which the missiles were stored and the two control bunkers between each pair of launch pads Some 300 m to the northeast of the launch site the technical section of the site support facility comprising three large buildings and several smaller build-ings can be identi fi ed The administration and housing section can be identi fi ed some 1000 m to the east of the launch site As many of the military installations that form the twentieth centuryrsquos lsquodefence heritagersquo become lost contemporary gambit and corona photographs represent a unique source for use in the study of the mate-rial culture of this period

Finally with a spatial resolution comparable to that of the SPOT satellite panchro-matic sensor which has been shown to be capable of detecting archaeological fea-tures (Shennan and Donoghue 1992 Fowler 1993 ) the KH-9 hexagon mapping camera has the potential to detect archaeological features such as pre-Roman rectilin-ear fi eld systems on the island of Hvar Croatia (Fowler 2004a ) and the ramparts of

Fig 46 The Soviet SS-14 IRBM launch site at Nigrande Latvia Extract from KH-7 gambit photograph acquired by Mission 4032 on 20 August 1966 ( Data available from the US Geological Survey EROS Data Center Sioux Falls SD USA )

634 Declassi fi ed Intelligence Satellite Photographs

the city of Nineveh as shown in Fig 41 Whilst its low spatial resolution constrains it to the detection of relatively large archaeological features when recti fi ed and geo-referenced using orthorecti fi ed Landsat 7 imagery (available online from the NASA Global Land Cover Facility httpglcfumiacsumdedudatalandsat ) it can be used to provide a 10-m resolution base map for use in a Geographical Information System and as an alternative to SPOT panchromatic imagery to rectify corona photographs without recourse to survey on the ground (Casana and Cothren 2008 )

46 Looking Ahead

The DISP archive is now well established as a source of low-cost relatively high-resolution overhead photographs for use in archaeological studies in primarily Asia Minor and the Middle East The fi nding that both corona and gambit photographs can record plough-levelled archaeological features in more temperate regions opens up the potential to use the DISP archive to supplement conventional aerial photog-raphy in areas such as Eastern Europe where civilian aerial photography has been prohibited until only recently (Braasch 2002 See Chap 18 by Oltean and Hanson this volume) Importantly the DISP archive represents an invaluable source of over-head coverage that predates the growth in urban expansion that took place in the latter part of the twentieth century and has the potential to contain a record of archaeological features that have since been destroyed Given the great utility of the DISP products it is to be hoped that additional obsolete photoreconnaissance satel-lite photographs including those acquired by the KH-8 gambit and KH-9 hexagon systems will soon be declassi fi ed and added to the existing DISP archive for use by archaeologists and researchers in other disciplines

Acknowledgments This chapter is dedicated to the memory of the late Ernest Fowler 1920ndash1998 Special thanks are due to Rog Palmer for his critical comments to Jeff Hartley of NARA for providing copies of CREST records and to Linda Hathaway of the Information Access and Release Team at the NRO for providing copies of original records relating to the corona argon and lanyard programmes

Since preparing this chapter technical details of the gambit and hexagon camera systems have been declassi fi ed by the NRO and con fi rm the descriptions provided above Details can be found at httpwwwnrogovfoiadeclassGAMBHEXhtml

Bibliography

Alizadeh K amp Ur J A (2007) Formation and destruction of pastoral and irrigation landscapes on the Mughan Steppe north-western Iran Antiquity 81 148ndash160

Altmaier A amp Kany C (2002) Digital surface model generation from corona satellite images ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 56 221ndash235

Beck A Philip G Abdulkarim M amp Donoghue D (2007) Evaluation of corona and Ikonos high resolution satellite imagery for archaeological prospection in western Syria Antiquity 81 161ndash175

64 MJF Fowler

Bindschadler R amp Vornberger P (1998) Changes in the West Antarctic ice sheet since 1963 from declassi fi ed satellite photography Science 279 689ndash692

Bitelli G amp Girelli V A (2009) Metrical use of declassi fi ed imagery for an area of archaeological interest in Turkey Journal of Cultural Heritage 10S e35ndashe40

Braasch O (2002) Goodbye cold war Goodbye bureaucracy Opening the skies to aerial photog-raphy in Europe In R H Bewley amp W Raczkowski (Eds) Aerial archaeology ndash Developing future practice (Nato science series pp 19ndash22) Amsterdam Ios Press

Casana J (2004) The archaeological landscape of Late Roman Antioch In I Sandwell amp J Huskinson (Eds) Culture and society in later Roman Antioch Papers from a colloquium London 15th December 2001 (pp 102ndash125) Oxford Oxbow Books

Casana J (2007) Structural transformations in settlement systems of the Northern Levant American Journal of Archaeology 112 195ndash221

Casana J amp Cothren J (2008) Stereo analysis DEM extraction and orthorecti fi cation of corona satellite imagery Archaeological applications from the near East Antiquity 82 732ndash749

Castrianni L Di Giacomo G Ditaranto I amp Scardozzi G (2010) High resolution satellite ortho-images for archaeological research Different methods and experiences in the near and middle East Advances in Geosciences 24 97ndash110

Challis K (2007) Archaeologyrsquos cold war windfall ndash The corona programme and lost landscapes of the near East Journal of the British Interplanetary Society 60 21ndash27

Challis K Priestnall G Gardner A Henderson J amp OrsquoHara S (2004) corona remotely-sensed imagery in dryland archaeology The Islamic city of al-Raqqa Syria Journal of Field Archaeology 29 (2002ndash04) 139ndash153

Dashora A Lohani B amp Malik J N (2007) A repository of earth resource information ndash corona satellite programme Current Science 92 926ndash932

Day D A (1997) A failed phoenix The KH-6 lanyard reconnaissance satellite Space fl ight 19 170ndash174

Edwards D N (2010) Exploring rural landscapes in Sudanese Nubia In D Cowley R A Standring amp M J Abicht (Eds) Landscapes through the lens Aerial photographs and his-toric environment (pp 167ndash178) Oxford Oxbow

Faustmann A amp Palmer R (2005) Wings over Armenia Use of a paramotor for archaeological aerial survey Antiquity 79 402ndash410

Fowler M J F (1993) Stonehenge from space Space fl ight 35 130ndash132 Fowler M J F (2004a) Archaeology through the keyhole The serendipity effect of aerial recon-

naissance revisited Interdisciplinary Science Reviews 29 118ndash134 Fowler M J F (2004b) Declassi fi ed corona KH-4B satellite photography of remains from

Romersquos desert frontier International Journal of Remote Sensing 24 3549ndash3554 Fowler M J F (2006) Modelling the acquisition times of corona KH-4B satellite photographs

AARG News 33 34ndash40 Fowler M J F (2008) The application of declassi fi ed KH-7 gambit satellite photographs to stud-

ies of Cold War material culture A case study from the former Soviet Union Antiquity 82 714ndash731

Fowler M J F (2010) The Skrunda hen houses A case study in cold war satellite archaeology In D Cowley R A Standring amp M J Abicht (Eds) Landscapes through the lens Aerial photographs and historic environment (pp 287ndash293) Oxford Oxbow

Fowler M J F (2011) Modelling the acquisition times of corona satellite photographs Accuracy and application International Journal of Remote Sensing 32 (23) 8865ndash8879

Fowler M J F amp Fowler Y M (2005) Detection of archaeological crop marks on declassi fi ed corona KH-4B intelligence satellite photography of southern England Archaeological Prospection 12 257ndash264

Gheyle W R Trommelmans R Bourgeois J Gossens R Bourgeois I De Wulf A amp Willems T (2004) Evaluating corona A case study in the Altai Republic (South Siberia) Antiquity 78 391ndash403

Goossens R De Wulf A Bourgeois J Gheyle W amp Willems T (2006) Satellite imagery and archaeology The example of corona in the Altai mountains Journal of Archaeological Science 33 745ndash755

654 Declassi fi ed Intelligence Satellite Photographs

Hall D amp Palmer R (2000) Ridge and furrow survival and preservation Antiquity 74 29ndash30 Kennedy D (1998) Declassi fi ed satellite photographs and archaeology in the Middle East Case

studies from Turkey Antiquity 72 553ndash561 Kennedy D amp Bewley R (2004) Ancient Jordan from the air London The Council for British

Research in the Levant Leachtenauer J C Daniel K amp Vogl T P (1997) Digitising corona imagery Quality vs cost

In R A McDonald (Ed) corona between the sun and the earth The fi rst NRO reconnaissance eye in space (pp 189ndash203) Bethesda American Society for Photogrammetry

Madden F (1999) The corona camera system Itekrsquos contribution to world security Journal of the British Interplanetary Society 52 379ndash396

McDonald R A (Ed) (1997) corona between the sun and the earth The fi rst NRO reconnais-sance eye in space Bethesda American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing

Moshier S O amp El-Kalani A (2008) Late bronze age paleogeography along the ancient ways of Horus in Northwest Sinai Egypt Geoarchaeology 23 450ndash473

Northedge A (2005) Remarks on Samarra and the archaeology of large cities Antiquity 79 119ndash129

NPIC (1963) Mission coverage index mission 8003 31 Julyndash1 August 1963 CREST record CIA-RDP78B04560A000800010068-6 approved for release on 21 August 2001 College Park National Archives and Records Administration

NPIC (1964) Nigrande IRBM complex USSR CREST record CIA-RDP78B04560A002100010042-9 approved for release on 3 March 2003 College Park National Archives and Records Administration

NRO (1963) System photographic evaluation report mission 8003 Record 4A0033 of the col-lection of corona Argon and Lanyard records declassi fi ed on 26 November 1997 Chantilly National Reconnaissance Of fi ce

NRO (1969) Summary report ndash Special purpose photographic techniques for overhead recon-naissance Record 5D0032 of the collection of corona Argon and Lanyard records declassi fi ed on 26 November 1997 Chantilly National Reconnaissance Of fi ce

NRO (1972) Photographic evaluation report mission 1115 Record 6A0029 of the collection of corona argon and lanyard records declassi fi ed on 26 November 1997 Chantilly National Reconnaissance Of fi ce

NRO (2006) Review and redaction guide for automatic declassi fi cation of 25-year-old informa-tion (Version 10) Chantilly National Reconnaissance Of fi ce httpwwwnrogovfoiadocsfoia-rrgpdf Accessed 15 May 2009

Palmer R (1984) Danebury An aerial photographic interpretation of its environs London Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England)

Peebles C (1997) The corona project Americarsquos fi rst spy satellites Annapolis Naval Institute Press

Richelson J T (2002) The Wizards of Langley Inside the CIArsquos Directorate of Science and Technology Oxford Westview Press

Richelson J T (2003) A lsquori fl ersquo in space Air Force Magazine 86 72ndash75 Scardozzi G (2010) The contribution of historical aerial and satellite photos to archaeological

and geo-archaeological research Case studies in Italy and Turkey Advances in Geosciences 24 111ndash123

Selander J M (1997) Image coverage models for declassi fi ed corona Argon and Lanyard satellite photography ndash a technical explanation In R A McDonald (Ed) corona between the sun and the earth The fi rst NRO reconnaissance eye in space (pp 177ndash188) Bethesda American Society for Photogrammetry

Shennan I amp Donoghue D N M (1992) Remote sensing in archaeological research Proceedings of the British Academy 77 223ndash232

Smith F D (1997) The design and engineering of coronarsquos optics In R A McDonald (Ed) corona between the sun and the earth The fi rst NRO reconnaissance eye in space (pp 111ndash120) Bethesda American Society for Photogrammetry

66 MJF Fowler

Stichelbaut B (2006) The application of First World War aerial photography to archaeology The Belgian images Antiquity 80 161ndash172

Surazakov A amp Aizen V (2010) Positional accuracy evaluation of declassi fi ed Hexagon KH-9 mapping camera imagery Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 76 603ndash608

Ur J (2005) Sennacheribrsquos Northern Assyrian canals New insights from satellite imagery and aerial photography Iraq 67 317ndash345

Ur J A (2010) Urbanism and cultural landscapes in Northeastern Syria The Tell Hamoukar Survey 1999ndash2001 Chicago The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago

USGS (2006) Declassi fi ed satellite imagery ndash 1 (1996) httperosusgsgovFind_DataProducts_and_Data_AvailableDeclassi fi ed_Satellite_Imagery_-_1 Accessed 19 June 2011

Walstra J Verkindren P amp Heyvaert M A (Eds) (2010) Reconstructing landscape evolution in the Lower Khuzestan plain (SW Iran) Integrating imagery historical and sedimentary archives Oxford Oxbow Books

Wilkinson T J Wilkinson E B Ur J amp Altaweel M (2005) Landscape and settlement in the Neo-Assyrian Empire Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 340 23ndash55

Wilkinson K N Beck A R amp Philip G (2006) Satellite imagery as a resource in the prospec-tion for archaeological sites in central Syria Geoarchaeology 21 735ndash750

Wilson D R (2000) Air photo interpretation for archaeologists Stroud Tempus

Part III Historical Aerial and Satellite

Photographs in Archaeological Research

69WS Hanson and IA Oltean (eds) Archaeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives DOI 101007978-1-4614-4505-0_5 copy Springer Science+Business Media LLC 2013

Abstract During the First World War millions of aerial photographs were taken by all fi ghting countries Aerial photographs were taken extensively across the differ-ent theatres of war documenting a con fl ict landscape from which the relicts often remain visible as scars on the landscape The aerial photographs which were taken during the con fl ict also provide an unparalleled record of the landscape at the begin-ning of the previous century This chapter explores the potential of these historical aerial photographs to reveal previously unknown archaeological sites highlighting some of the interpretational issues involved A case study focuses on the landscapes and moated sites of the medieval period in Flanders (Belgium)

51 Introduction

The potential of military aviation for intelligence purposes was considered for the fi rst time during the First World War Shortly after the Battle of the Marne at the end of 1914 the concept of a moving war came to a standstill in the trenches The tradi-tional eyes of the army ndash the cavalry and espionage ndash failed to provide the necessary information and thus created an opening for aerial photography (Carlier 1921 ) Aerial photography recorded far more information than the aerial observers could see pro-viding photographs which were indisputable documents able to con fi rm the accounts of the aviators As progress was made in the technical aspects of aerial photography

B Stichelbaut () bull W De Clercq bull D Herremans bull J Bourgeois Department of Archaeology University of Ghent Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 35 B-9000 Ghent Belgium e-mail birgerstichelbautugentbe WDeClercqUGentbe DavyHerremansUGentbe JeanBourgeoisUGentbe

Chapter 5 First World War Aerial Photography and Medieval Landscapes Moated Sites in Flanders

Birger Stichelbaut Wim De Clercq Davy Herremans and Jean Bourgeois

70 B Stichelbaut et al

so the art of reading aerial photographs also advanced (Wrigley 1932 53) These extraordinary sources document a European landscape of horror that stretches from the North Sea in Belgium to the French-Swiss border from the Black Sea in the south to the Baltic in the north comprising parts of Italy the Balkans and even more distant areas of the world Aerial photographs were taken all over these different theatres of war documenting a cultural landscape from which the relicts often remain visible as scars on the landscape frequently concealed from the untrained eye

Many archaeological papers often acknowledge the importance of the First World War in the development of aerial photography yet without going into detail The same relationship can be noticed between the historiography of the First World War in the air and the attention granted to the role of aerial photography (Streckfuss 2009 ) In addition to this the discipline of historical aerial photography has rarely made use of aerial photographs dating from these early years This contrasts sharply with the frequent use of Second World War aerial photographs in aerial archaeological prac-tice (see for instance Going 2002 Raczkowski 2004 Hegarty and Newsome 2007 )

Archival research focused on gaining insight into the dispersal and distribution of surviving collections of First World War aerial photographs revealed that large collections still remain accessible and are spread across Europe the USA and even Australia A GIS plot of most of the collections has been carried out (Stichelbaut and Bourgeois 2009 ) This was not just to give an idea of the dispersal of these sources through Europe but where possible the intention was also to indicate blind spots and hot zones to enable a realistic assessment of future research areas The outcome was astonishing because the quantities of preserved aerial photographs are enormous and much more consolidated than expected The most important collec-tions are in the Belgian Royal Army Museum (48500 photographs) the Imperial War Museum (133000) the Australian War Memorial (16000) the Bavarian War Archive (300000) and the US National Archives (16000)

This detailed archival knowledge enables us to select speci fi c aerial photographs of large areas in France and Belgium as well as some other theatres of war It allows us to explore the use of the First World War aerial photographs not only as extraor-dinary illustrative documents for speci fi c sites but rather as a unique source cover-ing an entire research area Thousands of historical aerial photographs covering large areas along the Western Front can be selected which have the potential to reveal previously unknown archaeological sites First of all the photographs were taken in the period before the large landscape changes which took place in Europe after the Second World War The extent of villages and cities is still rather small and the fi eld systems often go back to older periods In addition the photographs repre-sent the landscape before the major impact of the con fl ict Large areas of the Western Front were completely devastated and transformed into a poisonous lunar land-scape On the early aerial photographs (dating from 1915 until the start of the artil-lery preparation for the Third Battle of Ypres in June 1917) many sites are still undamaged whereas they are no longer visible on photographs taken in late 1917 and 1918 Finally the photographs are special and of value because for large areas of Europe they are the fi rst complete aerial coverage in history and have therefore an important documentary value

715 First World War Aerial Photography and Medieval Landscapeshellip

52 Con fl ict Archaeology

The aerial photographs are one of the sources par excellence for the study of a new and rapidly developing scienti fi c fi eld of research the archaeology of the First World War This con fl ict left its mark as scars on the landscape Some of the fea-tures such as mine craters and bunkers are still visible on the current landscape although the majority are preserved beneath the surface Professional and scienti fi c archaeological research on the material remains of the First World War can add a whole new layer of information which is currently hidden in the historical records such as unrecorded behaviour and activities the treatment of the dead (Desfosseacutes et al 2003 see also Chap 6 by Pollard and Barton this volume) the detailed typol-ogy of trenches and other features daily life at the front the analysis of the multi-layered con fl ict landscape and much more The archaeology of the First World War and twentieth-century con fl ict archaeology in general is still in its infancy but is certainly a rapidly evolving fi eld of research A multidisciplinary aerial photo-graphic study using modern techniques can provide more adequate information on such issues than any other source The long-distant views provided by aerial photo-graphs enable a redirection of the focus of First World War archaeology from a site-directed approach to research on a landscape scale The aerial archaeological research on the Western Front using contemporary aerial photographs provides an accurate insight into the density distribution and diversity of war features (Stichelbaut 2006 2011 ) This approach facilitates analysis of how the con fl ict landscape was organised and where certain types of features were situated providing a detailed level of information which cannot be found in any other historical source The focus of this chapter however is on the application of First World War aerial photographs to traditional archaeology in Flanders (Belgium)

53 Cropmarks Soilmarks and Dampmarks

If the First World War aerial photographs are studied in detail cropmarks and soil-marks relating to archaeological sites can be discovered hidden in the fi elds But because of the high altitude at which the reconnaissance normally took place ndash between 2 and 5 km ndash the recognition of these archaeological remnants in Flanders is not easy Also the fact that the pictures are panchromatic and not necessarily taken at the ideal time of year for cropmarks and soilmarks does not help in their interpretation and use for traditional archaeological purposes

On the other hand the continuous artillery fi re destroyed the fi eld boundaries and drainage ditches of the fi elds This fact combined with their deliberate inundation from some rivers (such as the IJzer and the Handzame) for strategic purposes pro-vided ideal circ*mstances for the detection of dampmarks which become apparent because of the different levels of dampness in places where ditches or moats were once situated Literally hundreds of medieval moated sites can be detected many of which were destroyed during the war and are now no longer visible

72 B Stichelbaut et al

It is sometimes dif fi cult to make a distinction between soilmarks and cropmarks on panchromatic aerial photographs The small scale of some of the aerial photo-graphs and the lack of colours often renders it impossible to identify bare ground as for example in Fig 51a where a large moated site is visible The outer moat can still be seen as an oval fi eld boundary inside of which a smaller island of approxi-mately 35 by 45 m is visible as a soilmark In Fig 51b some (positive) cropmarks of linear features can be noted which may relate to an old system of fi eld boundar-ies of unknown date or origin Unfortunately no other photographs of this area are available and modern prospection fl ights are impossible because of the nearby location of a major airport at Ostend Thus areas inaccessible to modern oblique aerial photographic reconnaissance can be studied with remotely sensed data using historical aerial photographs The disadvantage on the other hand is that there is no guarantee that a single historical aerial photograph would have been taken at a favourable moment

The use of historical aerial photographs also presents a number of interpreta-tional issues Although some of the visible cropmarks have the characteristics of archaeological sites they actually have their origins in the First World War For example at fi rst sight horse-riding rings leave the same traces (circular cropmarks or soilmarks) on the aerial photographs as well-known Bronze Age burial sites in Flanders 1 Many aerial photographs show traces in fi elds which are circular or rect-angular (with rounded corners) These are always lighter in colour than the sur-rounding area and indicate intense movement The shape and size of these features allows us to interpret them as paddocks or horse-riding rings which may indicate the presence of artillery troops with horse-drawn carts ( de Bissy 1916 2) rather than as Bronze Age mounds Figure 51c is one such example of a dubious case Its appearance could be interpreted as a cropmark of a possible circular archaeological feature One argument in favour of this interpretation is the date of the exposure 22 July 1917 In Flanders this is traditionally a good period for the detection of archae-ological sites as cropmarks on aerial photographs But we have some reservations about its interpretation as a Bronze Age barrow because it has not been recorded on any other historical aerial photograph or modern oblique photograph We consider it more likely to be a paddock which remained visible after a period of disuse

Figure 51d shows the two different manifestations of a paddock and possible archaeological cropmark on the same aerial photograph This photograph was also taken in the summer (July 1918) The outline of the white circle which is clearly visible is too prominent to be of archaeological origin and presumably is related to horse-riding activities The second circle (see lower right inset) is less visible and could be a circular archaeological site However it could as well be a disused paddock More research is necessary to disclose the true nature of this site but this

1 The phenomenon of circular features on the oblique aerial photography has already been studied at the Department of Archaeology of Ghent University One of the main conclusions is that many of these are Bronze Age burial sites (see for instance Ampe et al 1996 Bourgeois et al 2002 )

735 First World War Aerial Photography and Medieval Landscapeshellip

Fig 51 Examples of soilmarks and cropmarks recorded on First World War aerial photographs (Source Belgian Royal Army Museum) ( a ) soilmark ( b ) cropmark recorded near Ostend ( c ) Bronze Age circle or disused paddock ( d ) First World War German paddock and probable Bronze Age site

74 B Stichelbaut et al

example highlights one of the dangers of using historical aerial photographs A thorough knowledge of what military features look like on the aerial photographs contributes to the interpretation of visible features

54 Earthworks and Other Extant Sites

Many aerial photographs along the Western Front were taken in circ*mstances which were ideal for the detection of standing earthworks Various inundations and the destruction of the drainage systems in the fi elds by intensive artillery fi re created favourable wet conditions which resulted in many sites being recorded unintention-ally on the aerial photographs Even shallow depressions which are invisible from the air in dry periods can become visible when they are fi lled with water This is particularly important for the study of landscapes and moated sites of the medieval period (see case study below) 2 These sites which were detected because of wet conditions and the presence of water are also sometimes referred to as lsquowatermarksrsquo The enigmatic circular feature in the centre of Fig 52 is a splendid example of how historical photographs can contribute to the detection of these sites The site possi-bly dating from the medieval or post-medieval period was unknown until the discov-ery of this picture Additional research on the site is no longer possible as an industrial complex has been built on it without any prior archaeological investigation

Medieval and post-medieval city walls and forti fi cations can be studied in many aerial photographs Their detection is important in instances where they had already been destroyed before any archaeological investigation had taken place The age of the First World War aerial photographs makes them a valuable record of the land-scape at the start of the twentieth century Forti fi cations and city walls can be recorded in often better conditions than can be done by using modern documents In a number of cases the sites have even totally disappeared as a result of city enlargements and modern agriculture

A fi rst site is clearly visible at Nieuwpoort close to the North Sea The city was founded in 1163 by the Count of Flanders as a strategically situated new town It played an important role as strategic military stronghold during the Spanish-Dutch and French-Spanish Wars and was repeatedly forti fi ed between the mid-sixteenth and early eighteenth century by Spanish French and Austrian military engineers resulting in an impressive complex of bastions ravelins and hornworks surrounding the town During the Dutch period (1815ndash1830) a new line of forti fi cations (the Wellington barrier) was built to protect the city against an immi-nent French invasion (de Vos et al 2002 164ndash165) The traces of a large bastion are visible on Fig 53a which illustrates the advantage of using historical aerial

2 The use and potential of historical aerial photography (both First and Second World War) at high water level for the study of medieval settlement history has already been explored by F Verhaeghe and J Bourgeois in the 1970s and 1980s (eg Verhaeghe 1978 1986 Bourgeois 2003 )

755 First World War Aerial Photography and Medieval Landscapeshellip

photography because it enables the detection mapping and documentation of sites which have now been destroyed or made inaccessible There is now an industrial estate on top of this forti fi cation making any further research impossible This is just one of many forti fi cations which are visible on the aerial photographs in the area being studied

A second example is the forti fi cation called Fort Nieuwendamme (3 km east of Nieuwpoort) also dating back to the Spanish-Dutch Wars and still clearly visible in the present landscape (Fig 53b ) However looking at the historical aerial photo-graph the organisation of the outer defences of the small fortress can be understood much more easily When comparing these photographs with a modern oblique aerial photograph of the same site the advantage of using the old aerial photographs becomes self-evident On the 1916 (French) aerial photograph the small Spanish fortress dating back to 1581 is clearly visible A detailed outline of the fi eldwork constructed according to the so-called lsquoOld-Dutch systemrsquo of forti fi cations is still present The bastions breastworks on the curtain and even traces of a ravelin can be seen If on the other hand the photograph is compared with a modern aerial photo-graph taken in 2004 it is evident that the preservation of this forti fi cation has changed dramatically The moat has been back fi lled and the ravelin levelled out If the modern oblique aerial photograph is studied carefully however we can still identify some features such as a soilmark in the upper left corner The historical aerial photographs also explain why concrete bunkers are found on the ramparts as

Fig 52 High-quality aerial photograph (24 March 1917) revealing a circular lsquowatermarkrsquo site (Source Belgian Royal Army Museum)

76 B Stichelbaut et al

this forti fi cation was incorporated into the German network of fi eldworks during the First World War because of its elevation on the fl at polder landscape

Another category of earthworks which are easily visible are the medieval motte castles such as the Hoge Mote situated at Merkem This site was in use until the end of the thirteenth centurybeginning of the fourteenth century (De Meulemeester and Termote 1981 126) Some of the moats around this site are clearly visible These features on the aerial photograph however represent only a part of the archaeologi-cal monument The bailey was originally half as large and was also delimited by a moat as can clearly be observed on the First World War aerial photographs (Fig 53c )

Fig 53 ( a ) Aerial photograph of a large bastion at Nieuwpoort (September 1916) (Source Belgian Royal Army Museum) ( b ) Fort Nieuwendamme comparing April 1916 and August 2005 ( c ) Hoge Mote at Merkem (late 1918) (Source Belgian Royal Army Museum)

775 First World War Aerial Photography and Medieval Landscapeshellip

Moated sites are more common on these photographs (Fig 54 ) 3 Literally hundreds are known Some can be observed only on the aerial photographs while others are still visible in the present landscape or in LIDAR height data Such sites are quite a common feature in the medieval landscape They have already been studied thoroughly in some parts of Flanders as in the Veurne area (Verhaeghe 1978 ) or the Comines-Warneton area (Bourgeois 2003 ) They are rural sites that comprise at least one settlement area (or island) and a moat These rural settlements are part of the medieval colonisation of large areas in Flanders and are generally dated between the late twelfthearly thirteenth century and the fi fteenth century They are quite often the seat of a medieval fi ef or even sub- fi ef having seigniorial rights but their sheer number in these areas tends to show that they were not solely limited to the higher levels of society

However it is necessary to remain critical when studying moated sites For instance one moat visible on the historical remote-sensing data need not imply that no additional moats will be revealed during archaeological excavations This was clearly illustrated at the Jonkershof excavated in 1981 On First World War aerial photographs just one large moat can be seen The excavation plan on the other hand shows a more complex twofold situation (Termote 1981 133) In general the early date of the photographs can certainly give us major advantages but we have to be sure not to rely too much on this source The aerial photographs enable previ-ously unknown sites to be detected or sites to be observed in a better-preserved state than is currently possible However it is evident that they cannot provide us with a level of information which is comparable to excavation data In order to try to under-stand more readily the potential of First World War aerial photographs for the medi-eval sites especially moated sites a case study based on recent PhD research (Stichelbaut 2009 ) is provided below

55 Case Study Medieval Moated Sites Along the Former Belgian-German Front

A large study area (4435 kmsup2) was selected in order to examine the archaeological application of First World War aerial photographs This area comprises parts of 13 amalgamated municipalities (Diksmuide Gistel Hooglede Houthulst Ichtegem Koekelare Kortemark Langemark-Poelkapelle Lo-Reninge Middelkerke Nieuwpoort Oostende and Staden) between the North Sea coast at Nieuwpoort and Houthulst in the south The study area is situated on the Belgian coastal plain and consists of several distinct (agricultural) areas dunes polders and sands The area studied is covered by 4270 georecti fi ed aerial photographs taken between April 1915 and October 1918 all of which were obtained from the Belgian Royal Army Museum

3 For general information about the phenomenon of moated sites see Aberg ( 1978 )

78 B Stichelbaut et al

Fig 54 Traditional archaeological sites mapped in the studied area along the former Belgian-German front (Source authors and Vlaamse Landmaatschappij and OC GIS-Vlaanderen 2004 )

551 Documented Sites

The examination of the First World War aerial photographs resulted in an inventory of 489 features identi fi ed as moated sites (Fig 54 ) In addition some 76 features

795 First World War Aerial Photography and Medieval Landscapeshellip

were listed as possible moated sites but because their interpretation is less certain they are not considered further here

The area of the case study is close to the focus of research undertaken by Frans Verhaeghe in the 1970s and 1980s (Verhaeghe 1981 1986 ) Historically the research area comprises parts of the castellany of Brugge (Brugse Vrije) and Veurne-Ambacht separated by the IJzer and a small part of the castellany of Ieper in the southern part of the research area The relative empty zone in the south-eastern part of the area is related to the presence of Houthulst Forest a remnant of the much larger Vrijbos which is mentioned as early as 1096 (de Meyer and Demeyere 2006 119) Only eight archaeological sites (two prehistoric and six early and late medieval sites) were recorded near the forest during an inventory of archaeological sites in Houthulst The medieval sites are probably related to the reclamation of the forest

All sites detected have been checked on the Cabinet map of the Austrian Netherlands produced by Count de Ferraris (dated 1777) as an aid to their interpre-tation (Lemoine-Isabeau 1978 ) However many of the sites were not visible on this historical map a situation which is also observed in a case study in East-Flanders (De Mulder 2001 2005 ) This is probably because the sites were not recognised as such or had no military importance since the primary use of the map was for mili-tary purposes (Beyaert et al 2006 11ndash12)

552 Detailed Study Leke and Woumen

To further test the potential of First World War aerial photographs for detecting previously unknown moated sites two smaller study areas have been researched in greater detail concentrating on the areas around Leke and Woumen (Fig 54 )

The fi rst in the area north of Diksmuide comprises the south-western sheet of the Gistel map sheet on the Cabinet map of the Austrian Netherlands All sites detected on the aerial photographs were checked against the Cabinet map the Carte Topographique de la Belgique en couleurs of 1873 and the modern Belgian 110000 topographic maps with quite interesting results Some 122 moated sites identi fi ed on the basis of their aerial photographic signature were located (Fig 55 ) Only 53 sites are still visible in the landscape as depicted on the modern Belgian topographic map The Cabinet map of the Austrian Netherlands depicts 42 sites and the topo-graphic map of 1873 shows 58 Twenty-one sites are visible on just one of the car-tographic sources consulted 30 on two and 24 sites are visible on all three maps The aerial photographs enable in this case a more precise localisation of the sites and are an important photographic record of their condition at the start of the last century On the other hand 47 sites (38) detected on the aerial photographs are not visible on any of the maps (Fig 55 ) It might be suggested that too many doubt-ful sites are mapped from the photographs Yet close examination of the aerial photographs shows the sites have the clear characteristics of moated sites and could easily fi t into the typology developed by Frans Verhaeghe ( 1981 ) Figure 56 shows 12 such examples all of which have clear characteristics of moated sites but were not recorded as such on the cartographic data

80 B Stichelbaut et al

Fig

oate

d si

tes

map

ped

from

the

aeri

al p

hoto

grap

815 First World War Aerial Photography and Medieval Landscapeshellip

The same approach was undertaken for a second case study near Woumen (south of Diksmuide) All detected sites were checked against the same cartographic sources In this test case 83 sites were recorded as a moated sites of which 12 are visible only on the aerial photographs Though this number is signi fi cantly lower than in the Leke test case there are also fewer sites observed in general

These two small test cases illustrate the potential of these historical aerial photo-graphs for the detection of previously unknown archaeological sites Our hypothesis is that many of these sites are more easily detected on the First World War aerial photographs as a result of the special circ*mstances at that time The strategic inun-dation of the landscape and the artillery fi re destroying drainage systems created the wet conditions ideal for the detection of the sites as watermarks (earthworks) A further bene fi t is the age of the photographs Because they are almost a century old they have also the potential to show a number of sites which have since been destroyed (Fig 56 ) This case study highlights only the potential for the detection of new sites a more in-depth study could perhaps reveal other mechanisms Additional fi eldwork (for instance augering fi eld walking or geophysical survey techniques) should be used to con fi rm if all the recorded examples are correctly identi fi ed as moated sites as this was not possible within the framework of this piece of research

553 Other Archaeological Sites Within the Case Study Area

In addition to rural sites those with a military function have also been recorded Near Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide the remnants of ramparts and bastions of differ-ent periods are documented on the aerial photographs In addition Fort Nieuwendamme (east of Lombardsijde and Nieuwpoort) and a small forti fi cation just south of it have been mapped using aerial photographs This latter site is identi fi ed as a fi eldwork and on several historical maps is indicated as a fortress 4

Four sites date to the High Middle Ages and are interpreted as motte castles the Hoge Andjoen Motte in Werken (De Meulemeester and Vanthournhout 1986 ) the Hoge Mote in Merkem (De Meulemeester and Vanthournhout 1986 ) the motte castle at Oud-Stuivekenskerke (Dewilde et al 2003 ) and the Vrouwenhillewal site near Bovekerke Based solely on aerial photographic data it is dif fi cult to discern between some moated sites and motte castles because both types can have a twofold structure and are (partially) surrounded by a moat

Finally 24 sites are listed as watermarks presumably identi fi able as archaeologi-cal sites of various types The aerial photographic interpretation enables us to detect and map these features but cannot reveal further details without additional fi eldwork or archival research so they are merely mentioned here

4 Cabinet map of the Austrian Netherlands by Count de Ferraris (1777) Map of Chanlaire-Capitaine (end eighteenth century)

82 B Stichelbaut et al

Fig 56 Examples of sites which were detected only on the First World War aerial photographs (Source Belgian Royal Army Museum)

835 First World War Aerial Photography and Medieval Landscapeshellip

The detection of cropmarks on the historical aerial photographs is problematic Partly this is due to the small scale of some of the aerial photographs but the soil conditions in the area (silt loam and polders) are far from ideal for the generation of cropmarks An additional problem is that the aerial photographs were not taken for archaeological purposes and the probability of detecting archaeological sites in this way depends much lsquoon whether or not the imagery was acquired at a propitious time of day and yearrsquo (Scollar et al 1990 26) Therefore we must be very careful when it comes to interpreting crop- and soilmarks As regards the coastal area in Flanders these aerial photographs will not be the most suitable source for studying pre- or early historic sites and landscapes as the heavy soils (polders with clay and the silt loam region) create dif fi cult cropmark conditions This phenomenon has already been documented with oblique aerial prospection of Bronze Age circular sites in Flanders (Bourgeois and Cherretteacute 2005 50)

A super fi cial comparison with an inventory of archaeological sites in Koekelare based on the collection of oblique aerial photographs of the Department of Archaeology (UGent) by Marc Meganck shows that there are plenty of archaeologi-cal sites in the area These oblique aerial photographs were speci fi cally taken for archaeological purposes At least 42 Bronze Age burial mounds and many other archaeological traces are recorded within the boundaries of the community of Koekelare (see also Bourgeois et al 1995 ) but it was not possible to detect these sites on the First World War aerial photographs On the other hand some of the medieval moated sites were not recorded on the oblique aerial coverage In these cases the historical aerial photographs provide an additional source of information It is also important to note that almost no traces of the con fl ict landscape of the First World War are documented on oblique coverage with the exception of some bunkers This points to the complementary nature of the two different sources Nevertheless we strongly believe that there is a potential for this kind of research in other areas of the front where soil conditions are more favourable for the detection of cropmarks

56 Conclusion

Aerial photographs dating to the First World War are available in large numbers for vast amounts of the Western Front in Belgium and France and in more limited num-bers for other theatres of war Based on the knowledge of these archives it is possible to select a large number of historical aerial photographs These are a major contem-porary source for the study of the material remains and landscape of the First World War Yet the photographs are much more than this for they are also a valuable record of the high- and post-medieval landscape along the former front line The pictures were taken in large numbers at different times of the year and cover huge areas They are a unique and privileged source for the detection of earthworks and watermarks because of the special circ*mstances that were created by the ongoing war The case study of Leke and Woumen indicated that the pictures have huge potential for the detection of a large number of earthworks and watermarks On the

84 B Stichelbaut et al

other hand they suffer from the disadvantage ndash like other historical aerial photo-graphs ndash that they were not taken for archaeological purposes This is especially the case for recording cropmarks In addition to the special circ*mstances in which they were taken the pictures have the further advantage that they represent the landscape at the beginning of the twentieth century so that archaeological sites which have been destroyed during the major landscape changes since the Second World War might still be detected or recorded in better conditions These pictures can therefore be regarded as a new and largely forgotten source of information for archaeologists

Bibliography

Aberg F A (Ed) (1978) Medieval moated sites (CBA-Research Reports 17) London CBA Ampe C Bourgeois J Crombeacute P Fockedey L Langohr R Meganck M Semey J Van

Strydonck M amp Verlaeckt K (1996) The circular view Aerial photography and the discov-ery of Bronze Age funerary monuments in East- and West-Flanders (Belgium) Germania 74 (1) 45ndash94

Beyaert M Antrop M De Maeyer P Vandermotten C Billen C Decroly J-M Neuray C Ongena T Queriat S Van den Steen I amp Wayens B (2006) Belgieuml in Kaart de Evolutie van het Landschap in Drie eeuwen Cartogra fi e Tielt Lannoo

Bourgeois J (2003) Les sites fossoyeacutes meacutedieacutevaux de la reacutegion de Comines-Warneton (Province de Hainaut Belgique) Revue du Nord 353 141ndash159

Bourgeois J amp Cherretteacute B (2005) LrsquoAge du Bronze et le Premier Age du Fer dans les Flandres occidentale et orientale (Belgique) un eacutetat de la question In J Bourgeois amp M Talon (Eds) LrsquoAge du Bronze du Nord de la France dans son contexte europeacuteen (pp 43ndash81) Paris Eacuteditions du Comiteacute des Travaux Historiques et Scienti fi ques

Bourgeois J Meganck M amp Semey J (1995) Cirkels in het land II Een Inventaris van cirkelvormige structuren in de provincies Oost- en West-Vlaanderen Gent Archeologische Inventaris Vlaanderen

Bourgeois J Roovers I Meganck M Semey J Pelegrin R amp Lodewijckx M (2002) Flemish aerial archaeology in the last 20 years Past and future perspectives In R Bewley amp W Raczkowski (Eds) Aerial archaeology Developing future practice (NATO science series Vol 337 pp 76ndash83) Amsterdam Ios Press

Carlier A (1921) La photographie aeacuterienne pendant la guerre Paris Librairie Delagrave de Bissy J (1916) Illustrations to Accompany Captain de Bissyrsquos notes regarding the interpreta-

tion of aeroplane photographs London Harrison amp Sons De Meulemeester J amp Termote J (1981) De Hoge Mote te Merkem Archaeologia Belgica 247

125ndash129 De Meulemeester J amp Vanthournhout C (1986) De Hoge Andjoen-motte te Werken (W-Vl)

Archaeologia Mediaevalis 9 3ndash15 de Meyer M amp Demeyere F (2006) De inventarisatie van de gemeente Houthulst (prov West-

Vlaanderen) In E Meylemans (Ed) CAI-1 De Opbouw van een archeologisch beleidsinstru-ment (pp 43ndash74) Brussels VIOE

De Mulder G (2001) Relicten uit het Verleden Een eerste verkennend onderzoek naar sites met walgracht te Zulte Olsene en Machelen Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis en de Folklore van Machelen Olsene en Zulte 20 74ndash85

De Mulder G (2005) Sites met walgracht te Machelen Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis en de Folklore van Machelen Olsene en Zulte 20 74ndash85

de Vos L Gils R amp Verbist R (2002) Inleiding versterkingen in de Nieuwste Tijd In L de Vos (Ed) Burchten en Forten en Andere Versterkingen in Vlaanderen (pp 157ndash170) Leuven Davidsfonds

855 First World War Aerial Photography and Medieval Landscapeshellip

Desfosseacutes Y Alain J amp Gilles P (2003) Arras ldquoActiparcrdquo les oublieacutes du ldquoPoint du Jourrdquo Sucellus 54 84ndash100

Dewilde M Vanhoutte S amp Wyffels F (2003) De Motte van Oud-Stuivekenskerke Archaeologia Mediaevalis 26 36ndash37

Going C (2002) A neglected asset German aerial photography of the Second World War period In R Bewley amp W Raczkowski (Eds) Aerial archaeology Developing future practice (NATO science series Vol 337 pp 23ndash30) Amsterdam Ios Press

Hegarty C amp Newsome S (2007) Suffolkrsquos defended shore Suffolk English Heritage Lemoine-Isabeau C (1978) La cartographie au XVIIIe siegravecle et lrsquoœuvre du comte de Ferraris

(1726ndash1814) Brussels Creacutedit communal de Belgique Raczkowski W (2004) Dusty treasure Thoughts on a visit to The Aerial Reconnaissance Archives

at Keele University (UK) AARG News 29 9ndash11 Scollar I Tabbagh A Hesse A amp Herzog I (1990) Archaeological prospecting and remote

sensing Cambridge Cambridge University Press Stichelbaut B (2006) The application of First World War aerial photography to archaeology The

Belgian images Antiquity 80 (307) 161ndash172 Stichelbaut B (2009) World War One aerial photography An archaeological perspective

Unpublished PhD dissertation Ghent University Stichelbaut B (2011) The fi rst thirty kilometres of the Western Front 1914ndash1918 An aerial

archaeological approach with historical remote sensing data Archaeological Prospection 18 (1) 57ndash66

Stichelbaut B amp Bourgeois J (2009) The overlooked aerial imagery of World War One A unique source for con fl ict and landscape archaeology Photogrammetrie ndash Fernerkundung ndash Geoinformation 3 231ndash240

Streckfuss J (2009) Why the air war really mattered A guide to understanding the signi fi cance of aviation in World War I In B Stichelbaut J Bourgeois N Saunders amp P Chielens (Eds) Images of con fl ict Military aerial photography and archaeology (pp 41ndash54) Newcastle-upon-Tyne Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Termote J (1981) Het Jonkershof te Jonkershove Archaeologia Belgica 247 130ndash134 Verhaeghe F (1978) De Laat-Middeleeuwse bewoning te Lampernisse en omgeving het arche-

ologisch onderzoek Westvlaamse Archaeologica 5 30ndash64 Verhaeghe F (1981) Medieval moated sites in coastal Flanders In F A Aberg amp A Brown

(Eds) Medieval moated sites in North-Western Europe (BAR international series Vol 121 pp 127ndash171) Oxford Archaeopress

Verhaeghe F (1986) Les sites fossoyeacutes du Moyen Age en Basse et Moyenne Belgique eacutetat de la question In M Bur (Ed) La Maison Forte au Moyen Age (pp 55ndash86) Paris CNRS

Vlaamse Landmaatschappij and OC GIS-Vlaanderen (2004) DHM-Vlaanderen (2001ndash2004) Digitaal Hoogtemodel Vlaanderen (Cd-rom) Brussels Vlaamse Landmaatschappij and OC GIS-Vlaanderen

Wrigley H (1932) The battle below Being the history of No 3 Squadron AFC Sydney Errol Know

87WS Hanson and IA Oltean (eds) Archaeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives DOI 101007978-1-4614-4505-0_6 copy Springer Science+Business Media LLC 2013

Abstract This chapter considers the use of aerial reconnaissance photographs taken on the Western Front during the First World War as a source of information for the growing number of archaeologists carrying out archaeological investigations on sites of con fl ict from this period Hundreds of thousands of aerial photographs were taken by both sides during the war a process which in itself provided the engine for the development of aerial warfare because of the need to provide protec-tion for military reconnaissance One of the largest collections of Allied photo-graphs resides in the Imperial War Museum in London which provided the examples used in this study

These photographs relate to the suspected burial of Australian and British sol-diers behind German lines following the Battle of Fromelles in northern France in July 1916 They show a series of pits adjacent to Pheasant Wood to the north of the village of Fromelles and in doing so provided a vital piece of evidence in the search for the graves in 2007 and 2008

The chapter provides an introductory overview of the development of wartime aerial photography and taking Fromelles as a case study considers the role of aerial photographs alongside other forms of evidence in a programme of archaeological works which succeeded in the location and evaluation of mass grave pits which had lain unmarked since 1916 The result of this work was the recovery of 250 sets of human remains which have since been buried individually in a specially created Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery close to the original site

T Pollard () Centre for Battle fi eld Archaeology University of Glasgow Glasgow G12 8QQ UK e-mail tonypollardglasgowacuk

P Barton The Tunnellers Memorial Fund 8 Egbert Road Faversham Kent ME13 8SJ UK e-mail pbparapetdemoncouk

Chapter 6 The Use of First World War Aerial Photographs by Archaeologists A Case Study from Fromelles Northern France

Tony Pollard and Peter Barton

88 T Pollard and P Barton

Photography has become a household word and a household want is used alike by art and science by love business and justice is found in the most sumptuous salon and in the dingiest attic ndash in the solitude of the Highland cottage and in the glare of the London gin-palace in the pocket of the detective in the cell of the convict in the folio of the painter and architect among the papers and patterns of the millowner and manufacturer and on the cold grey breast of the battle fi eld

(Eastlake 1857 )

61 Introduction

The archaeological investigation of sites associated with the First World War espe-cially those on the Western Front of Belgium and France has begun to make an important contribution to the burgeoning fi eld of con fl ict archaeology One reason perhaps that archaeology has come to play a major role in the study of the First World War is that veterans of the con fl ict which had such a profound impact on the political and social fabric of Europe and the world beyond are now an extinct spe-cies Harry Patch the last man alive to have fought in the trenches of the Western Front and latterly known as the lsquoLast Tommyrsquo died on 25 July 2009 aged 111 Making its own contribution to this fi eld has been the work of the Centre for Battle fi eld Archaeology at the University of Glasgow This chapter will discuss the Centrersquos investigation into mass graves at Pheasant Wood in Northern France with particular reference to the important role which archival aerial photographs played in that work

62 The Evolution of First World War Battle fi eld Photography

Despite the capture of tens of millions of images the First World War and its pho-tographers feature surprisingly little in photographic history The focus has settled on a relatively small band of world-renowned practitioners such as Roger Fenton Matthew Brady Felice Beato Margaret Bourke-White Robert Capa and Bert Hardy who together with others help shaped the iconography of warfare in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries The First World War was overlooked Yet it too had its highly distinguished practitioners and their often entirely unattributed images are reproduced year on year as the fl ow of books on this world-changing con fl ict continues unabated Today nine decades later the work of lsquoof fi cialrsquo photog-raphers immeasurably helps to mould our impressions of trench life Indeed with-out photographs we would struggle to form any kind of mental image of those troubled times Amongst the most anonymous of all the practitioners are those whose sole mission was to provide military intelligence and reconnaissance Their photographs often underused and underappreciated are some of the most outstanding to emerge from the war

896 The Use of First World War Aerial Photographs by Archaeologistshellip

When we look at 1914ndash1918 archive photographs we are con fi dent in believing what we see Because the cameras of the early twentieth century are generally sup-posed not to lsquoliersquo as they can be made to do so easily today pictures do more than simply provide an instant and accessible communication with a dif fi cult subject This is quite often a fallacy for both fi lm and still photographs were frequently posed andor indeed faked for propaganda purposes Nevertheless it is through them that we construe the ambience and character of the physical environment of the First World War ndash the battlegrounds

Amalgamating all the photographic and document-based material from archives around the world relating to the First World War would produce an immeasurably vast collection The interlocking archival jigsaw might appear to be as complete as one could possibly need to build an accurate picture However fundamental ndash and bluntly obvious ndash gaps in the puzzle exist Apart from aerial photographs ndash an unearthly view ndash there were no representations of the full landscape of the various battle fi elds ones to which we as latter-day observers might easily relate Without these fi nal pieces our perceptions would always remain fl awed and imperfect Recent years have seen researchers the second named author among them exclud-ing the personal to delve into areas that might once have been looked upon as aca-demic even peripheral an appreciation of the landscape itself through the study of maps aerial photographs and panoramic images each critically integral to the activ-ities of men on the ground but in the eyes of many somehow slightly divorced These images have become of great historical and archaeological importance

Although the full potential of aerial reconnaissance was fully realised during the First World War its origins go back further than aerial combat with the use of observation balloons dating to the middle of the nineteenth century when they were deployed by both sides in the American Civil War The fi rst photograph from an aeroplane was taken by Wilbur Wright in 1909 near Rome (Heiman 1969 34) Credit for the fi rst use of aircraft-based aerial photography in warfare goes to the Italians who were also the fi rst to drop a bomb from an aircraft in what is now Libya in 1911 ( Lundqvist 2002 ) Aerial reconnaissance gave the Italians prior warn-ing of Turkish troop concentrations prior to the battles of Sciarra-Sciatt and Ain Zara and Italian victories established beyond doubt the great potential of this new technique

At the same time the British were also making their fi rst tentative steps 1911 saw the fi rst use of aircraft to engage in military training manoeuvres following the establishment of an Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers that same year The French and Germans were both quicker to build up air forces and to train their pilots in the use of aircraft in reconnaissance taking aerial photographs and directing artillery fi re It was however the acquisition of overlapping vertical photographs by a British aviator Sergeant AV Laws in 1912 (taken from a Royal Navy airship) which marked the fi rst real technological advance in aerial photography (McMaster University Libraries 2008 ) This technique allowed photographs to be overlapped removing the problem of lens distortion at the edges and facilitating the creation of photo mosaics of extensive areas which provided a basis for accurate maps It was also Laws who took an aerial photograph of a parade just as a sergeant major was

90 T Pollard and P Barton

chasing a dog away from the scene Once the photograph was developed Laws realised that he could see the footprints of the sergeant major left behind in the grass an observation which strikes a chord with the present authors and their own interpretation of First World War aerial photographs (see below)

By September 1914 military photographers were already being asked for quality images of the landscape Despite pre-war developments systematic aerial photog-raphy was still not being deployed within the combat zone Instead commanders relied upon the word of observers and pilots whilst military mapping on the embry-onic Western Front was nascent and struggling However panoramic sketching and photography was an established medium for reconnaissance and several photo-graphic panoramas of the early battlefronts such as the Aisne Valley were pro-duced (Barton 2005 64) Such photographs were to become an integral part of the routine of trench warfare allowing company commanders to reconnoitre the enemy terrain opposite their own trenches without risking death from a sniperrsquos bullet as they poked their head above the parapet Photographs from the air were also taken at this time and indeed in the same place the Aisne Valley but not of fi cially Five images captured by Lt G Prettyman of 3 Squadron RFC on 15 September 1914 were intended only as a private record Not long after the onset of trench warfare was to provide the ideal environment within which aerial photography could prove its worth and the fi rst Air Photograph Section was formed in January 1915

The fi rst deliberate use of aerial photography in conjunction with wartime mili-tary manoeuvres was in preparation for the battle of Neuve Chapelle in March 1915 (Barton 2005 212) At this time the purpose was to assist in the production of accu-rate maps Later as the war expanded and deepened but remained static in mutual siege so the applications for such valuable intelligence grew not least (in the same way as panoramas) because the picture and not the observer could be relied upon to tell the fi ner truth By the end of 1915 both the quality of the images and the skills of the scalers and interpreters had already become remarkable If the weather was favourable photographs would be taken It was reconnaissance not dog fi ghts that occupied the vast majority of aircrews indeed it was only as a result of the desper-ate need for photographs that lsquoscoutrsquo aircraft ndash lsquo fi ghtersrsquo in Second World War par-lance ndash became necessary and numerous The primary task of the great aces of the war was to protect photo-reconnaissance aircraft from hostile molestation

Aerial photography was undoubtedly the most valuable intelligence tool avail-able to the Army during the war indeed it was indispensable in helping to precisely plot changing features on trench maps and fresh developments in defensive schemes Aerials were particularly valuable when planning a raid or a more substantial attack that required the temporary capture of enemy support or reserve positions ndash positions that were easily distinguished from the air and could be plotted on maps for artillery (this being the major use to which aerial photographs were put)

But this intelligence gathering also allowed for the regular monitoring of the enemy Noticeable concentrations of troops could provide early warning of enemy attack fresh digging may provide evidence for the preparation of artillery positions and mines and so on At times photographs were taken during battle the resulting images showing troops advancing across no manrsquos land and artillery shells bursting

916 The Use of First World War Aerial Photographs by Archaeologistshellip

By the end of the war millions of photographs had been taken and today these can be found in a variety of archives including those in the Imperial War Museum London which are the subject of this chapter Many of these can be read in conjunc-tion with the thousands of trench maps which were drawn up throughout the war with the relevant map sheet sometimes appearing as an annotation in the corner of the photograph

63 The Resource

The greatest and therefore most useful British collections of both aerial photographs and panoramas lie in the archives of the Imperial War Museum in London Here amongst a total of approximately 6000000 images one may examine over 40000 of fi cial First World War photographs but also the original negatives of almost 90000 aerials in what is called the lsquobox collectionrsquo In the same building there are around 2000 panoramas taken from the ground It is from the box collection that aerial prints are ordered the technicians thus going back to the original glass-plate nega-tives in order to achieve best quality The Imperial War Museum also has a further vast collection of aerial prints so many that the number has not yet been ascer-tained These are housed at the Duxford facility and are yet to be catalogued However in the photograph archive in the annexe to the main Lambeth Road build-ings a large selection of useful prints (10 times 8 in) organised according to trench map sheet are available to view

Aerial photographs exist in two basic categories vertical photographs taken per-pendicular to the landscapersquos surface and oblique images captured at a lsquodiagonalrsquo (and varying angle) to the ground As obliques are effectively a panorama taken from a height certain features can shield others so their utility from an archaeologi-cal viewpoint is lessened In verticals however even minute alterations in earth-works can be discerned Ninety percent of the Imperial War Museum collections are verticals

Trench warfare prescribed that the time available for a relatively safe investiga-tion of no manrsquos land and enemy defences was restricted to the hours of darkness a situation that clearly had its drawbacks in gathering data for maps and plans that demanded the fi nest detail information such as grass length depths of depressions and width of streams The ubiquitous trench periscopes and loopholes although widely used for observation were less than satisfactory for photo-topographical work nonetheless the panoramas achieved are of astonishing quality For the archaeologist these panoramas offer perspective placements heights depths den-sities dimensions construction method and material quantities employed battle fi eld detritus and the incorporation of the structures in question into other man-made and natural features something neither maps nor aerial photographs can do

Place aerial photographs and panoramas together and one has the most accurate multidimensional image of the landscape that it is possible to achieve To the battle fi eld archaeologist they are indispensable

92 T Pollard and P Barton

As the interest in the archaeology of the Western Front has grown within the evolving sub-discipline of con fl ict archaeology (Pollard 2008 ) so the potential of the available aerial photographic archives including that held in the Imperial War Museum but also major collections in Germany Belgium Australia and the USA has been recognised (eg Stichelbaut 2005 and Chap 5 by Stichelbaut et al) Along with trench maps and panoramic photographs aerial photographs have the potential to add an incredible amount of interpretative detail to archaeological research

64 Mass Graves at Pheasant Wood Fromelles France

In 2007 and 2008 the survey and evaluation of pits suspected to contain the bodies of British and Australian soldiers killed in the 1916 Battle of Fromelles was carried out by GUARD and the Centre for Battle fi eld Archaeology (Fig 61 ) The grave pits were dug by German troops behind their front lines for the burial of enemy dead removed from the German trenches and from the no manrsquos land in front of them and the ground behind The project was funded by the Australian Army in response to repeated calls for an examination of the ground in the hope of locating the unmarked graves largely on the part of a retired school teacher called Lambis Englezos The project involved detailed historical research by the second named author which included an examination of Bavarian military archives in Munich (Barton 2007 )

The Battle of the Somme had been going badly for the British for almost 3 weeks when 50 km to the north the attacks at Fromelles were launched on the evening of 19 July 1916 The two confrontations one vast the other tiny by comparison each epitomise the mass slaughter for which the First World War is remembered Indeed they are conjoined for the Battle of Fromelles was an attempt by the allies to pre-vent German reinforcement of their Somme garrisons The attack involved the British 61st Division and the Australian 5th Division the latter having only recently arrived on the Western Front The opposing lines were held by experienced troops the 6 Bavarian Reserve Division among their ranks was a young corporal by the name of Adolf Hitler

Despite a preparatory bombardment by massed artillery the German defences remained largely intact Protection was effectively enhanced by a host of concealed concrete bunkers and underground dugouts (the presence of which does not seem to have been recognised even with the aid of aerial reconnaissance) Although gains were made they were meagre and disappointing In places men made it into the German front line and beyond but Allied losses in no manrsquos land were dreadful The attacks took place at 600 pm in broad daylight The Germans were ready their machine guns and artillery mowing down the troops as they stepped into no manrsquos land Some reached the German trenches and began a fruitless search for their objec-tive the second enemy line But it was not to be found for it existed only as water- fi lled ditches and old abandoned trenches A further attack was ordered for 900 pm the order was then cancelled but tragically the news did not reach the Australian 15th Brigade which jumped off and again suffered shocking losses

936 The Use of First World War Aerial Photographs by Archaeologistshellip

In the early morning of 20 July the Germans closed the noose trapping all those Allied troops that had entered their lines In the space of 15 hours the Australians had lost around 5500 killed wounded missing or captured and the British around 1500 Total German casualties were less than 1000

Fig 61 Site location maps

94 T Pollard and P Barton

Following the battle there were British and Australian dead scattered over a wide area Those within the enemy lines and indeed many in no manrsquos land were recovered by the Germans Some were then taken by light trench railway to a shel-tered position to the rear of Pheasant Wood around 15 km to the south of the front line According to German military accounts which include the original orders for the burial operation the bodies were laid in pits which were dug to accommodate 400 men Within 7 days they were fi lled covered and forgotten ndash for 90 years A double row of four pits fi rst appears in an allied aerial photograph taken on 29 July 1916 just 9 days after the battle The Imperial War Museum archive includes a further series of photographs the latest of which was taken in September of 1918 It was these photographs which played a key part in the operation to relocate the graves in 2007

The nature of warfare on the Western Front which involved the constant use of artillery against entrenched positions meant that burial often took place in a hap-hazard manner while the remains of many men were never found having been blown to pieces or covered by the millions of tons of earth displaced during the con fl ict When burial did take place it was usually in makeshift graves in shell holes or abandoned trenches in pits dug near fi eld hospitals or behind the front where engagements had taken place At times as was the case at Fromelles the dead were buried by the enemy However although the identities of the dead were reported to the Red Cross in Geneva (identi fi ed from early versions of the dog tag and papers recovered from bodies) the exact location of the body was not some-thing that was passed on In the case of Pheasant Wood the site was known to the Allies not least because it had been captured in photographs The function of the pits does however appear to have been misinterpreted early on as they appear on a trench map as part of the German trench system (Pollard et al 2007 28) There was to be some continued misunderstanding when in the immediate post-war years the battle zone was scoured by burial recovery parties and the area was investigated but with no positive result

It was the job of the burial recovery parties to identify fi eld graves using what-ever testimony was available and looking for tell tale traces on the ground and to recover the bodies from their makeshift resting places prior to removal to the cem-eteries established by the Imperial War Graves Commission later the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Thousands of bodies were recovered in this way each recovery adding a further headstone in the formal war cemeteries which have since come to be a familiar part of the landscape of northern France and Belgium But when the searches were curtailed in 1921 many thousands of men were still miss-ing their only memorial being their names etched in the great memorials like the Menin Gate at Ypres and the Thiepval memorial in France At Fromelles the names of the missing were added to a memorial wall at the back of the cemetery at VC corner which sits on the battle fi eld This is no ordinary cemetery as it contains the bodies of 410 Allied soldiers (most thought to be Australian) buried in multiple 10-man graves The names of a further 1200 men all of them Australians appear on the wall and in addition to these several hundred British soldiers killed in the battle have no known grave

956 The Use of First World War Aerial Photographs by Archaeologistshellip

65 The Search for the Graves

Despite desperate pleas from relatives wanting to know where their husbands or sons had been buried the matter was not given much thought after 1921 not until that is Lambis Englezos took an interest in the early 2000s Referring to the aerial photographs he lobbied the Australian government to instigate an investigation of the site which fi nally came to fruition in 2007 when a team from the Centre for Battle fi eld Archaeology and GUARD was commissioned to carry out a non-inva-sive archaeological evaluation of the site The main aim was to establish beyond reasonable doubt whether or not there were burials still lying beneath the ground in a farmerrsquos fi eld adjacent to Pheasant Wood

An important element of this work was the historical research which sought to identify documentary evidence for the activities of German burial parties at Pheasant Wood Much of this work took place in the Bavarian military archives in Munich the original source of an important document fi rst identi fi ed by Englezos This was the original set of orders for the burials issued by Major von Braun of the 21st reserve Infantry Regiment and dated 21 July 1916 In this document he states lsquoThe English bodies will be buried in mass graves immediately to the south of Pheasant Wood hellip h-Company is to excavate mass graves for approximately 400 bodiesrsquo (Pollard et al 2008 66) The term lsquoEnglishrsquo was used generically by the Germans to refer to both Australian and British troops much in the same way that the present authors refer to the Bavarians as lsquoGermansrsquo

The fi rst known aerial photograph of the pits resulting from von Braunrsquos orders was taken on 29 July 1916 (Fig 62 ) It shows eight long pits sitting in pairs and running parallel with the southern side of Pheasant Wood Five of the pits have been back fi lled but the other three remain open and were to do so for the rest of the war ndash they can still be seen as such in the last photograph of the sequence taken on 16 September 1918 The pits sit immediately to the east of a light trench railway Clearly visible in the photographs this was used to carry supplies to the front line from the reserve areas This hand-pushed line is mentioned in the orders lsquothe dead are to be separated by nationality and suitably stacked close to the light railwayrsquo and there is a photograph which shows German soldiers standing around one of the open-sided wagons stacked full of corpses which from the absence of boots appear to be Allied (the Germans envied the British and Australians for their superior foot-wear and often removed them from corpses for reuse)

First and foremost the aerial photographs were invaluable in that they showed the location of the pits which in 2007 corresponded to a strip of level ground sitting at the foot of the gentle slope which drops down from the northern edge of the vil-lage of Fromelles The slope is regularly planted with a potato crop but the area occupied by pits has been left fallow ndash it transpires that this was not due to respect for the presence of the graves but because the level ground is largely composed of clay and so very wet and unsuitable for planting Prior to the project there was no folk memory of the graves in the village which is totally understandable given that the entire population was moved away by the Germans during the war so that the

96 T Pollard and P Barton

village could be turned into a strong point on the high ground of the Aubers Ridge By the time the locals returned after the cessation of hostilities the back fi lled pits would be all but invisible to the untrained eye and the open pits no more worthy of comment than any of the many other earthworks which over the coming years would themselves be back fi lled as the land was slowly returned to agricultural use

66 The Survey

With the search area clearly de fi ned the fi rst phase of fi eldwork aimed to locate the pits and ascertain as far as would be possible without excavation whether or not they were intact and had not been cleared of bodies after the war (it was possible that a recovery operation had taken place but the documentation relating to this mislaid or destroyed in the intervening years) A number of non-invasive techniques were utilised including geophysics GPR topographic survey and metal detector survey The heavy clay soils placed severe limitations on the effectiveness of the geophysics but the topographic survey revealed a series of gentle undulations indic-ative of ground disturbance But it was the metal detector survey which produced the most striking results with a number of important artefacts recovered from the topsoil in the vicinity of the pits

Fig 62 The key aerial photographs showing grave pits (Courtesy of the Imperial War Museum)

976 The Use of First World War Aerial Photographs by Archaeologistshellip

Among the normal Western Front debris which included shrapnel balls shell casings and the like (Fig 63 ) were two objects which have since gone on to attract a lot of attention with one of them becoming associated with an individual soldier (Whitford and Pollard 2009 ) These were medallions which were presented by com-munities to Australian volunteers when they joined up ndash when pinned to a lapel they acted in lieu of a uniform and signi fi ed that duty had been done Many of these may have been left behind in Australia but two men had clearly brought theirs with them The discovery of these objects removed any doubts that Australian soldiers had been buried on the site ndash the only reasonable explanation for the presence of these objects was that they had been brought in with bodies as the Australians never got this close to the village during the assault What the medallions did not tell us was whether the bodies were still in the pits

There were other objects related to the 1916 burials These included eyelets from the ground sheets or gas capes in which the already decaying bodies had been wrapped and carried to the grave site Also present was a small collection of Allied and German buttons which may have fallen from the clothing of the living and the dead during the exertions of moving the bodies The location of these fi nds was recorded with pinpoint accuracy with a total station and it was not until they were plotted against one of the aerial photographs that their full relevance was realised

When the photograph taken on 1 August 1916 (CU IWM 98 359 map) was enlarged (Fig 64 ) it was found to contain some quite surprising detail Firstly there were footpaths worn by the German soldiers as they walked around the pits

0 15 m

CU IW M 98 359 map 01081916

KEY

German Buttons

MedallionsSite extentFinds Grid

German cartridgesAllied cartridges

Allied Buttons

Find 571

Find 079

Find 081

Find 252

Find 572

Fig 63 Location of medallions and other selected fi nds overlain on aerial photograph (Courtesy of the Imperial War Museum)

98 T Pollard and P Barton

and leading directly from the side of the railway where the bodies were unloaded It is here that Lawrsquos realisation that aerial photographs were capable of capturing footprints comes most obviously to mind with the trampled route-ways showing up as pale lines in the photograph There is a dramatic correlation between these paths the pits (5 of which have been back fi lled) and the fi nds recovered during the metal detector survey The buttons were all found on or close to the paths with most of them clustered by the railway where much movement would have been associated with lifting the bodies from the train The medallions were located on either side of pit 4 though whether their locations mark the spot where the bodies were laid down prior to interment or points where they fell from bodies as they were being carried to the pits we will never know

67 The Evaluation

On the basis of the survey results and the continued absence of any documentary evidence suggestive of a successful recovery operation in the immediate post-war period it was decided by the Australian Army to commission a second programme

Fig 64 Enlarged section of aerial photograph taken on 1 August 1916 showing differential back fi lls and the tracks worn into the ground surface by burial parties

996 The Use of First World War Aerial Photographs by Archaeologistshellip

of work this time involving the invasive evaluation of the pits Thus in MayndashJune 2008 all eight of the pits were subject to evaluation through the excavation of lim-ited-sized sample trenches

Given the less than clear nature of the geophysical survey the aerial photographs were used to relocate the pits and guide the location of the trial trenches which were marked out on the ground prior to digging The fi rst trench to be cut was a 1 m wide slot trench designed to expose the upper surface of pits 5 and 6 A mini digger equipped with a toothless ditching bucket was used to remove the 40ndash50 cm of heavy topsoil onto the heavy clay subsoil Under the glare of the worldrsquos press a nervous couple of hours passed as the careful removal of the topsoil failed to reveal any obvious sign of the pits But then to the authorsrsquo mutual relief a tell tale soil change came to light The fi rst indicator was the presence of smears of blue clay intermixed with the browner clay soil beneath the topsoil The blue clay horizon in an undisturbed pro fi le should have appeared somewhere between 2 and 3 m below the surface if not deeper and its presence at the top of the subsoil horizon was therefore clearly indicative of digging to quite a considerable depth at some point in the past As the newly exposed surface was cleaned further straight edges became apparent running across the width of the narrow trial trench The pits were there but were they still intact

Certainly the straight edges were a very good sign It seemed highly unlikely that a burial recovery team arriving on the site some years after the burials were made would have used archaeological precision to re-excavate the pits Much more likely it was felt the men charged with exhumation would have had a rather hap-hazard approach to excavation resulting in the over-digging of the pit edges leav-ing behind very ragged and irregular edges once the emptied pits had been back fi lled for a second time However the presence or absence of bodies could only be estab-lished beyond doubt by digging down into the pits Comparison with the pits as exposed in the base of the trial trench and as previously marked out on the surface showed some misalignment ndash the pits were in reality located immediately to the north of the pits as extrapolated from the aerial photograph plots a drift of around 25 m on the north south axis with the east west axis remaining consistent The pits were around 10 m long and just over 2 m wide

With the exposure of workable lengths of pits accomplished the next task was to hand dig a small trial trench or sondage through the fi ll to check pit depth and pres-ence or absence of human remains The fi rst pit to be investigated in this fashion was pit 4 Careful removal of the pit fi ll from an area of around 05 times 1 m revealed a number of zinc eyelets from ground sheets These clearly related to a ground sheet which had been thrown back into the pit while it was being back fi lled though whether for the fi rst or second time was as yet still unclear Once the sondage was around a metre deep the smell of decay became apparent and white fragments of lime began to appear Not long after the fi rst human bone was encountered ndash an ulna from the forearm

By the end of day 2 of the project the presence of human remains had been established in several of the pits and so work progressed with extending the evalu-ation trenches with the mechanical excavator in the hands of a skilled operator used to remove the pit fi lls down to a level just above the bones The resulting trenches

100 T Pollard and P Barton

varied between 2 times 2 m and 15 times 2 m depending on the width of the pit ndash with every attempt made to retain the original cut where marks left by the German shovels were still preserved in the stiff clay

All of the fi ve pits known from the aerial photographs to have been back fi lled shortly after the battle were found to be heavily populated with bodies The remains were skeletonised though decay products were evident as a black liquid deposit in the wettest of the pits The pits closest to the wood were drier than those to the north as the roots assisted with drainage The remains in these pits were also in a more advanced state of decay with less in the way of clothing surviving The most strik-ing preservation was encountered in pit 2 which was the closest to the railway line Among the bodies exposed in this pit were two Australians lying side by side on the same ground sheet Elements of their clothing survived including socks and trou-sers on one of them and the canvas webbing belts were still in place on their torsos with the pouches still full of bullets which they never got the chance to fi re These men had clearly been deposited with some care lifted into the pit in the ground sheet The position of other bodies suggested a more hurried approach with men lying on their fronts and one man in pit 5 lying spread-eagled with his arms outstretched

In pit 4 possibly the wettest the bodies were very densely packed and lay per-pendicular to one another given the impression of a raft of bodies Preservation levels here were so good that a well preserved cardboard matchbox was recovered the coloured graphic on it still perfectly legible The majority of bodies appeared to be Australian the fi rst real indication being a metal lsquorising sunrsquo badge recovered from a body in pit 4 A photograph of this fi nd was to appear in most Australian newspapers over the next few days an indication of the interest in the operation in the country which remembers the battle of Fromelles as the worst 24 hours in its history Other less dramatic indicators of nationality took the form of the ovoid buckles which were attached to the waist belts sewn into the Australian army tunic a design feature not found on their British counterpart

Evidence for a British presence in the graves took the form of General Service Buttons from pit 4 and one from pit 3 These brass buttons are of a distinctive design with the lion and unicorn rampant on either side of a crest and in this case with a Birmingham makerrsquos mark on the reverse These are distinctly British in character as at the time the Australians were largely using plain buttons of resin rubber or bone ndash their own General Service buttons were of a different design to the British types

68 Bene fi ts of Detailed Photographic Analysis

As described above invasive evaluation served once and for all to establish the pres-ence of the bodies of Australian and British soldiers within the pits at Pheasant Wood A further suite of essential information was also recovered including pit depths

1016 The Use of First World War Aerial Photographs by Archaeologistshellip

variability of preservation levels from pit to pit the presence of more than one layer of bodies in each pit the nature of burial practice and so on What also became appar-ent during this operation was the amount of useful information which had been gleaned from nothing more than an examination of the aerial photographs

In addition to the photographs already discussed in relation to the medallion fi nds two photographs in particular proved very informative (Fig 62 ) The latest of these taken on 22 October 1916 will be discussed fi rst This photograph captured the results of the burial operation in clear detail with the nature of the mounded spoil still standing proud of the graves showing up very clearly A natural result of returning soil to a pit in which bodies have been placed is that the soil will stand proud of the surface In the case of pits 1ndash5 these mounds of back fi lled soil have been landscaped in order to provide straight-edged platforms probably of slightly larger dimensions in plan than the pits beneath them Contrastingly pits 6ndash8 have been left open and the removed spoil can be seen as linear mounds heaped close to the northern and southern edges of the pits Anomalous here is what appears to be the vestige of a spoil mound to the south of pit 5 which seems somewhat at odds with its back fi lled status

The obvious conclusion to draw from this was that pit 5 contains more bodies than the other four pits used for burial Such a scenario would leave even less space for returned spoil and so ultimately lead to some of it being left behind as a vestigial spoil heap once back fi lling was complete The possibility of more bodies being present in pit 5 was noted in the 2007 survey report (Pollard et al 2007 ) where it was suggested that pit 5 being the furthest from the rail line was the last to be back fi lled If it became apparent to burial parties that with a little extra packing of the bodies the need to utilise a sixth pit with all the trouble that would entail in back fi lling could be circumvented then the result may have been the lack of space for back fi lled soil as indicated by the photograph

This hypothesis seemed to be backed up by the results of the 2008 evaluation which showed that bodies in pit 5 or at least that part excavated lay not two deep as with the other pits but three deep However when the graves were fully exca-vated and the bodies removed for reburial by Oxford Archaeology in 2009 the pit was found to contain 50 bodies the same as pits 1ndash4 The 2007 evaluation con-cluded that between 225 and 400 bodies were present at Pheasant Wood but with expectations leaning towards the higher end This wide range gives some idea of the dif fi culty of making estimates from evaluation trenches ndash in any case something never tried before The fi nal fi gure was around 250 with the fi ve full pits containing 50 bodies each

The exposure of bodies three deep in the length of the pit examined in 2008 therefore appears to have been an anomaly within the pit However what does appear to have happened is that the relative care taken with bodies and their place-ment in pits 1ndash4 had broken down by the time they got to pit 5 and as a result less space was left for back fi lled spoil which in any case may not have been replaced with the same zeal previously demonstrated ndash hence the excess left sitting beside the trench

102 T Pollard and P Barton

The second photograph to be discussed here was that taken on 29 July 1917 (CU IW 98 300 map) Whereas it had been apparent from the outset that pits 1ndash5 had been used for the burial of the dead in the days following the battle (their con-tinued presence was established by the evaluation) some doubt still remained over pit 6 On fi rst viewing of the photographs this pit appeared to have been left open along with pits 7 and 8 until at least 1918 when the last known photograph was taken However closer scrutiny of the photograph suggested that a small portion of the western end of the pit had actually been back fi lled along with pits 1ndash5 This was suggested by nothing more than a smudge of grey at this end of the pit between the two spoil heaps It was enough however to merit the suggestion in the 2007 survey report (Pollard et al 2007 ) that the western end of the pit may have been used for the interment of lsquooverspillrsquo remains which had been left out of pit 5 perhaps because they were recovered after the back fi lling of that pit This partial use would certainly be in keeping with the desire to minimise effort during the tail end of the burial operation

Once again a suggestion drawn from photographic analysis was backed up by the subsequent evaluation The excavation of a slot trench at a point around 2 m from the western end of pit 6 resulted in the exposure of a small amount of human remains lying in the bottom of the cut These consisted of leg and foot bones pos-sibly from two individuals partially wrapped in what appeared to be a sock During the recovery operation in 2009 further human remains were found in the western end of the pit which had been predicted on the basis of the earlier evaluation ndash dur-ing the evaluation the sloping extent of the partial back fi ll had been apparent in both the east and west facing sections a clear indication that burial-related back fi lling had been limited to this end of the pit

69 Conclusion

The Fromelles survey and evaluation was a unique project in several respects It was the fi rst time since 1921 that a concerted effort had been made to locate unmarked graves on the Western Front since post-war body recovery operations ceased in 1921 It was also the fi rst time that the character and extent of mass graves had been estab-lished through invasive evaluation ndash such operations are certainly not associated with the recovery of bodies from more recent mass graves such as those in the Balkans

On the basis of the 2007 survey and 2008 evaluation a joint decision was made by the Australian and British governments to proceed with the full recovery of the human remains from the mass grave pits at Pheasant Wood That operation was car-ried out in 2009 and was followed in January 2010 with the fi rst reburials in indi-vidual graves located in a newly establish Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery very close to the Pheasant Wood site (the fi rst such cemetery to be estab-lished in half a century) Accompanying the exhumation is a programme of DNA analysis which will hopefully allow at least some of these men to have their names carved into their gravestones the rest will of course be lsquoKnown Unto Godrsquo

1036 The Use of First World War Aerial Photographs by Archaeologistshellip

The forgoing has demonstrated how useful wartime aerial photographs were in the relocation evaluation and interpretation of the Pheasant Wood Graves This project was however just one of a growing number to have taken place on the Western Front over recent years many of which have utilised wartime aerial photo-graphs to some extent These photographs represent a powerful tool which allows the modern researcher to view the battle fi elds as they appeared almost a century ago Now with digital technology we are able to view these extraordinary photo-graphs in an accessible form and scrutinise them as never before

Bibliography

Barton P (2005) The battle fi elds of the First World War The unseen panoramas of the Western Front London Constable

Barton P (2007) Fromelles A report based on research in the Hauptstaatsarchiv Kriegsarchiv Munich November and December 2007 Unpublished report on research carried out on behalf of the Australian Army History Unit

Eastlake L E (1857) Photography London Quarterly Review 101 (202) 442ndash468 Heiman G (1969) Aerial photography The story of mapping and reconnaissance New York

Macmillan Lundqvist S (2002) A history of bombing London Granta Books McMaster University Libraries (2008) I Spy with my glass eye Aerial photography and innova-

tion in WWI httppw20cmcmastercacase-studyi-spy-my-glass-eye-aerial-photography-and- innovation-world-war-i Accessed 5 Feb 2010

Pollard T (2008) A view from the trenches An introduction to the archaeology of the Western Front In M Howard (Ed) A part of history Aspects of the British experience of the First World War (pp 198ndash209) London Continuum

Pollard T Barton P amp Banks I (2007) Pheasant wood Fromelles evaluation of possible mass graves Unpublished GUARD report 12005 University of Glasgow

Pollard T Barton P amp Banks I (2008) Pheasant wood Fromelles data structure report Unpublished GUARD report 12008 University of Glasgow

Stichelbaut B (2005) The application of Great War aerial photography in battle fi eld archaeology The example of Flanders Journal of Con fl ict Archaeology 1 235ndash243

Whitford T amp Pollard T (2009) For duty done A WWI military medallion recovered from the mass grave site at Fromelles Northern France Journal of Con fl ict Archaeology 5 201ndash229

105WS Hanson and IA Oltean (eds) Archaeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives DOI 101007978-1-4614-4505-0_7 copy Springer Science+Business Media LLC 2013

Abstract Between 1994 and 2006 a comprehensive programme of mapping and recording archaeological sites from aerial photographs in Cornwall was carried out as part of the National Mapping Programme a project initiated and funded by English Heritage Among the wide range of photographs consulted during the proj-ect the most important were RAF verticals dating from the mid-twentieth century These photographs cover the entire county they were taken at propitious times of year and in favourable conditions both for cropmark and earthwork features and they predate the widespread breaking-in of moorland in the later twentieth century the post-war expansion of towns and the late twentieth-century move towards deep ploughing For these reasons the photographs were an indispensable source and almost 12000 sites ranging from prehistoric settlements to post-medieval indus-trial remains were transcribed from them

Between 1994 and 2006 a comprehensive programme of mapping and recording archaeological sites from aerial photographs in Cornwall was carried out as part of the National Mapping Programme a project initiated and funded by English Heritage Among the wide range of photographs consulted during the project the most important were RAF verticals dating from the mid-twentieth century This chapter outlines the value of these historic photographs and highlights some of the principal areas of archaeological information for which they proved an indispens-able source

A Young () Historic Environment Cornwall Council Kennall Building Station Road Truro Cornwall TR1 3AY UK e-mail ayoungcornwallgovuk

Chapter 7 Historic Vertical Photography and Cornwallrsquos National Mapping Programme

Andrew Young

106 A Young

71 Aerial Reconnaissance in Cornwall

In common with many parts of Britain Cornwall has been subject to a large amount of aerial photography taken both for archaeological and non-archaeological pur-poses The earliest archaeological aerial reconnaissance in the county was carried out in 1926 by OGS Crawford and resulted in the now famous images of sub-merged late prehistoric or Romano-British fi eld boundaries on Samson Flats Isles of Scilly which provide evidence of sea-level rise during the last two millennia (Thomas 1985 Ratcliffe and Straker 1996 )

Intermittent fl ights were made during the 1950s and 1960s by Professor JK St Joseph of Cambridge University and during the 1970s and 1980s by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) Since 1984 a more systematic programme of reconnaissance has been carried out by the Historic Environment Service of Cornwall County Council (formerly Cornwall Archaeological Unit) supplemented by occasional fl ights made by English Heritage Collectively these reconnaissance programmes have produced more than 22000 oblique images of archaeological sites and historic monuments consisting mostly of black and white prints but including several thousand colour slides and more recently digital images

Specialist archaeological photographs are generally taken at low altitudes and therefore offer detailed close-up views from oblique angles that use favourable con-ditions such as low light and shadow to great advantage However specialist archaeological reconnaissance is by de fi nition site-speci fi c and fl ying time is always constrained by available resources As a result the pattern of archaeological aerial reconnaissance in Cornwall is uneven some areas have been fl own many times others only rarely

Non-archaeological aerial photography is taken for cartographic or military pur-poses (by the Ordnance Survey and the RAF respectively) and for use in civil engi-neering projects by commercial companies (in Cornwall most notably by Meridian Airmaps Ltd during the 1960s and 1970s) and is commissioned by local authorities for census purposes (Cornwall County Council has commissioned three such sur-veys over the last 20 years) Non-archaeological aerial surveys invariably consist of vertical photographs often (but not always) at a scale of 110000 Whilst these pho-tographs are unlikely to provide the same level of detail as low-level oblique images this is more than compensated for by the fact that vertical photographs provide comprehensive coverage of large swathes of the landscape

In Cornwall fi ve vertical surveys provide coverage of the entire county These surveys offer unique documentation of the Cornish landscape at a particular moment in time and are thus of great interest to landscape historians The earliest complete survey was carried out in the years immediately after the Second World War and the most recent in 2005 Comparison of the two allows us to chart the fast-changing landscape in the latter half of the twentieth century an era which witnessed the rapid expansion of towns major road-building programmes and signi fi cant intensi fi cation in agricultural practice These surveys and indeed all the series of vertical photo-graphs also contain a wealth of archaeological information and the study of Cornish

1077 Historic Vertical Photography and Cornwallrsquos National Mapping Programme

archaeology has been greatly enhanced by the systematic mapping and recording of this information between 1994 and 2006 as part of English Heritagersquos National Mapping Programme (NMP)

The aim of the NMP is to enhance understanding about past human activity by providing information and syntheses for all archaeological sites and landscapes vis-ible on aerial photographs from the Neolithic period to the twentieth century (Bewley 2001 78) To achieve this aim a methodology was developed from previ-ous selective approaches to mapping from aerial photographs (eg Benson and Miles 1974 ) The guiding principle of the methodology is to map describe and clas-sify all archaeological sites recorded by aerial photography in England to a consis-tent standard (RCHME 1995 ) A great strength of this method is that it involves consulting all available and accessible photographs For Cornwall this amounted to more than 50000 photographs the majority of which were non-archaeological ver-ticals The photographs used during the project are held in three separate collec-tions English Heritagersquos National Monuments Record (NMR) Swindon Cornwall County Council Truro and Cambridge University Unit for Landscape Modelling

72 Historic RAF Photographs

The largest and most important archive is the NMR which loaned more than 33000 photographs for consultation A signi fi cant proportion of these (some 14000 prints) were RAF verticals taken over the period from 1942 to 1964 Although the archive contains photographs from every year within this period there are three main series those of the mid-late 1940s covering the entire county those from the early 1950s cov-ering most of the county and those from 1964 again providing only partial coverage

Each series differs in character and quality The main sorties from the 1940s are the 3GTUD series of April 1946 the 3GTUD and 106GUK series of July 1946 the CPEUK series of October 1947 and the CPEUK series dating from March 1948 The quality of photography from the 1940s is generally good although weather conditions were somewhat variable over parts of the county on the day of the fl ights with haze or patchy cloud cover in places Many earthwork features are visible on these photographs particularly the 1947 series which was fl own in mark-edly low light The July 1946 photography is also a proli fi c source of cropmarks including some sites not seen on any subsequent photographs The 540483 series of April 1951 the 58680 and 540497 series of May 1951 and the 540994 series from January 1953 constitute the bulk of the 1950s photography On the whole the quality of these photographs is inferior to the earlier series in some cases very much so Exposures are not always ideal resulting in poor de fi nition this is a pity because the landscape visible on the 1951 springtime photographs is characterised by a large number of freshly ploughed fi elds which are frequently overexposed and appear bright white with little chance of soilmark features showing It is also the case that for some of the 1950s photographs stereoscopic pairs do not produce a pronounced 3D effect when viewed through a pocket stereoscope In contrast the 586399 series

108 A Young

of July 1964 contains photographs of excellent quality with very high de fi nition and enhanced stereoscopic effect The 1964 series are at a slightly small scale (112000) than the norm whereas the 1940s and 1950s photographs are nominally 110000 (nominally because the pilotsrsquo ability to maintain a constant height was not always consistent) Broadly speaking the quality of the actual prints is uneven particularly those of the 1940s and 1950s a minority are curled creased or otherwise worn and some have developed a sepia tone

Notwithstanding these criticisms there is no question that RAF vertical photog-raphy in particular the historic photographs dating from the 1940s constituted the most valuable photographic source available to Cornwallrsquos National Mapping Programme During the project more than 30000 individual archaeological fea-tures were mapped and these formed the basis for 17682 records either updated (in the case of previously recorded sites) or created (in the case of newly identi fi ed sites) in the county Historic Environment Record (HER) As a routine element of HER data entry details of the photographs from which each site was mapped were noted Analysis of this data shows that for 14232 records the mapping was derived from RAF photographs In other words 80 of all sites recorded during the project were transcribed from RAF photography

73 Archaeological Sites on RAF Photography

One of the most signi fi cant outcomes of Cornwallrsquos NMP was the large number of previously unknown or unrecorded sites which were newly identi fi ed from aerial photographs As Table 71 shows more than 10000 of these new sites were mapped and recorded from RAF verticals 72 of them from the 1946ndash1948 series

Table 71 Statistical analysis of RAF aerial photography showing the number of sites transcribed and recorded from the various fl ights

Photo date

Form of remains

New site records

Existing site records

All site records Cropmark Extant

lsquoDocumentaryrsquo or lsquoSite ofrsquo

1946ndash1948 2053 7250 879 7654 2528 10182 Other 1940s 96 308 44 368 80 448 1951ndash1953 339 851 140 927 403 1330 Other 1950s 100 192 69 259 102 361 1964 444 1260 113 1340 477 1817 Other 1960s 3 1 1 3 2 5 Undated a 32 54 3 43 46 89

Total 3067 9916 1249 10594 3638 14232

a For a small number of site records the date of photography was erroneously omitted from the database

1097 Historic Vertical Photography and Cornwallrsquos National Mapping Programme

These fi gures can be quali fi ed to an extent by pointing out that in some cases the new records are for types of site which have only recently come to be included in the remit of Cornwallrsquos HER The most obvious example is the legacy of twentieth-century con fl ict An important application of 1940s RAF photography lies in its documentation of Second World War defence structures such as anti-aircraft batter-ies barrage balloon mooring points pillboxes and the like many of which have been demolished over the last 60 years Partly because of the rate of their destruc-tion these wartime installations are now recognised as a vulnerable and important element of the historic landscape and are included in local authoritiesrsquo registers of monuments indeed some are designated as scheduled monuments Prior to Cornwallrsquos NMP few or no Second World War sites were recorded in the HER Almost 700 of these features have subsequently been mapped from historic RAF photography and virtually all of them are new site records

Another example is small-scale quarrying The Cornish stone industry has a long history the main rocks quarried were granite and slate and the industry has left a legacy of abandoned pits and quarries all over the county Although the larger and more complex quarries were included in the HER small-scale quarrying had not been systematically recorded prior to the NMP project Mapping and recording of quarries accounted for 1300 of the new sites identi fi ed from RAF vertical photography

These observations in no way diminish either the results of NMP mapping or the value of historic RAF photography In fact the vast majority of sites mapped from RAF photographs are types such as prehistoric and medieval settlement and farming features which have traditionally formed the core of the HER

Of interest is the ratio of extant archaeological sites (with surviving stone or earthwork remains) to those visible only as cropmarks For Cornwallrsquos NMP as a whole the majority of sites recorded had extant remains and the predominance of earthworks is especially pronounced among features transcribed from historic RAF verticals Almost 70 of these had extant remains whilst only 20 were crop-marks the remainder were classed as either lsquosite ofrsquo (extant features subsequently built over or otherwise destroyed) or lsquodocumentaryrsquo (sites previously known from documentary evidence but where some form of physical evidence ndash usually crop-mark evidence ndash was identi fi ed on the photographs)

This bias towards extant sites is not surprising given the nature of the Cornish landscape and the distinctive character of much of its archaeology The upland areas of the county especially Bodmin Moor West Penwith and the Lizard Peninsula are characterised by moorland and open pasture and in places contain extensive relict archaeological landscapes Some other parts of Cornwall have until quite recently been relatively unaffected by intensive agricultural development and throughout much of the county stone has been used for building since prehistory As a result above-ground traces survive in a large percentage of Cornish archaeological and historic monuments compared with elsewhere in southern England This fact is re fl ected by the unusually high number of sites ndash almost 2000 ndash designated as scheduled monuments Nowhere is this bias more apparent than in the remains of

110 A Young

the tin and copper mining industries which are among the most visually striking elements of Cornwallrsquos rich and varied archaeological heritage Only 5 of mining features transcribed from RAF photography were recorded as cropmarks

74 The Cornish Mining Industries

Large mineral reserves coupled with technical advances in steam pumping which made deep mining possible by the end of the eighteenth century meant Cornwall dominated the world market in tin until the 1870s and by the early nineteenth cen-tury was the worldrsquos pre-eminent copper producer (Rowe 1953 128 Barton 1969 151) The impact of the industry on the landscape was large-scale and the speed of its decline has left a well-preserved relict mining landscape Its legacy includes thousands of mine shafts numerous engine houses and the widespread remains of tin and arsenic processing (arsenic was a by-product of tin and copper mining and its production was pioneered in Cornwall) The international importance of the Cornish mining landscape was recognised when it was awarded World Heritage Site status (WHS) in July 2006

Many of the more substantial remains such as engine houses and the larger shafts are recorded on Ordnance Survey maps particularly the First and Second Edition maps (of 1880 and 1907 respectively) when some mines were still in opera-tion Archaeological fi eld surveys and documentary research have added further detail to our knowledge of the mining landscape Nonetheless aerial photographs provide an abundance of additional information In the main this comprises the location of surface workings shallow pits and their associated spoil heaps

The development of the WHS nomination bid involved de fi ning the nature and extent of the archaeological remains of the mining industry and mapping from aerial photographs provided 40 of the data collated by the WHS team (A Sharpe 2006 personal communication) The RAF verticals are the prime source for this informa-tion (Fig 71 ) more than 2000 of the 2300 mine sites mapped during Cornwallrsquos NMP were transcribed from RAF photographs Although much of the mining land-scape still survives today it is clear from this photography that a considerable amount was lost during the latter part of the twentieth century The land around some mine sites has been improved and landscaped features in enclosed farmland have been levelled and many structures have been obscured or damaged by scrub growth

The period from 1700 to the early part of the twentieth century was the heyday of Cornish mining but Cornwallrsquos rich mineral resources have been exploited on a large scale since medieval times and the tin industry was already internationally important by the thirteenth century (Hatcher 1973 20ndash21) During this period a substantial amount of tin produced in Cornwall came from tin streaming a technique which involved washing away lighter sands and wastes from tin-rich gravels to leave the heavier tin ores which were then collected and smelted (Gerrard 1987 7ff)

Accumulations of tin-rich gravels are known as tin streams Essentially these are geological deposits formed when erosion caused tin ore (cassiterite) to break away from exposed seams (known locally as lsquolodesrsquo) and settle a short distance away or

1117 Historic Vertical Photography and Cornwallrsquos National Mapping Programme

to accumulate in the bottom of river valleys (Penhallurick 1986 153ff and 164ff) After the formation of a tin stream layers of sand and gravel settled on top of it this overburden could be several metres deep and had to be removed to allow the tinners to reach the tin stream

Streamers developed a range of methods to separate the cassiterite from the waste depending on the nature of the tin stream and the elements constituting the overburden and each method produced its own distinctive type of earthwork remains (Gerrard 2000 63ndash79) Most commonly water was brought through a channel into the working area and the overburden was washed into the river or a drain where it fl owed downstream in suspension Heavy stones and gravel left behind were piled up to form steep linear banks As the work progressed the tinners produced a regular pattern of parallel banks of spoil (Fig 72 )

Fig 71 The Great Flat Lode Carn Brea RAF vertical photographs from the 1940s provide a uniquely graphic impression of the extensive relict landscape of Cornwallrsquos tin and copper mining industries (Photo 106GUK 16634152 (12 July 1946) copy Cornwall County Council 2009)

112 A Young

Streaming was carried out on a massive scale the removal of millions of tonnes of overburden resulted in rivers and estuaries such as the Fal Fowey and Carnon becom-ing heavily silted (Gerrard 2000 61) Although tin streaming declined in importance after the seventeenth century it continued as an industry up to the mid-1900s

The tinners gradually turned their attention away from the increasingly exhausted tin streams towards the lodes themselves The earliest underground mines in Cornwall were worked by pits or shallow shafts often interconnected by tunnels and galleries underground and usually dug in lines following the lodes (Fig 75 ) Lode-back pits or shafts as they are known were in use by the thirteenth or four-teenth century (Herring 1997 55ndash56) Unlike later deep mining where very few shafts were used to extract the lode shallow working required numerous pits This is because the underground excavations were very narrow and it was easier to sink more shafts than to haul waste long distances back to the original shaft to take it to the surface

These forms of early mining have left extensive remains which in places form spectacular lsquoother worldlyrsquo landscapes Historic aerial photographs provide an ideal medium for viewing these landscapes and more than 1300 early mining sites have

Fig 72 Streamworks at Ennisworgey Restormel A diverted channel de fi nes the southern limit of these workings Waste has been dumped in a series of mounds forming a characteristic parallel pattern To the north of the stream an unusual amount of detail can be seen including individual mounds of waste and the clearly de fi ned squared-off end of one of the workings ( centre of the photograph ) (Photo RAF 5432332F220170 (26 July 1963) copy Crown copyright MOD)

1137 Historic Vertical Photography and Cornwallrsquos National Mapping Programme

been mapped from RAF verticals Of particular signi fi cance was the transcribing and recording during Cornwallrsquos NMP of 259 new streamworking sites from RAF photography Many of these were in the Hensbarrow area to the north of St Austell the centre of the china clay industry in Cornwall and here a number of streamworks have been destroyed over the last few decades by clay extraction or have been buried beneath massive waste tips Elsewhere some streamworks have been drained and improved and many have become overgrown by dense vegetation The best pre-served workings are found on Bodmin Moor where the only extensive programme of fi eld survey of Cornish streamworks has been undertaken (Gerrard 2000 11ff)

75 Bodmin Moor

The granite massif of Bodmin Moor is of enormous archaeological signi fi cance nationally As well as early tin workings extensive relict landscapes comprising prehistoric settlements fi elds and ceremonial sites and medieval farms and fi eld systems survive here The importance of this landscape led to the development of the Bodmin Moor Survey a ground-breaking initiative carried out jointly by the RCHME and Cornwall Archaeological Unit between 1980 and 1985 which was one of the fi rst projects nationally to combine aerial survey with follow-up fi eld survey The results are contained in two separate publications (Johnson and Rose 1994 Herring et al 2008 )

For that project a specially commissioned vertical aerial survey of Bodmin Moor was fl own at a scale of 17500 by Cambridge University Committee for Aerial Photography in 1977 Archaeological sites visible on this photography were tran-scribed by RCHME staff at a scale of 12500 Further detail was provided by a pro-gramme of specialist oblique photography carried out by RCHME The resulting plots were then taken into the fi eld by the survey team and amended where appropriate

Many (if not all) of the features mapped during the Bodmin Moor Survey can be seen on RAF verticals and in some instances new features were identi fi ed from these photographs during Cornwallrsquos NMP for instance 50 previously unrecorded round houses and 15 prehistoric fi eld systems Although these fi gures are small compared with the total number of similar features in the Bodmin Moor Survey area it is testimony to the value of the historic RAF verticals that any new sites at all were identi fi ed in an area of open moorland which had been subjected to such intensive research in the past

Many more new features were mapped from RAF verticals around the moorland edge and in farmland on the moor itself The Bodmin Moor Survey was to a degree selective fi rstly only areas of moorland were surveyed and not the surrounding farmland secondly only photographs from the two sources mentioned above were consulted As a result there were gaps in the archaeological record principally in areas that had been taken into agriculture during the post-war years but prior to 1977 when the aerial survey was commissioned Archaeological features subsequently mapped from historic verticals fi lled in some of these gaps (Fig 73 ) In the main

114 A Young

Fig

n ex

trac

t of

P m

appi

ng f

rom

the

Sibl

ybac

k ar

ea o

f B

odm

in M

oor

show

ing

new

site

s tr

ansc

ribe

d fr

om R

vert

ical

pho

togr

aphy

For

the

mos

t pa

rt t

hese

com

pris

e m

edie

val fi

eld

boun

dari

es a

nd r

idge

and

fur

row

(th

e di

rect

ion

of th

e ri

dges

is s

how

n by

arr

ows )

( copy

Cor

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nty

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ncil

2009

)

1157 Historic Vertical Photography and Cornwallrsquos National Mapping Programme

these features related to the medieval and post-medieval farming landscape typically fi eld systems (some quite extensive) removed fi eld boundaries ridge and furrow cultivation enclosures of various types holloways and trackways In this respect NMP mapping in Bodmin Moor exempli fi es the mapping for Cornwall as a whole in that as many as a third of all new sites mapped from RAF verticals throughout the county were features of the medieval and early post-medieval farmed landscape

76 The Medieval Farming Landscape

The nature of medieval settlement in Cornwall is most clearly seen on Bodmin Moor where more than 30 settlements were abandoned and survive in their entirety (Johnson and Rose 1994 77ndash115) All of these deserted settlements can be seen on the 1940s RAF vertical photographs They are made up of longhouses some are single farmsteads but most are hamlets Longhouse hamlets were the characteristic settlement type throughout medieval Cornwall Typically they would contain between two and six farmsteads clustered around a small lsquotownplacersquo Each farm-stead comprised a main farmhouse and one or two smaller outbuildings serving as barns and animal houses The houses are stone built and most in Cornwall date from the twelfth to fourteenth centuries although some are earlier (Preston-Jones and Rose 1986 146ndash147)

Each hamlet was surrounded by in-ground or lsquotownlandrsquo ndash an area of improved land sometimes enclosed by an irregular curvilinear boundary The in-ground was divided into long narrow strips (often containing ridge and furrow) de fi ned by low stony banks and each farmstead within a hamlet had its own share of strips scat-tered through the fi elds The in-ground was not permanently under arable or pasture but was worked in rotation There is evidence that medieval agriculture in Cornwall was based on a long ley period with crops grown for 2 or 3 years and grass for between 4 and 9 years (Fox 1971 102ndash104) The whole cycle would take roughly 10 years to complete and the fi elds were organised into ten cropping units or fur-longs which were subdivided into strips (Herring 2006 )

Earthwork remains of strip fi elds have been mapped from RAF vertical photog-raphy not just on Bodmin Moor but throughout the upland areas of Cornwall (Fig 74 ) In some places where the strips survive they are likely to result from out fi eld cultivation involving the temporary cultivation of marginal land normally used as pasture In Cornwall out fi eld areas were only occasionally cultivated ndash maybe only every 50 or 60 years when demand for produce was high or perhaps when prices were particularly favourable (Fox 1973 )

Whilst few deserted longhouse settlements survive in lowland areas (most have been superseded by later buildings) the extent of the farming landscape in the medi-eval period is shown by the widespread occurrence of former strip fi elds which were enclosed with substantial boundary hedges at a later date The enclosure of these strips often leaves distinctive traces in surviving fi eld boundaries and fi eld patterns such as so-called reversed-s or reversed-j curves and lsquodog-legsrsquo and the evidence

116 A Young

suggests that the greater part of the farmed landscape of Cornwall was divided into strip fi elds (Herring 1998 77ndash82)

The gradual enclosure of open strip fi elds took place mainly between the four-teenth and seventeenth centuries and transformed the landscape into that which sur-vives to this day (Herring 1998 77) The strips surrounding small hamlets were reorganised into block-shaped fi elds based on the enclosure of whole cropping units These fi elds are distinctively irregular with very few straight boundaries By con-trast fi elds of eighteenth or nineteenth century origin are predominantly straight-sided and rectilinear Where hamlets contained many households and landholding arrangements were more complex single strips or groups of two or three were enclosed the resulting pattern closely resembles that of the original open fi eld Though less common than the larger block-shaped fi elds there are good examples throughout Cornwall (Fig 74 )

In some parts of the county the latter part of the twentieth century saw wide-spread fi eld boundary removal and in places the character of the landscape has

Fig 74 The medieval landscape at Trerice St Breock In the south are the low earthwork remains of strip fi elds abandoned in what is now uncultivated land To the north individual strips or groups of two or three have been enclosed by stock-proof hedges whose reversed-j shape fossil-ises the pattern of the original open fi eld (Photo CPEUK19994049 (13 April 1947) copy Cornwall County Council 2009)

1177 Historic Vertical Photography and Cornwallrsquos National Mapping Programme

been altered Over much of Cornwall however the present-day fi eld pattern is clearly derived from medieval enclosure and the mapping of fi eld boundaries from RAF verticals has served to substantiate this interpretation More than 2300 newly recorded fi eld boundaries and fi eld systems originating from the late medieval and early post-medieval phase of enclosure have been mapped from RAF verticals roughly half of them visible only as cropmarks In some instances the newly mapped fi eld systems are relatively extensive and coherent These represent medieval fi elds which were abandoned like those at Trerice (Fig 74 ) or which have been removed or overlain as a result of post-medieval reorganisation of the landscape In many instances however the photographic evidence is for individual fi eld boundaries or small groups of boundaries which fi t into the present-day fi eld pattern

There are two important points to make regarding these features Firstly in accord with NMP methodology fi eld boundaries appearing on the First Edition OS map of 1880 (or on later maps) are not transcribed thus the mapping represents pre-1880 boundary removal Secondly these individual boundaries formed an inte-gral part of more extensive fi eld systems which are still in use today but whose origins lie in the medieval period

Using interpretations of fi eld morphology in conjunction with place-name evi-dence and documentary sources (identifying settlements fi rst recorded before 1540) it has been possible to de fi ne those areas in Cornwall which were enclosed and farmed in the medieval period (Herring 1998 77) There is much circ*mstantial evidence to suggest that the medieval settlement and farming heartland corresponds to a large degree with the settlement and farming zone of the late prehistoric and Romano-British period (Johnson 1998 ) This evidence comes from archaeological fi eld work excavation geophysical survey and mapping from aerial photographs The general pattern becoming apparent from this work is that prehistoric settlement features are invariably found in areas of medieval settlement but rarely from areas that were heathland or waste ground in medieval times

77 The Prehistoric Farming Landscape

Many of the characteristic features of the upland prehistoric landscapes in Cornwall were mapped from RAF vertical photography during Cornwallrsquos NMP These include for example almost 500 stone built round houses (more than 100 of which were new sites identi fi ed from the historic photographs) and around 400 fi eld sys-tems In the same way that the intact abandoned settlements and fi elds on Bodmin Moor serve as a model for the medieval settlement pattern for the rest of Cornwall so the relict prehistoric landscapes in the Cornish uplands provide a likely template for the prehistoric settlement pattern in the county as a whole

As a result some models of prehistoric landscape development for Cornwall have been proposed the most developed of which is set out as a narrative in a paper by Peter Herring ( 2008 ) Herring identi fi es from different and superim-posed settlement and fi eld patterns a series of key reorganisations of the Cornish

118 A Young

farming system undertaken on a wide scale in response to changing pressures on land and resources

The earliest de fi nable patterns from the Middle Bronze Age can be traced on Bodmin Moor Towards the fringes of the moor unenclosed round house settlements are set within curvilinear accreted fi eld systems Lanes lead through the fi elds to rough grazing land on the open moor beyond which was probably shared with neighbouring groups as a form of common In the heart of the moor are settlements consisting of round houses but with few or no associated fi eld enclosures These are best interpreted as the seasonal homes of people practising a pastoral economy and it is possible that the permanent bases of these people were in lowland areas sur-rounding the moor

A major reorganisation around the mid-second millennium involved the laying out of extensive coaxial fi eld systems with round houses scattered within them These have been recorded from coastal areas on the Lizard Peninsula and in West Penwith as well as on Bodmin Moor The coaxial fi elds better organised the enclosed farmland (and in places extended its limits) and formalised access to the grazing land beyond

Reorganisation in the Late Bronze AgeEarly Iron Age saw the abandonment of coaxial fi elds and the development of dense grids of irregular brick-shaped fi elds (Fig 75 ) There was an intensi fi cation of agriculture (evidenced by the formation of substantial lynchets) and an increase in settlement nucleation demonstrated in the Later Iron Age and Romano-British period by enclosed settlements (known in Cornwall as lsquoroundsrsquo) and courtyard houses (oval or irregular-shaped houses con-sisting of a central paved courtyard surrounded by several conjoined rooms all set within a massive stone-faced earthen enclosure) This model is clearest in West Penwith where the layout of the main prehistoric boundaries has been encapsulated in the present-day fi eld pattern

A far-reaching but poorly understood reorganisation took place during the sixth or seventh century AD Enclosed settlements were abandoned and replaced by open hamlets many of which have Cornish names pre fi xed with Tre (Padel 1985 223ndash224) Many of these early medieval settlements are situated close to abandoned rounds and it is suggested that some may be overlying the site of former rounds (Rose and Preston-Jones 1995 57 Johnson 1998 )

These episodes of landscape reorganisation derived from upland evidence appear to have been on a wide scale so it is reasonable to suppose that similar models can be demonstrated in lowland Cornwall However the medieval strip fi elds were laid out apparently with little or no regard to the pre-existing Romano-British fi eld systems and parts of lowland Cornwall have been subjected to centu-ries of ploughing For these reasons the lowland prehistoric and Romano-British settlement and fi eld pattern form a largely buried landscape At present we do not know the full extent of this landscape or how its various elements relate to each other in the way that we do for the uplands

The most visible element of the lowland prehistoric landscape is the distribution of almost 400 rounds which survive as upstanding monuments These include 64 previously unrecorded examples identi fi ed and mapped from RAF vertical photo-

1197 Historic Vertical Photography and Cornwallrsquos National Mapping Programme

graphs Although there are hints that some rounds may have been in use during the Early Iron Age (Young and Quinnell 2001 138ndash139) they are generally considered to have fi rst appeared in the Later Iron Age They were typical of the wider land-scape between the fourth century BC and the sixth century AD and were a major part of the countryside during the Roman period particularly during the second and third centuries AD (Quinnell 2004 212ndash214)

Rounds were enclosed by substantial banks and ditches When levelled by ploughing these readily form cropmarks and a large number have been identi fi ed from aerial photographs (Fig 76 ) In fact the mapping of prehistoric enclosures is one of the most important aspects of Cornwallrsquos National Mapping Programme More than 1000 new enclosures were identi fi ed 550 of them from RAF vertical

Fig 75 A multiphase landscape at Chysauster Madron In the left centre is the well-known courtyard-house settlement To the right of this are the remains of associated irregular brick-shaped fi elds typical of Late Iron Age and Roman period settlements in West Penwith (these particular fi elds were badly damaged during agricultural improvement in the 1980s) Towards the bottom right and in the top centre of this photograph lines of lode-back pits associated with the early tin industry are visible (Photo 3GTUDUK 2095246 (13 May 1946) copy Cornwall County Council 2009)

120 A Young

imagery This more than doubles the number known prior to the NMP project (Johnson 1998 ) demonstrating that the density of rural settlement in Iron Age and Roman Cornwall was signi fi cantly greater than hitherto understood

Of course it should not be assumed that all of these enclosures were settle-ments Current understanding of Cornish enclosures is based on a limited amount of evidence resulting mostly from small-scale investigations Recent excavations have shown that the enclosures at Killigrew St Erme (Cole and Nowakowski forth-coming ) and possibly Little Quoit Farm St Columb Major (Lawson-Jones 2010 ) were dedicated metalworking sites Enclosures of this type were not previously recognised nor were a considerable number of very small enclosures (less than 01 ha in extent) which were recorded from aerial photography (including the RAF verticals) during Cornwallrsquos NMP

Nonetheless available evidence points to the likelihood that many of the new enclo-sures were settlements and on a broad level the distribution of enclosures provides a good indication of the currently de fi nable Iron Age and Romano-British settlement pattern in lowland Cornwall This settlement pattern is not uniform but is marked by apparent lsquohotspotsrsquo and by signi fi cant gaps In general the distribution of enclosures is weighted towards central and west Cornwall and a large proportion of the new enclo-sures identi fi ed from RAF verticals are in western areas such as the Helford estuary

Fig 76 A cropmark round at Tregear Ladock This enclosure is bounded by a bank (visible as a pale cropmark ) and an outer ditch (a dark mark ) A secondary enclosure bounded by a single ditch is appended to the southern side of the main enclosure (Photo 3GTUDUK 2225169 (11 July 1946) copy Cornwall County Council 2009)

1217 Historic Vertical Photography and Cornwallrsquos National Mapping Programme

Excavation and environmental evidence demonstrates that rounds were the homes of farmers who practised mixed agriculture (Quinnell 2004 211ndash214 and 221ndash225) Whilst RAF verticals (and aerial photographs generally) reveal some ele-ments of the buried landscape such as fi eld systems and trackways the picture they provide is incomplete So although 467 cropmark enclosures and rounds have been transcribed from RAF photography only 87 cropmark fi eld systems have been recorded Furthermore these fi eld systems are invariably fragmentary and the fi elds generally appear to be larger than the brick-shaped fi elds found for example in West Penwith suggesting that not all the boundaries are visible (of course it is pos-sible they represent different patterns of fi eld enclosure to those in West Penwith) Thus even in locations where enclosure distribution testi fi es to a densely populated landscape we do not have a full understanding of for example the extent of arable land between the settlements In this respect information mapped from RAF verti-cals by identifying lsquohotspotsrsquo and gaps indicates those locations where geophysi-cal survey and other remote sensing techniques might best be targeted to elucidate the ways in which the landscape was used

78 Conclusion

This brief review of the role of historic RAF photography in Cornwallrsquos National Mapping Programme has been necessarily selective There has been no mention for example of Bronze Age barrows and other prehistoric ceremonial monuments (more than 1000 barrows were transcribed from RAF photographs) Even so the account presented above underlines the extent to which historic vertical aerial pho-tographs were an indispensable source for the mapping

A small range of factors combine to make RAF photography such a valuable archive The photographs cover the entire county they were taken at propitious times of year and in favourable conditions both for cropmark and earthwork features and they predate the widespread breaking in of moorland in the later twentieth century (most notably during the 1980s) the post-war expansion of towns and the late twen-tieth-century move towards deep ploughing These bene fi ts are likely to be replicated elsewhere in the UK and RAF photography should be regarded as an essential source for programmes of mapping archaeological sites from aerial photographs

Bibliography

Barton D B (1969) A history of tin mining and smelting in Cornwall Exeter Cornwall Books Benson D amp Miles D (1974) The Upper Thames Valley An archaeological survey of the river

gravels Oxford Oxford Archaeological Unit Bewley R (2001) Understanding Englandrsquos historic landscapes An aerial perspective

Landscapes 2 74ndash84 Cole R amp Nowakowski J (forthcoming) Killigrew Round Cornish Archaeology

122 A Young

Fox H S A (1971) A geographical study of the fi eld systems of Devon and Cornwall Unpublished PhD thesis University of Cambridge

Fox H S A (1973) Out fi eld cultivation in Devon and Cornwall A reinterpretation In M Havinden (Ed) Husbandry and marketing in the South-West (Papers in economic history Vol 8 pp 19ndash38) Exeter University of Exeter

Gerrard S (1987) Streamworking in Medieval Cornwall Journal of the Trevithick Society 14 7ndash31

Gerrard S (2000) The early British tin industry Stroud Tempus Hatcher J (1973) English tin production and trade before 1550 Oxford Clarendon Herring P (1997) Godolphin Breage An archaeological and historical assessment (HES Report

1997 R042) Truro Cornwall County Council Herring P (1998) Cornwallrsquos historic landscape Presenting a method of historic landscape

character assessment Truro Cornwall County Council Herring P (2006) Cornish strip fi elds In S Turner (Ed) Medieval Devon and Cornwall

(pp 44ndash77) Maccles fi eld Windgather Press Herring P C (2008) Commons fi elds and communities in prehistoric Cornwall In A Chadwick

(Ed) Recent approaches to the archaeology of land allotment (British Archaeological reports international series 1875 pp 70ndash95) Oxford Archaeopress

Herring P Sharp A Smith J R amp Giles C (2008) Bodmin Moor an archaeological survey Vol 2 The industrial and Post-Medieval landscapes Swindon English Heritage

Johnson N (1998) Cornish farms in prehistoric farmyards British Archaeology 31 12ndash13 Johnson N amp Rose P (1994) Bodmin Moor an archaeological survey Vol 1 The human land-

scape to c1800 London English HeritageRCHME Lawson-Jones A amp Kirkham G (2010) Smithing in the round excavations at Little Quoit Farm

St Columb Major Cornwall Cornish Archaeology 48ndash49 (2009ndash10) 173ndash227 Padel O J (1985) Cornish place-name elements Nottingham English Place Name Society LVIII Penhallurick R D (1986) Tin in antiquity London The Institute of Metals Preston-Jones A amp Rose P (1986) Medieval Cornwall Cornish Archaeology 25 135ndash186 Quinnell H (2004) Excavations at Trethurgy Round St Austell Community and status in Roman

and post-Roman Cornwall Truro Cornwall County Council Ratcliffe J amp Straker V (1996) The early environment of Scilly palaeoenvironmental assess-

ment of cliff-face and intertidal deposits 1989ndash1993 Truro Cornwall County Council RCHME (1995) Guidelines for the production of project speci fi cations Royal Commission on

the Historical Monuments of England internal document Swindon Rose P amp Preston Jones A (1995) Changes in the Cornish countryside AD 400ndash1100 In

D Hook amp S Burnell (Eds) Landscape and settlement in Britain AD 400ndash1066 (pp 51ndash69) Exeter University of Exeter Press

Rowe J (1953) Cornwall in the age of the industrial revolution St Austell Cornish Hillside Publications

Thomas C (1985) Exploration of a drowned landscape Archaeology and history of the Isles of Scilly London Batsford

Young A R amp Quinnell H (2001) Time team at Boleigh fogou St Buryan Cornish Archaeology 39ndash40 (2000ndash01) 129ndash145

123WS Hanson and IA Oltean (eds) Archaeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives DOI 101007978-1-4614-4505-0_8 copy Springer Science+Business Media LLC 2013

Abstract Aerial photography should be considered one of the essential instruments for the analysis and the reconstruction of human activity in the landscape Because it was acquired before the onset of mechanised farming intensive industrial activity and major urban development historical aerial photography reveals a landscape that is both closer to that of antiquity and more legible in detail This chapter outlines the main sources of archival imagery available for Italy summarises the photogram-metric methodology applied and illustrates the approach with a series of illustrated site and area case studies

Acronyms and Abbreviations

AM Aeronautica Militare ICCD Istituto Centrale del Catalogo e della Documentazione IGM Istituto Geogra fi co Militare Florence SARA Nistri Societagrave per Azioni Rilevamenti Aerofotogrammetrici Rome CGR Compagnia Generale Ripreseaeree Parma EIRA Ente Italiano Rilievi Aerofotogrammetrici Florence ESACTA (Rome) Ente SpecializzatoAerofotogrammetria Cartogra fi a Topo-

gra fi a Aerofotogeologia ETA Nistri (Rome) Ente Topogra fi co Aerofotogrammetrico I-BUGA (Milan) di Annalena Bugamelli IRTA (Milan) Istituto Rilievi Terrestri Aerei SIAT (Rome) Studio Italiano Aerofotogrammetria e Topogra fi a UTE (Florence) Uf fi cio Tecnico Erariale

P Tartara () Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche ndash Istituto Beni Archeologici e Monumentali Campus Universitario via dei Taurini 19 00185 Roma Italy e-mail patriziatartaracnrit

Chapter 8 The Use of Historical Aerial Photographs in Italy Some Case Studies

Patrizia Tartara

124 P Tartara

81 Introduction

For those disciplines concerned with study of the landscape or ancient topography aerial photography and especially historical aerial photography must be considered one of the essential instruments for the analysis and the reconstruction of human activity in the landscape whether urban or rural (Lugli 1939 Castagnoli and Schmiedt 1955 10ff Bradford 1957 Adamesteanu 1964 Castagnoli 1969 7ff Schmiedt 1970 ) Insofar as it constitutes an objective record of a given situation at a particular moment in time aerial photography is far too frequently undervalued or little used for the enormous volume of traces of the past that it can reveal whether archaeological geological historical or simply agricultural It is in fact an indis-pensable instrument for our knowledge of the landscape and environment both present and past

It is worth recalling that it is not always possible to gain information on buried ancient evidence from the most recent aerial photographs or from satellite images or from different sensory devices such as multispectral imagery Of equal or even greater utility in the vast majority of cases are historical images such as the photo-graphs taken by the Royal Air Force (RAF) the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) and the German Luftwaffe in the Second World War and the Istituto Geogra fi co Militare (IGM) photographic coverage beginning in 1929ndash1930 These can show the landscape and environment in a state of preservation that is both closer to that of antiquity and more legible in detail When this imagery was acquired the use of machinery for cultivation was virtually non-existent trees and bushes cov-ered less terrain and the numerous changes and damage brought about by the use of mechanised means of farming and earth moving as well as by intensive industrial activity (such as quarries and illegal dump sites) and urban development that is neither planned nor supervised had yet to occur

82 Italian Aerial Photographic Archives

A speci fi c photo-interpretation linked to the topographical analysis of a given terri-tory whether archaeological geological or pedological must be done not with indi-vidual photographs or stereoscopic pairs but on the basis of the totality of the documentation for the area in question This requires a systematic checking of the various archives and the acquisition of all useful images For Italy apart from the documentation from the Second World War cited above there exists a vast amount of historical material that is available in public archives and in the possession of private businesses Access to this material varies correspondingly First there is the archive of the IGM which constitutes the most extensive aerial photographic collec-tion in Italy It is possible to consult material at their of fi ces in Florence where loca-tion of the photographs is depicted cartographically at a scale of 1100000 or obtain them on-line ( wwwigmiorg ) This photographic material comes primarily from

1258 The Use of Historical Aerial Photographs in Italy Some Case Studies

fl ights performed by the military or by private entities or was acquired in relation to the production and updating of national territorial maps A fundamental instrument of research for our sector is the Volo Base produced in 1954ndash1955 to provide com-plete and systematic coverage of the country at a scale of 125000 for updating maps In the historical archive of the IGM moreover material is present from European and North African countries where the Institute had a role in producing maps for the former Italian colonies for occupied territories and for military campaigns

Second only to the IGM in terms of its wealth of documentation is the collec-tion of the Aerofototeca of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Environment which is located at the of fi ce of the Istituto Centrale del Catalogo e della Documentazione (ICCD) This is indubitably the largest civilian photographic archive in Italy Also known since 1973 as the lsquoLaboratory for Interpretation of Photographs and the Measurement of Aerial Photographsrsquo this structure was cre-ated in 1958 It was a response to the need to study the cultural heritage of Italy especially with regard to archaeological sites The scholar who promoted and served as the fi rst director of the aerial photographic collection was the Romanian archaeologist Dinu Adamesteanu one of the pioneers in the use of aerial photogra-phy for archaeological research in Italy 1 Over the course of 50 years the aerial photographic collection has acquired a great many other collections of aerial photo-graphs These include some of the wartime photographs made by the RAF (largely over the central and southern portions of the Italian peninsula) which were formerly maintained at the British School at Rome Other photographs of Italian territory ndash taken by active service aircraft from North African bases ndash are preserved in the TARA archive now housed in RCAHMS in Edinburgh (see Chap 2 by Cowley et al this volume) Similar collections of the USAAF which largely focused on the central and northern sections of the Italian peninsula and which were formerly maintained at the American Academy are also included In addition there is some coverage effected by the Luftwaffe and there are numerous collections of different origins such as the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AM) and a variety of private companies specialising in photographic survey in Italy but which are no longer active today In the meantime especially in the 1960s and 1970s many vertical and perspective shots of speci fi c archaeological sites were taken The aerial photo-graphic collection aside from providing assistance in reproduction is also organised to facilitate study of its material as though it were a library for the history of the landscape of Italy

1 Together with Ferdinando Castagnoli Professor of Topography of Rome and ancient Italy at the University of Rome lsquoLa Sapienzarsquo and Giulio Schmiedt Director of the Istituto Geogra fi co Militare and subsequently Professor of Archaeological Aerial Topography at the University of Florence Dinu Adamesteanu began his career as an archaeologist in Romania where he was one of the fi rst to make use of aerial photo-interpretation He participated in missions to the Middle East and thereafter moved to Italy where he worked above all in Sicily from 1959 to 1964 He directed the Aerofototeca subsequently transferred to the Archaeological Superintendency of Basilicata where he was Superintendent and lastly taught at the University of Lecce

126 P Tartara

Finally there are many archives in private photogrammetry companies in Italy 2 Some of these have been organised and can be consulted There are also the archives of the Regions and Comuni which can be consulted at the technical of fi ces that preserve aerial material created for the production and updating of technical maps Other collections tied to public works are maintained by public organisations such as the state railways motorway companies Azienda Nazionale Autonoma delle Strade (ANAS) companies for landscape reclamation Azienda di Stato per gli Interventi nel Mercato Agricolo (AIMA) civilian protection and so on There are also specialist archives created by research organisations and universities that work on different aspects of the landscape (archaeology geology environment agron-omy) such as the Institute for Ancient Topography at the University of Rome lsquoLa Sapienzarsquo and the Laboratory for Ancient Topography and Aerial Photogrammetry of the University of Lecce

83 Methodology of Study

For a proper historical understanding and a diachronic interpretation of the data it is necessary to transfer the results of the air-photo interpretation onto an adequate cartographic base with the best de fi nition and updating possible by means of the methodologies and instruments that are currently available as the needs of the occa-sion and the cartographic base require For positioning with greatest precision such as for single structures within an urban centre it will prove useful to make use of photogrammetric transcription which is analytical when possible The individual elements restored need to be codi fi ed otherwise use must be made of modern digi-tal photogrammetric instruments In those instances where less precision is required or when the original documents are not available or where images are not photo-grammetric use can be made of suitable commercially available geo-referencing software In the case of oblique images use can be made of similar software with satisfactory results even if they obviously possess less geometrical precision

The fi rst example of the aerial photogrammetric mapping of an ancient city was a response to the stimulus that Ferdinando Castagnoli gave to archaeological cartography (Castagnoli and Schmiedt 1957 125ndash148 Piccarreta and Ceraudo 2000 88ndash89) The principles of cartography focused (lsquo fi nalizzatarsquo) on archaeol-ogy (Piccarreta 1989 2003a Ceraudo 1999 2003 Guaitoli 2003b ) have been

2 There are nearly 100 companies that have worked or are still active in Italy Foremost amongst these are Aerofoto Consult (Rome) Aerotop (Rome) CGR (Parma) EIRA (Florence) ESACTA (Rome) ETA Nistri (Rome) Aerofotogrammetrica Nistri (Rome) Fotocielo (Rome) BUGA (Milan) Luigi Rossi (Florence) IRTA (Milan) Rossi (Brescia) SARA Nistri (Rome) SIAT (Rome) and UTE (Florence) For a detailed listing of the main companies see Ceraudo ( 2000 ) 189ndash203 Boemi ( 2003 ) 37ndash42

1278 The Use of Historical Aerial Photographs in Italy Some Case Studies

successively calibrated on the basis of subsequent developments of this prototype even with the evolution of instruments enabling analytical and digital photographic transcription Today it is also systematised for the codi fi cation of the individual ele-ments of the territory and its archaeological heritage 3 and employed upon an ever wider scale for the study and topographic reconstruction of ancient urban centres and sections of territories Especially when entirely or partially abandoned urban centres are being studied lsquo fi nalizzatarsquo analytical (ie numerical) photogrammetric maps (with appropriate codi fi cation) must be produced ex novo In more recent work a further element has been introduced the transcription of the archaeological traces visible from previous or historical fl ights sometimes referring to levels that have since been lost and the merging of these traces in a single archaeological fi le upon a representation of the present terrain

84 Case Studies

841 Caere

An in-depth study of the territory of Caere between the urban centre of the ancient city and the coastline has been based in effect upon the photo-interpretation and transcription of traces visible on aerial photographs Attention has been paid to detailed topographic accuracy and the correct positioning of the individual archaeo-logical features particularly the extraordinarily extensive necropolises the ancient road network and various structures The territorial analysis which is still in progress started with the plains of Banditaccia and Monte Abbadone that lie on two sides of the ancient city and has gradually been extended to the coast south and north-north-west (Pyrgi-Santa Severa)

Historical and more recent photographic images from both national public archives and private organisations have been used from fl ights of various types and dates Particularly useful were IGM 1929ndash30 RAF 1943 IGM 1955 1958 1960 and 1968 AM 1959ndash60 SARA Nistri 1986 2004 IGM 2004 lsquo Volo base rsquo IGM

3 A modern vector cartographic base makes work in our sector easier with its codi fi cation of the individual elements Apart from eliminating the obligation to work with scale the innovative con-tribution of analytical photogrammetry permits the assignment of a code to each and every element that is included There is a general codi fi cation in use today for commercial cartography By struc-turing a speci fi c system of codes with a section given over to archaeological elements and others to all other aspects of the terrain (geomorphology hydrography viability buildings infrastruc-tures etc) we obtain a graphic database of what is represented This constitutes the fi rst informa-tion system for a speci fi c territory Each element included consists of geographical coordinates the altitude and encoded information that is available to all non-specialised users By providing numerical data and the grid of codes employed the system can easily be transferred to anyone who has access to even a simple CAD or graphic design program

128 P Tartara

2002 Volo 2004 (this last was expressly made for the Laboratory for Ancient Topography and Photogrammetry of the University of Lecce) and oblique aerial photographs taken in collaboration with the Nucleo Tutela Patrimonio Culturale dei Carabinieri and the Carabinieri Helicopter Groups of Pratica di Mare and Bari in the years 1997ndash2008 Together they document both the hundreds of traces of com-pletely unknown or unpublished structures and complexes (largely funerary in nature) and the unfortunately very high number of clandestine excavations that have taken place

The oldest images available for the territory are the aerial photographs of 1930 which are held at the IGM in Florence These photographs constitute the fi rst exam-ple of photogrammetric relief for cartographic and cadastral purposes and consist of a series of pairs of 13 times 18 cm negatives on glass slides which can be laterally super-imposed only for a few millimetres (eg Fig 81 ) The search for and identi fi cation of useful individual images required a great deal of effort Each pair of slide nega-tives covers only a modest portion of territory that is extremely dif fi cult to recognise for they are almost completely without identi fi able references to recent maps Furthermore signi fi cant environmental changes (such as modi fi ed watercourses) and human interventions (such as roads buildings and the parcelling of fi elds) have been frequent However the photographs taken at a relatively low altitude and at a moment when the landscape was still largely untouched by major disturbances allow the reading interpretation and mapping of a large number of archaeological traces that are especially visible Consequently they document a situation that in many instances was not visible in later photography The 1943 RAF photographs published by Bradford although of especial importance do not achieve the same level of information because of problems of de fi nition scale and quality of photo-graphic emulsion (cf Bradford 1947 74ndash80 tab I 1957 pl 34)

Frequently distorted on their long sides and with light re fl ections caused by the sunrsquos rays striking the photographic objective (eg Fig 81 ) the 1930 photographs were taken from planes that did not yet possess the required stability and they obvi-ously do not achieve the geometrical characteristics of a modern photogrammetric series In many instances as a result of sharp changes in altitude and the failure to maintain a level fl ight path the strips are irregular and sometimes the images do not even overlap Thus even determining the geographical positioning of these images has proved dif fi cult To achieve this the best available cartographic resources have been employed especially the 110000 maps of the Regione Lazio which are of medium quality But the best coverage at the same scale has been that of the Comune of Cerveteri A special aerial photographic strip was acquired on which the fi nalised photogrammetric transcription of the enormous complex of monumental necropolises was superimposed The archaeology of the urban area is excluded from the present research since it has for some time been the object of study by the Istituto ISCIMA of the CNR

Once a mosaic had been created from more than 40 photographs (Tartara 2003a pl III) a fi rst attempt was made at geo-referencing the whole ensemble However since the precision obtained was not considered satisfactory it was necessary to deal

1298 The Use of Historical Aerial Photographs in Italy Some Case Studies

with smaller portions of the territory in turn Each photograph was subdivided to allow for work upon individual sectors and the results were deemed suf fi ciently satisfactory 4

The transcription of the vast number of traces evident on the historical aerial images of 1930 onto the map and subsequently onto the three-dimensional model allows a good overview of the archaeological heritage of the area and a partial reconstruction of the ancient landscape (Fig 82 ) The complex consisted of the urban area and very extensive monumental necropolis fl anking or rather surround-ing it on both sides of the large plain The necropolis extends along the major axes of communication as far as the coastline and ports with occasional nuclei or large isolated tombs

The excellent de fi nition of the images also allows the identi fi cation and transcrip-tion of even the entrances (dromoi) and sometimes the burial chambers of the individ-ual tumuli as well as the primary and secondary road system In other sectors of the necropolis traces of funerary complexes can be seen with a series of entrances to burial spaces at regular intervals along the same frontage (Fig 82d ) These might reasonably be interpreted as tombs of lsquoaedicularsquo or lsquodadorsquo type laid out in rows Similarly the

4 With a mean square error that varies between 190 and 390 m at other points the precision achieved can be measured in terms of centimetres

Fig 81 Cerveteri A 1930 IGM glass slide negative pair (IGM photograph 1930 fl ight strip 4 neg 11 authorization IGM nr 6467 of 16 Jan 2009)

130 P Tartara

imagery has made it possible to plot much of the ancient road system both primary links between the city and the coast and with the neighbouring centres and service roads for the numerous agricultural settlements scattered over the territory

The overall result of the graphic reconstruction (Tartara 2003a ) based upon objective data derived from photographic interpretation and systematic geographi-cal positioning presents a situation quite different from the limited impression of

Fig 82 Cerveteri ( a ) A section of the Banditaccia plateaux showing on the left a mosaic of aerial photographs (IGM 1930) and on the right the partial transcription of visible traces on 3D cartography (After Tartara 2010 ) ( b c and d ) show details of different kinds of tombs on the plateau

1318 The Use of Historical Aerial Photographs in Italy Some Case Studies

the archaeological area that is available to the visitor to the ancient city today The monumental necropolis of Banditaccia that people visit represents but a minute fraction (roughly 10) of the ancient burial zone most of which still survives and is measurable This zone has a high density of tombs of various types primarily tumuli of varying dimensions sectors with aligned tombs of the lsquodadorsquo and lsquocham-berrsquo type and areas with very dense clusters of lsquofossarsquo tombs extending along the very extensive plain of Banditaccia covering an area of roughly 3000 by 700 m Various parts of the complex cannot easily be reached or understood such as the necropolis of Monte Abbadone Polledrara and the less known example of Macchia della Signora Monte Abbadoncino the vast burial area at the base of the acropolis where systematic excavations and chance discoveries have documented even the earliest phases of the necropolis such as the Villanovan cemetery of Sorbo and where a masterpiece of the Orientalising culture of Etruria the Regolini Galassi Tomb can still be visited (Tartara 2010 ) Consequently the visitor does not appreci-ate that they are parts of a single enormous monumental complex that is excep-tional both for its extent and for its structural evidence

In view of the quantity and precision of the sometimes quite detailed information discernible a further development of the transcription of the archaeological evi-dence onto a three-dimensional model of the terrain might be to allow a reconstruc-tion of the ancient appearance of the plain of the Etruscan metropolis of its cemeteries and of the surrounding territory This would be useful for scienti fi c pur-poses as well as providing a basis for multimedia products aimed at informing the public and enhancing the value of the heritage The observation of the overall image that results from piecing together the information gathered even if still largely pro-visional allows some insight into the present state of the archaeological heritage which has been included among the UNESCO World Heritage sites for some years

In the fl at plain at the base of the acropolis where the modern town of Cerveteri has developed over the past 30 years numerous tumuli of sizeable dimensions are attested on the historical photographs relating to a series of road lines The greater part of the evidence has been obliterated by urban development and the density of buildings has rendered it impossible to appreciate the few monuments that survive A good knowledge and detailed census of the archaeological heritage would have facilitated better planning of the urban development but the work of lsquorecoveryrsquo done from the 1930 photographs does allow a form of environmental restoration of this portion of the territory

842 Arpi

Of particular interest for reading the numerous archaeological and geological traces for the reconstruction of the landscape are the aerial photogrammetric strips already mentioned as having been made in the Volo base of 1954ndash1955 taken to update the cartography of the whole country In an IGM photograph taken in September 1954 used by Schmiedt ( 1970 ) the large Daunian settlement of Arpi (Foggia) the most extensive indigenous centre of pre-Roman Italy covering an

132 P Tartara

area of c 1000 ha is clearly visible All visible traces have been restored photogrammetrically 5 and then added to a detailed overall map based upon a recent fl ight and combined with data from fl ights of various periods (Guaitoli 2003c ) (Fig 83 ) The settlement area is D-shaped the straight side de fi ned by the course of the river Celone which ancient sources claim was partially navigable The perimeter of the inhabited area is de fi ned by a defensive wall c 11 km in length which consisted of either an earthen agger or unbaked bricks partially faced with stones Two phases have been identi fi ed the terminus post quem of the earlier provided by the rediscovery of a childrsquos tomb which indicates a date in the sixth century BC (Mazzei 2003 186) From photogrammetric measurements it emerges that the agger was preserved to a height of c 6 m in 1954 but today is reduced to 15ndash2 m Detailed study by the Laboratory of Ancient Topography of Lecce indicates that the agger was c 17ndash18 m wide Farming activities have con-tinually damaged the structure which is nonetheless visible on the ground as a light brown coloured line c 40ndash60 m in width with large fragments of unbaked bricks that crumble at the fi rst rains and mix with the terrain The line of the forti fi cation is cut at various points by dark traces running from outside towards the centre of the urban area These are probably to be interpreted as ancient water-courses or prehistoric riverbeds Reaching a width of as much as 40 m these were narrowed and used in the historical period as routes providing a communications network for the inhabited area

The perimeter of the city was fi rst identi fi ed in the aerial photographic strips of the RAF for the area of Foggia by J Bradford ( 1957 167ndash169) who was acting as aerial observer for the airport of San Severo a few kilometres away The fi rst traces of occupation of the area have been dated to the Neolithic while during the Iron Age the Daunian settlement developed perhaps in scattered concentrations A decisive break with the past occurred in the sixth century BC when the defensive circuit was built The city was closely linked to all the historical events of the region which determine both its extraordinary development and its progressive impover-ishment from the second century BC down to its almost complete abandonment in the Imperial period (Mazzei 2003 )

843 Roman Centuriation

The contribution of the initial IGM fl ight of 1955 was extremely useful for the reconstruction of Roman centuriation in the territory between the rivers Vulgano Celone and Cervaro This centuriation was included in the leaf IGM 164 between Arpi and the present inhabited centre of Troia (Martin 1990 175ff)

5 The transcription was undertaken with the analogue instrument Galileo V which was turned into an analytical instrument The special characteristics of the lsquobase fl ightrsquo ( Volo Base ) did not allow the employment of more recent analytical or digital instruments because they cannot be used to create a model of the terrain which normally serves as a basis for the transcription

1338 The Use of Historical Aerial Photographs in Italy Some Case Studies

Fig 83 Arpi (Foggia) ( a ) An IGM fl ight in September 1954 shows the Daunian settlement perimeter clearly visible outlined by defensive rampart circuit variously cut by fossil riverbeds and roads (After Guaitoli 2003c 187 photo in Aerofototeca Nazionale ICCD-Roma) ( b ) Analytical transcription of the archaeological traces of the settlement (After Guaitoli 2003c 190)

134 P Tartara

which came into being after the destruction of the Daunian and Roman city of Aecae (Livy 2420 Polyb 3 88 Pliny Nat Hist 3105) The regular division of the fi elds into centuriae of 20 actus in length has been known for some time ( Lib Col I 210 7ndash9 Lib Col II 261 3 Bradford 1949 67ff Schmiedt 1985 272ff 1989 pls XIIndashXIV) and is connected to the reference in the Liber Coloniarum to the assignment of land in the Ager Aecanus at the time of the Gracchi

The photo-interpretation of this aerial coverage has revealed an exceptional visibility and wealth of traces of ancient and medieval structures which permit their precise location upon the terrain or on maps There are clear traces of roads identi fi ed by the drainage ditches that run alongside them especially at intersec-tions These allow for satisfactory precision in interaxial measurements and indicate the exact dimensions of the limites and related elements without having to rely as is generally the case on the partial survival of such elements in modern land divi-sions The measurement of the centuriae varies from 705 to 707 m just under the theoretical norm of 710 m which is frequently documented These fi gures are con-sistent over large portions of the land and must therefore be considered reliable Insofar as the photographs provide the coverage and precision that permits this 6 an analytical photogrammetric transcription of the traces that can be identi fi ed through stereoscopic analysis has been undertaked This system must considerably enlarge these traces 7 but the data can be drawn with suf fi cient precision on the available IGM maps at a scale of 125000 8 A further step forward has been obtained through the analysis of the photographs themselves in a digital photogrammetric system after the digital format of the slides had been acquired by means of a photogram-metric scanner with a very high de fi nition 9

6 Apart from the problems due to scale which is close to 130000 the 1954ndash1955 IGM photo-graphs are not always of high quality They possess photogrammetric characteristics only in part and present a series of technical dif fi culties including anomalies in the creation of the model type of marks and inadequate elements for the optical correction of the camera with which they were acquired Transcription has been performed with the analytical system Galileo Stereosimplex and the analogue system Galileo V (transformed into analytical) both of which have a precision of 1 m m Consequently the data gathered have relatively large tolerances but nonetheless they seem more than adequate for the study of large-scale land divisions 7 When enlarged the stereoscopic model resulting from slides illuminated from behind allows for the identi fi cation of details that are invisible in photographic enlargements or else fuzzy in tradi-tional photo-interpretation done with table stereoscopes 8 Several IGM maps were acquired in raster format with the highest de fi nition of a cartographic scanner corrected for various deformations (of support printing paper) by means of a grid cali-brated on the basis of geographical coordinates assembled and inserted in the GIS modules of the territorial information system of the CNR Uf fi cio Sistemi Informativi Territoriali per i Beni Culturali (GIS for Cultural Heritage Of fi ce) The archaeological data gathered and encoded were subsequently put back into the system as part of the cataloguing of the archaeological data of the territory 9 Thanks to the CIGA of the Italian Military Air Force for use of the photogrammetric scanner

1358 The Use of Historical Aerial Photographs in Italy Some Case Studies

Within the centuriae there are clear traces of settlements even complex ones aligned with roads and large parcels of land or fi elds Some of the latter display parallel trenches for vines or holes laid out in parallel rows for olive or fruit trees as well as a noteworthy number of components of land divisions that are apparently older or more recent In one detail (Fig 84 ) it is possible to see clearly the traces of the axes of centuriation settlements from different periods allotments that are in part aligned with the fi eld divisions and stretches of road systems (Guaitoli 2003e )

The assignment of this limitatio to the Ager Aecanus cannot be viewed as certain The agrimensores also mention the Ager Arpanus (Arpi lies roughly 4 km northeast of Foggia) as well as the Collatinus Herdonitanus Ausculinus Sipontinus and Salpinus ( Lib Col I 210 10ndash13 L) Traces of centuriation appear to the east of Aecae and continue as far as the current periphery of Foggia where even on older cartography they appear to be obliterated by the disposition of plots of land in radial format around the modern city However while not ruling out the attribution to Aecae we should consider the possibility that the centuriation is to be referred to the Ager Arpanus whose urban centre does not seem to have been continued in use later than the early second century BC unless on the basis of analogies elsewhere we envisage a single subregional limitatio not tied to any individual urban centre

Fig 84 Arpi and Aecae territory traces of Roman limitatio axes settlements fi eld allotments and stretches of road system in a detail from the IGM May 1955 fl ight (After Guaitoli 2003e 475 photo in Aerofototeca Nazionale ICCD-Roma)

136 P Tartara

844 Abruzzo

The RAF photographs used in the topographical analysis of a portion of the territory of Abruzzo focusing on the section between LrsquoAquila and Capestrano and along the route of the Royal Sheep Track (Tratturo Regio) provide another detailed example of this approach This work involved systematic analyses of a portion of the vast territory beginning with test zones and gradually extending the area of research on-site inspections updating and documenting of previous data both bibliographi-cal and archival as well as on-site information and a detailed review of the existing aerial photographic documentation with especial attention given in the various archives to the recovery and interpretation of historical photographs

The historical photographs in this research primarily those taken during the Second World War and to a lesser extent IGM images from the 1960s have shown themselves especially useful because of the fact that at the time they were taken there was an almost complete absence of trees and woodland unlike today This was the result of the extensive fi res related to long-term large-scale pastoral use Consequently it has proved possible clearly to discern forti fi ed settlements on the high ground 10 some necropolises not presently visible and stretches of road par-ticularly the course of the Tratturo Regio and the routes of minor sheep-tracks that can no longer be made out on the ground (Fig 86a ) The monitoring fl ights over areas at risk which have been conducted since 2003 with the Reparto Elicotteri del Raggruppamento Aeromobili Carabinieri di Pratica di Mare coordinated by the Nucleo Tutela Patrimonio Culturale dei Carabinieri 11 and since 2007 with the Sezione Aerea della Guardia di Finanza di Pescara have been particularly helpful

These fl ights have provided previously unknown information concerning indi-vidual complexes necropolises roads and traces of the cultivation of various crops that is extremely important for our knowledge of the evolution of human occupation in the area Subsequently some of these remains have been studied and extensively excavated by the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dellrsquoAbruzzo so as to preserve and assign value to them A detail from the RAF photograph of 13 May 1944 (Fig 85 ) has made it possible to detect the remains of the forti fi ed medieval settlement of Leporanica which had at least two phases built upon a previous more extensive Vestine settlement of Iron Age date (Tartara

10 Some of which are otherwise known only from scaled sketches drawn up during occasional surveys On-site surveys were done by dott E Mattiocco a dedicated amateur whose work has contributed in a meaningful fashion to our current knowledge of the archaeological evidence on the uplands of the Abruzzo interior 11 Within the context of collaboration between Prof M Guaitoli director of the Laboratory of Ancient Topography at the University of Lecce ndash CNR the Nucleo Tutela Patrimonio Culturale dellrsquoArma dei Carabinieri and the author this work has shown itself to be productive over many years of monitoring particular areas of the country at risk with fl ights in Abruzzo undertaken since 2003 These have focused upon the mountainous interior areas of the province of LrsquoAquila with particular attention dedicated to the Vestine area along the Royal Sheep Track (Tratturo Regio) and the Marsican area along the territory bordering the Fucino basin

1378 The Use of Historical Aerial Photographs in Italy Some Case Studies

2003b 204ndash205 2007 518ndash520) The external edge of the ditch (C) that served to defend the castlersquos circuit of defensive walls on the northern and eastern sides can clearly be seen Nearly triangular in shape a fi rst circuit occupied the summit of the hill (A) This was partially reused in a second phase to which belongs the clearly visible circuit of defensive walls (B) towers access gate and numerous remains of structures connected with the life of the village The settlement was built upon a previous more extensive Vestine settlement of Iron Age date

In a photograph taken by the RAF in September 1943 (Fig 86b ) an archaeologi-cal complex can be seen for the fi rst time (Tartara 2003b 202ndash204 2007 545ndash547) though the two settlements were partially documented in a scaled sketch made during surveys undertaken by a dedicated amateur (Mattiocco 1986 114ff) Not unusual in the area under consideration the complex consists of two forti fi ed settle-ments (Monte Boria and the so-called Colle Campo di Monte at a and b respec-tively) and diverse clusters of tumuli (c) that make up the necropolis In particular it is clearly visible from the photograph that even the settlement at Colle Campo di Monte (b) had two defensive walls where previously only a single circuit had been noted The image also shows the various groups of tumuli still retaining their domed coverings which have since been destroyed

The enlargement of an AM image from 1955 has enabled us to observe at Colle Sinizzo to the east of the small lake of the same name the traces of a necropolis consisting of inhumation burials (Fig 87 ) Previously unknown this necropolis cannot now be seen on the ground (Tartara 2003b 205ndash206 2007 494ndash495) The numerous burials are arranged in two distinct groups aligned eastndashwest and north-west-southeast respectively It is quite likely that these are to be linked to the neigh-bouring settlement of Colle Sinizzo (Tartara 2007 492ndash493) a small isolated

Fig 85 Abruzzo Medieval settlement of Leporanica in an RAF photograph of 13 May 1944 (After Tartara 2003b 205 photo in Aerofototeca Nazionale ICCD-Roma)

138 P Tartara

Fig 86 Abruzzo ( A ) Surviving remains of the Royal Sheep Track (Tratturo Regio) the route visible in the continuous strip alignment of fi elds along the boundary of the track (After Tartara 2003d 455 photos in Aerofototeca Nazionale ICCD-Roma from 1955) ( B ) Two forti fi ed hilltop settlements ( a Monte Boria and b the so-called Colle Campo di Monte) and c clusters of tumuli with their dome coverings still intact in an RAF photograph of September 1943 (After Tartara 2003b 202ndash204)

1398 The Use of Historical Aerial Photographs in Italy Some Case Studies

eminence roughly 230 m to the west of the necropolis which exhibits traces of structures and materials belonging to the Bronze Age and Middle Ages

For the territory of the LrsquoAquila district that has been examined despite limited information and often accidental recovery it is possible to outline in broad terms a picture of human activity from at least the Neolithic onwards whether enduring or simply transitory scattered along a primary natural route This route was subse-quently de fi ned and formalised in historical times and then institutionalised in the Aragonese period as the Royal Sheep Track (Tratturo Regio) 12 The archaeological evidence is located along this axis even in those areas that subsequently constitute

Fig 87 Abruzzo Detail from an RAF photograph of 1955 just above the small Sinizzo Lake showing traces of a necropolis consisting of inhumation burials (After Tartara 2003b 205ndash206 photo in Aerofototeca Nazionale ICCD-Roma)

12 It was connected to a complex network of minor or service routes eg the sheep-route that breaks off at the church of the Madonna of Centurelli in the direction of Capestrano and then Forca di Penne or that which runs SE-NW towards to the valley of Capestrano from the plain of Collepietro to the E of Serra di Navelli (see Tartara 2007 551)

140 P Tartara

the cores of three large stable concentrations of population ndash perhaps related to three different groups ndash at the present Fossa ( Aveia ) and Capestrano ( Au fi num ) and at Peltuinum

Running for 243257 km the Tratturo Regio is the principal Sheep Track of the Dogana della Mena delle Pecore which was established by Alfonso of Aragon The visible details have since been largely obliterated by roadworks and associated infrastructure (see also Tartara 2003d 2007 534ndash538) The Tratturo Regio LrsquoAquila-Foggia which was the most important route employed for transhumance cut across three regions Abruzzo Molise and Puglia With a width varying between roughly 75 and 120 m it followed ancient pastoral routes of communication and exchange There are numerous settlements from prehistoric and proto-historic times identi fi ed along this route both temporary and more established A continuous strip of camp-sites is visible in the aerial images situated along a single unvarying alignment constituting the boundary of the land belonging to the state which was clearly occu-pied over the years and given over to cultivation (Fig 86a )

845 City of Satricum

Numerous photographic strips of the Aeronautica Militare Italiana can be consulted in the collections maintained at the Aerofototeca Nazionale These were taken for military purposes and for exercises with fl ights focused occasionally on the archae-ological heritage In a 1941 AM photograph of the territory of the ancient Latin city of Satricum (Guaitoli 2003d ) it is easy to make out the trace of the rampart and of the ditch that outlines a large portion of the perimeter of the inhabited area (Fig 88 ) Traces of some ancient road systems that enter the city by its western gate are also clear Some tumuli excavated in the 1800s are visible along the road coming from the north-northwest In this instance the historical aerial photographs are especially important as the area of the city was so heavily damaged by agricultural changes wrought by powerful mechanised means in the early 1960s that it was effectively obliterated Archaeological studies and research conducted in the 1800s (see Guaitoli 2003d ) before 1960 (Castagnoli 1963 505ff) and during the 1990s by the Dutch Institute of Rome in collaboration with the University of Groningen (Heldring and Stibbe 1991 see especially Maaskant Kleinbrink 1987 1992 Knoop and Stibbe 1989 ) have shown occupation of the inhabited centre from the ninth century BC until the mid-Republic con fi rmed by materials recovered from the necropolises which have been investigated Knowledge of the city has been greatly enhanced by detailed study of the aerial images especially the oldest photographic strips for 1936 1939 1941 and 1943 as well as of the historical cartographic documentation which was realised with extraordinary care by the Opera Nazionale Combattenti in 1934 for the reclamation of the Pontine Marshes The innumerable black stains of charcoal pits which recur on the photographs and can be seen even decades later (see Guaitoli 2003a ) constitute proof of the deforestation which occurred in an area previously covered with dense forest

1418 The Use of Historical Aerial Photographs in Italy Some Case Studies

846 Cavallino

The inhabited area of the ancient Messapic settlement of Cavallino occupies almost 68 ha located a few kilometres to the southeast of Lecce Systematic excavations conducted between 1964 and 1967 by the Universities of Lecce and Pisa indicated occupation during the Bronze Age and Iron Age The wall circuit was built in the second half of the sixth century BC its destruction occurring during the fi fth Thanks to a 24 times 48 cm AM aerial photograph taken in 1968 it has proved possible to delin-eate a previously unknown part of the circuit of the external defensive walls which where visible (Fig 89 solid arrows) consisted of a wall made of blocks of local limestone and a shallow external ditch (dark line) (Tartara 2003c ) The south-south-western sector of the city has been progressively obliterated by uncontrolled urban development The dark line seen in the photograph (Fig 89 clear arrows) shows the ditch as a soil mark thus revealing the route taken by the wall circuit that is no longer extant Recently the area of the ancient city was purchased by the University of Salento which has created an archaeological park and within it the Museo Diffuso

Fig 88 An AM photograph of 1941 showing the ancient Latin city of Satricum The traces of the rampart and the ditch surrounding the city are visible at A and B and a road approaching the city at C (After Guaitoli 2003d photo in Aerofototeca Nazionale ICCD-Roma)

142 P Tartara

847 Rocavecchia

A 1968 AM aerial photograph (Fig 810 ) of the territory of the Comune di Melendugno along the Adriatic coast to the south of Lecce shows the outline of the ancient inhabited centre at Rocavecchia with great clarity Occupied from the Bronze Age to the fourteenth century AD when it was used by the Aragonese in their struggle with the Turks after the occupation of Otranto (Guglielmino and Pagliara 2004 527ndash548 Pagliara and Guglielmino 2005 Pagliara et al 2007 2008 ) the site includes the Grotta della Poesia (Cavern of Poetry) which is remarkable for its hundreds of Messapic Greek and Latin inscriptions (Pagliara 1987 ) This image has facilitated the recognition and mapping of a double ditch outside the wall circuit where nothing is visible on the ground (Piccarreta 2003b ) while in older photo-graphs a third ditch closer to the wall circuit has been identi fi ed

Fig 89 A detail from an AM 1968 aerial photograph of the ancient inhabited area of the Messapic centre of Cavallino partially occupied by the modern town Solid white arrows indicate the line of the external defensive walls clear arrows indicate the dark line of the ditch where the accompany-ing city-wall circuit has disappeared (After Tartara 2003c 334 photo in Aerofototeca Nazionale ICCD-Roma)

1438 The Use of Historical Aerial Photographs in Italy Some Case Studies

85 Conclusion

Aerial photography especially historical aerial photography has made an immense contribution to our knowledge of the past landscape as the case studies outlined above demonstrate very clearly Each example is different in character giving us information about the past by means of different kinds of archaeological traces I would like to emphasise the importance of the transcription of those traces onto maps in order to provide a better understanding of the evidence as a whole and par-ticularly to facilitate better government care for and protection of the monuments Nonetheless I must underline how necessary it is not to detach the process of aerial photographic analysis from fi eld survey otherwise we may lose a substantial por-tion of the information that can be read but rarely precisely contextualised either chronologically or typologically

Bibliography

Adamesteanu D (1964) Contributo dellrsquoAerofototeca Archeologica del Ministero P I alla soluz-ione dei problemi di Topogra fi a antica in Italia In Atti del X Congresso Internazionale di Fotogrammetria (pp 1ndash76) Lisbon Consiglio del X Congresso Internazionale di Fotogrammetria

Fig 810 Rocavecchia (Lecce) a detail from an AM 1968 aerial photograph shows the area of the inhabited Messapic centre de fi ned by the line of a double ditch outside the wall circuit (After Piccarreta 2003b 236 photo in Aerofototeca Nazionale ICCD-Roma)

144 P Tartara

Boemi M F (2003) LrsquoAerofototeca Nazionale ndash Appendice In M Guaitoli (Ed) Lo Sguardo di Icaro Le collezioni dellrsquoAerofototeca Nazionale per la conoscenza del territorio (pp 17ndash42) Roma Campisano

Bradford J S P (1947) Etruria from the air Antiquity 21 (82) 74ndash83 Bradford J S P (1949) Buried landscapes in southern Italy Antiquity 23 (90) 58ndash72 Bradford J S P (1957) Ancient landscapes Studies in fi eld archaeology London Bell Castagnoli F (1963) Satricum LrsquoUniverso 43 504ndash518 Castagnoli F (1969) La prospezione aerea negli studi di Topogra fi a antica Quaderni de lsquoLa

Ricerca Scienti fi carsquo 60 7ndash13 Castagnoli F amp Schmiedt G (1955) Fotogra fi a aerea e ricerche archeologiche LrsquoUniverso 35

3ndash14 Castagnoli F amp Schmiedt G (1957) Lrsquoantica cittagrave di Norba LrsquoUniverso 37 128ndash148 Ceraudo G (1999) Introduzione allrsquoaerofotogrammetria applicata allrsquoarcheologia Formia Il

Grande Blu Ceraudo G (2000) Reperibilitagrave delle foto aeree In F Piccarreta amp G Ceraudo (Eds) Manuale

di Aerofotogra fi a archeologica ndash Metodologia tecniche e applicazioni (pp 7ndash218) Bari Edipuglia

Ceraudo G (2003) Fotogra fi a aerea tecniche applicazioni foto interpretazione In M Guaitoli (Ed) Lo Sguardo di Icaro Le collezioni dellrsquoAerofototeca Nazionale per la conoscenza del territorio (pp 75ndash85) Roma Campisano

Guaitoli M (2003a) Carbonaie In M Guaitoli (Ed) Lo Sguardo di Icaro Le collezioni dellrsquoAerofototeca Nazionale per la conoscenza del territorio (pp 86ndash88) Roma Campisano

Guaitoli M (2003b) Dalla cartogra fi a fi nalizzata ai sistemi informativi territoriali In M Guaitoli (Ed) Lo Sguardo di Icaro Le collezioni dellrsquoAerofototeca Nazionale per la conoscenza del territorio (pp 101ndash102) Roma Campisano

Guaitoli M (2003c) Arpi In M Guaitoli (Ed) Lo Sguardo di Icaro Le collezioni dellrsquoAerofototeca Nazionale per la conoscenza del territorio (pp 187ndash193) Roma Campisano

Guaitoli M (2003d) Satricum In M Guaitoli (Ed) Lo Sguardo di Icaro Le collezioni dellrsquoAerofototeca Nazionale per la conoscenza del territorio (pp 283ndash289) Roma Campisano

Guaitoli M (2003e) Centuriazione tra Aecae ed Arpi In M Guaitoli (Ed) Lo Sguardo di Icaro Le collezioni dellrsquoAerofototeca Nazionale per la conoscenza del territorio (pp 470ndash474) Roma Campisano

Guglielmino R amp Pagliara C (2004) Nuove ricerche a Roca Annali della Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa 2 527ndash548

Heldring B H M amp Stibbe C M (1991) Scavi a Satricum ndash Campagne 1988ndash89 Archeologia laziale 10 229ndash233

Knoop R R amp Stibbe C M (1989) sv Satricum In Enciclopedia dellrsquoarte antica (suppl II) Rome Treccani

Lugli G (1939) Saggi di esplorazione archeologica a mezzo della fotogra fi a aerea Roma Istituto di studi romani

Maaskant Kleinbrink M (Ed) (1987) Settlement excavation at Borgo le Ferriere lsquoSatricumrsquo I Groningen Egbert Forsten

Maaskant Kleinbrink M (Ed) (1992) Settlement Excavation at Borgo le Ferriere lsquoSatricumrsquo II Groningen Egbert Forsten

Martin J M (1990) Troia et son territoire au XI siegravecle Vetera Christianorum 27 175ndash201 Mattiocco E (1986) Centri forti fi cati vestini Sulmona Museo civico di Sulmona Mazzei M (2003) Arpi In M Guaitoli (Ed) Lo Sguardo di Icaro Le collezioni dellrsquoAerofototeca

Nazionale per la conoscenza del territorio (pp 185ndash186) Roma Campisano Pagliara C (1987) La Grotta Poesia di Roca (Melendugno Lecce) Note preliminari Annali della

Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa 17 267ndash328 Pagliara C amp Guglielmino R (2005) Roca dalle curiositagrave antiquarie allo scavo stratigra fi co

In S Settis amp M C Parra (Eds) Magna Grecia Archeologia di un sapere (pp 298ndash321) Milan Electa

1458 The Use of Historical Aerial Photographs in Italy Some Case Studies

Pagliara C Maggiulli G Scarano T Pino C Guglielmino R De Grossi Mazzorin J Rugge M Fiorentino G Primavera M Calcagnile L DrsquoElia M amp Quarta G (2007) La sequenza cronostratigra fi ca delle fasi di occupazione dellrsquoinsediamento protostorico di Roca (Melendugno Lecce) Relazione preliminare della campagna di scavo 2005 ndash Saggio X Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche 57 311ndash362

Pagliara C Guglielmino R Coluccia L Malorgio I Merico M Palmisano D Rugge M amp Minonne F (2008) Roca Vecchia (Melendugno Lecce) SAS IX relazione stratigra fi ca preliminare sui livelli di occupazione protostorici (campagne di scavo 2005ndash2006) Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche 58 239ndash280

Piccarreta F (1989) Fotogrammetria fi nalizzata alla cartogra fi a archeologica In Atti del Convegno lsquoLa cartogra fi a dei Beni Storici Archeologici e Paesisticirsquo (pp 143ndash149) Rome

Piccarreta F (2003a) Aerofotogrammetria fi nalizzata allrsquoarcheologia In M Guaitoli (Ed) Lo Sguardo di Icaro Le collezioni dellrsquoAerofototeca Nazionale per la conoscenza del territorio (pp 96ndash98) Roma Campisano

Piccarreta F (2003b) Rocavecchia In M Guaitoli (Ed) Lo Sguardo di Icaro Le collezioni dellrsquoAerofototeca Nazionale per la conoscenza del territorio (pp 236ndash237) Roma Campisano

Piccarreta F amp Ceraudo G (2000) Manuale di Aerofotogra fi a archeologica ndash Metodologia tecniche e applicazioni Bari Edipuglia

Schmiedt G (1970) Atlante aerofotogra fi co delle sedi umane in Italia Florence Istituto Geogra fi co Militare

Schmiedt G (1985) Le centuriazioni di Lucera e di Aecae LrsquoUniverso 65 260ndash277 Schmiedt G (1989) Atlante aerofotogra fi co delle sedi umane in Italia III la centuriazione

romana Florence Istituto Geogra fi co Militare Tartara P (2003a) Ortofotopiano storico IGM 1930 del territorio tra Cerveteri e la costa In

M Guaitoli (Ed) Lo Sguardo di Icaro Le collezioni dellrsquoAerofototeca Nazionale per la conoscenza del territorio (pp 157ndash166) Roma Campisano

Tartara P (2003b) Insediamenti drsquoaltura dellrsquoAbruzzo In M Guaitoli (Ed) Lo Sguardo di Icaro Le collezioni dellrsquoAerofototeca Nazionale per la conoscenza del territorio (pp 201ndash209) Roma Campisano

Tartara P (2003c) Cavallino In M Guaitoli (Ed) Lo Sguardo di Icaro Le collezioni dellrsquoAerofototeca Nazionale per la conoscenza del territorio (pp 333ndash335) Roma Campisano

Tartara P (2003d) Insediamenti lungo il Tratturo Regio nel settore aquilano In M Guaitoli (Ed) Lo Sguardo di Icaro Le collezioni dellrsquoAerofototeca Nazionale per la conoscenza del territorio (pp 454ndash456) Roma Campisano

Tartara P (2007) Il territorio aquilano lungo il Tratturo Regio primi dati per una carta archeo-logica sistematica (Area tra Bazzano e Capestrano) In A Clementi (Ed) I Campi Aperti di Peltuinum dove tramonta il sole hellip- Saggi sulla terra di Prata drsquoAnsidonia dalla Protostoria allrsquoetagrave moderna (pp 449ndash565) LrsquoAquila Deputazione Abruzzese di Storia Patria

Tartara P (2010) Fotogra fi e aeree storiche e recenti ndash Alcuni risultati dal territorio ceretano In F DrsquoAndria D Mal fi tana N Masini amp G Scerdozzi (Eds) Il Dialogo dei Saperi ndash Metodologie integrate per i Beni Archeologici e Monumentali Tomo I (pp 427ndash432) Napoli Edizioni Scienti fi che Italiane

147WS Hanson and IA Oltean (eds) Archaeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives DOI 101007978-1-4614-4505-0_9 copy Springer Science+Business Media LLC 2013

Abstract Extensive landscape developments in the Lower Danube region over the second half of the twentieth century have resulted in the loss of numerous archaeo-logical features before appropriate rescue and recording work could be performed The discovery of a number of historical aerial photographs in one of the uncata-logued sections of The Aerial Reconnaissance Archive has enabled the recovery of a range of landscape features of various dates in the Galaţi area on the Lower Danube even after their destruction including unparalleled elements of the Roman frontier defences This chapter considers the way in which the historical context of acquisi-tion of these photographs impacts on their quality and quantity and how such con-textual information can be used to help identify imagery in sections of the TARA archive which presently lack fi nding aids

Archaeological research must often build interpretations based on incomplete evi-dence heavily biased by the rate of survival and recovery of archaeological infor-mation Extensive landscape developments in the Lower Danube region over the second half of the twentieth century have resulted in the loss of numerous archaeo-logical features before appropriate rescue and recording work could be performed This situation not only affects our level of knowledge of local landscapes but can have much wider impact such as on our appreciation of the nature and evolution of the defensive strategies of the Roman Empire Aerial photographs taken before modern developments took place can provide important information and help reduce some of the biases affecting our understanding of past landscapes and cultures

I A Oltean () Department of Archaeology University of Exeter Laver Building North Park Road Exeter EX4 4QE UK e-mail IAOlteanexeteracuk

Chapter 9 A Lost Archaeological Landscape on the Lower Danube Roman Limes The Contribution of Second World War Aerial Photographs

Ioana A Oltean

148 IA Oltean

The discovery of a few historical aerial photographs in the uncatalogued collections of TARA (The Aerial Reconnaissance Archive) enabled the identi- fi cation of unparalleled elements of the Roman limes after their destruction These photographs provide an opportunity to discuss the way in which the context of acquisition impacts on the quality and quantity of various types of Second World War archival material and how such information can be used to help the identi fi cation of imagery in areas of this archive where fi nding aids have not been yet developed

91 Galaţi Geographical and Historical Context

The modern town of Galaţi in eastern Romania is located on the left bank of the river Danube at its con fl uence with River Siret overlooking the last major bend of the great European river before it reaches the Black Sea (Fig 91 (1)) Much of the Danube valley cutting across the steppe from south to north is with few exceptions spread across a marshy landscape with multiple river channels which changed and evolved over time However until the twentieth century seagoing vessels were able to reach its harbour and with the resources of cereals and timber for the interna-tional markets just emerging in the nineteenth century Galaţi developed rapidly into the most important shipping base of the Lower Danube Indeed between 1856 and 1938 it was the seat of the European Commission of the Danube which oversaw the free navigation on the river Moreover the growth of Romaniarsquos oil industry after 1857 in the Ploieşti region (155 km W of Galaţi) mostly at the hands of Western companies rapidly developed the network needed to establish ef fi cient rail trans-portation to harbours not just on the Black Sea shore at Constanţa but also on the Danube (Jensen and Rosegger 1978 Turnock 1974 37)

Given its ideal location for fi shing farming and transportcommunications the area of Galaţi has been inhabited since at least the early Bronze Age (Dragomir 1996 662) Much as during its later history the area has been a sensitive point of border defence since the Roman Empire expanded into Dobrogea and established its boundary along the Danube in the fi rst century AD But even though a number of military bases were established along the right bank of the Danube in Dobrogea at Troesmis Arrubium Dinogetia Luncaviţa and Noviodunum the large marshes in front of them would have provided little comfort if faced with eventual attacks from the north-west without additional forti fi cations on the raised plateau on the opposite shore (Fig 91 (3)) The Roman limes installations in the area of Galaţi (Romania) on the left bank of the Danube were known by Romanian archaeologists since the late nineteenth century to have included a rampart with an outer ditch to the west and north which extended for 20 km between the modern villages of Traian on the Siret to the west and Tuluceşti overlooking the Prut river valley to the north This position was therefore extremely favourable allowing control of the problematic marshes with minimal effort Also it provided a foothold inside Barbaricum over-looking movement along the most important river valleys of Moldavia the Siret and the Prut Behind this linear rampart previous fi eld-based research had already

1499 A Lost Archaeological Landscape on the Lower Danube Roman Limes hellip

located a number of military and non-military sites the latter consisting mainly of funerary remains including stray urn burials and barrows with a few settlements (eg Dragomir 1996 661ndash695 with bibliography Croitoru 2007 )

The site that attracted most specialist attention for over 170 years is the strong-hold at Galaţi-Bărboşi on the Tirighina promontory overlooking the Siret

Bucharest

GalatiGalatiGalati

LDAVIA

UKRAINE

BULGARIA

DanubeConstantaConstantaConstanta

ROMANIAROMANIAROMANIA

Sir et

Prut

1 2

Fig 91 3 The topographic location of Roman limes forts along the Danube in north-western Dobrogea ( 1 location of the study area 2 oblique aerial photograph of Galaţi-Bărboşi fort in July 2008 topographic and hydrographical raster data copy USGS)

150 IA Oltean

(Fig 91 (2)) Though the full chronology of the site still remains to be established in detail various excavations by Romanian archaeologists including G Săulescu V Pacircrvan N Gostar S Sanie and IT Dragomir seem to indicate that a Roman fortlet had been built there during the reign of Trajan on a former Iron Age site the residence of the local leader of the Getae The hill fort was built probably at some point in the second century BC but with some traces of an earlier Bronze Age phase of occupation (Sicircrbu and Croitoru 2007 ) The pre-conquest archaeological evidence recovered from the site includes large numbers of Greek amphorae or black- and red- fi gured pottery found mostly in funerary contexts in the vicinity and a large hoard of 517 Roman Republican denarii These serve to indicate its impor-tance from the sixth to the fi rst century BC as a central place within the wider social and economic networks in operation between the Greco-Roman world and the local population (mainly Getae alongside other groups such as the Scythians early in the sixth to fi fth centuries BC and later the Sarmatians and Carpi ndash see Dragomir 1996 663ndash664)

The circ*mstances of the Roman conquest and the establishment of the fortlet at Bărboşi with its surrounding civilian settlement located at the foot of the hill and to the west (Sicircrbu and Croitoru 2007 14) remain unclear but are assumed to have occurred in the context of the major changes to the Roman limes in the Danube area at the beginning of the second century AD made by Trajan These measures included the conquest of Dacia and the reorganisation of Moesia with the expansion of Lower Moesia into Muntenia and south Moldova including the area of Galaţi itself as a result of which the pre-Roman occupation on the Tirighina hill may have met a sudden perhaps violent end (Dragomir 1996 665) However if the Trajanic bound-ary of Lower Moesia in this sector was located further north as is usually assumed it is unlikely that the limes forti fi cations between Traian and Tuluceşti were con-structed before the boundaries of Lower Moesia reverted to the line of the Danube under Hadrian A few strongholds were kept on the left bank of the Danube includ-ing Galaţi where control of the con fl uences of the rivers Siret and Prut with the Danube needed a Roman presence on both banks of the great river

However the forti fi cation on the Tirighina hill was not the only military base in the area of the Galaţi limes A second fortlet was located at Galaţi-Dunărea 125 km east of that at Bărboşi also overlooking the Siret and closer to its con fl uence with the Danube This was little known until the recent rescue excavations of 2004 which despite severe erosion affecting the recovery of internal features revealed a forti fi cation some 40 by 40 m square within its wide surrounding ditch giving an estimated internal area with due allowance for a rampart of some 009 ha (Ţentea and Oltean 2009 1515 See also below) The dimensions of the fortlet indicate that it was never intended to host more than a small detachment garrisoning this strategic outpost Analogies are encountered elsewhere in various fortlets in Britannia (eg Martinhoe or Barburgh Mill) or those overlooking the Iron Gates of the Danube in Moesia Superior or those along communication routes in Dacia (eg Tibiscum ndash the early phase Abrud Boiţa) and along the limes Transalutanus in southern Dacia The lack of constant maintenance work on the ditches as apparent from their stra-tigraphy and the nature of the archaeological material recovered from three separate

1519 A Lost Archaeological Landscape on the Lower Danube Roman Limes hellip

layers of ditch in fi ll consisting mainly of fragments of wine amphorae indicate that the fortlet had been used sporadically during the fi rst half of the second century AD This contradicts previous interpretations of its continuous use over almost two centuries (Ţentea and Oltean 2009 1515ndash1518)

Unfortunately indications of settlement in the immediate vicinity of these two Roman forti fi cations come mainly from funerary activity rather than the identi fi cation of the settlements themselves Burials of Roman date continue the earlier monu-mental fashion of tumuli but with additional elements including stone sarcophagi (see Ţentea 2007 with bibliography)

The archaeological discoveries reported so far were made predominantly in the immediate vicinity of Galaţi either to the west along the Siret around the villages of Şendreni and Bărboşi or in the northern part of the town and along Lake Brateş while much of the rest of the area enclosed behind the limes has remained insuf fi ciently explored The landscape has undergone great transformations in modern times as the town has developed and therefore the reported discoveries provide only a very frag-mentary picture of the archaeological landscape Most of the area to the west and the north of the town suffered dramatic intervention and destruction in the decades following the Second World War Development was particularly extensive between the lakes of Cătuşa and Mălina to the north of the known ancient forti fi cation and cemetery at Bărboşi with a huge steel factory covering some 14 km 2 (now Mittal Steel-Galaţi) being constructed there from 1960 to 1968 (Fig 92 ) Moreover the town itself has expanded greatly with new residential areas needed as a result of the massive industrial development (Turnock 1974 135ndash136)

Given the scale of the areas affected by development around Galaţi it is now dif fi cult to place in their appropriate site and landscape context previously reported archaeological discoveries which consist mainly of material culture Therefore the extent to which they accurately represent the nature and full extent of past human activity in the region remains highly questionable In this situation historical aerial photographs from the fi rst half of the twentieth century which document the land-scape prior to its destruction such as those made during the Second World War now provide probably the only chance of recovering plans of lost sites and fi lling in the gaps in the archaeological maps of the area

92 Second World War Aerial Photographs of Romania Acquisition Coverage and Distribution

The few Second World War photographs utilised in the present study were acquired in 2005 from The Aerial Reconnaissance Archive (TARA ndash at that time based in the University of Keele UK now part of the RCAHMS Edinburgh See Chap 2 Cowley et al this v olume) in the context of the authorrsquos postdoctoral British Academy-funded research project entitled Contextualizing change on the Lower Danube Roman impact on Daco-Getic landscapes (see Chap 18 by Oltean and Hanson this volume) They all represent medium altitude vertical photographs

152 IA Oltean

Fig 92 Outline of MAPRW coverages of the Galaţi region in relation to the current extent of built-up areas the photographs cover much of the area now occupied by the Mittal steel factory as seen in the oblique aerial photograph of July 2008 from the west

1539 A Lost Archaeological Landscape on the Lower Danube Roman Limes hellip

acquired during a reconnaissance fl ight gathering military intelligence on 31 May 1944 by the RAF (sortie no 60PR460 height 28500 ft) Unfortunately the origi-nal fi lms have not been located and may be lost but high resolution digital copies of the original prints were purchased from TARA

Given the size of the archive and the scarcity of fi nding aids available locating any useful photographs may seem to be a stroke of luck (see also Chap 2 by Cowley et al this volume) However prior knowledge of the historical context that stimu-lated the need for aerial photographs to be acquired in the study area provides useful information for archaeological users helping them to assess the quantity and the quality of the photographic material which may be found in the archive As stated elsewhere in this volume (Chap 18 by Oltean and Hanson Chap 2 by Cowley et al) military reconnaissance photography was acquired for very speci fi c strategic reasons depending on the needs of the opposing armies Also depending on the positions of those armies within the area under reconnaissance the acquisition fl ights them-selves would have been undertaken under very different conditions The research programme allowed access through TARA to Second World War aerial imagery from different parts of Romania in the north-west centre and the south-east pro-duced by both sides in the con fl ict Thus it provided ideal conditions for illustrating the signi fi cant differences in the extent of coverage acquisition dates media and state of survival between the photographs taken by the RAF and the USAF and those taken by the Luftwaffe (see Chap 18 by Oltean and Hanson this volume)

The geographical position of Romania and its proximity to the Russian front line made the British and American armies less interested in acquiring extensive cover-age to help the advancement of ground troops Invariably the intelligence gathered by them was aimed at narrower areas around points of interest for strategic bombing operations Aerial photographs were taken of targets before and after attacks in an effort to improve bombing accuracy and assess the signi fi cance of the damages in fl icted (Meilinger 2007 148 McCloskey 1987 916ndash918) Early in the war the production and supply bases of German forces and of their allies (among them sup-ply depots for oil and re fi ned products) along with the necessary transport infra-structure (such as rail marshalling yards harbours and bridges) were de fi ned as among the most important objectives of strategic bombing in particular oil supply became a major priority after the Casablanca Conference in January 1943 (Meilinger 2007 BBSU 1998 1ndash12 Schaffer 1985 32 Werrell 1986 ) During the war the Ploieşti area was the most important European producer of crude and re fi ned oil products which were at that time directed exclusively to Romaniarsquos German ally This made it a primary bombing target of the American 15th Air Force with the occasional participation of the RAF (Meilinger 2007 146ndash147 Stout 2003 2ndash4 7ndash20) Naturally targets included the extraction fi elds and re fi neries in Ploieşti Cacircmpina and Brazi but facilities further a fi eld at Bucharest Braşov Tacircrgovişte and Doiceşti Teleajenul were also affected Particular attention was dedicated to pro-cessing and storage facilities at shipping points along the Danube (eg Giurgiu and Cernavodă) or the Black Sea key outlet at Constanţa (Fig 93 ) The Ploieşti area was heavily defended not only by the numerous local anti-aircraft ground installa-tions but also by a series of aerial bases near Bucharest (Băneasa and Otopeni) and

154 IA Oltean

elsewhere such as Ziliştea (near Focşani) Tecuci Piteşti Buzău or indeed Galaţi The latter town was an important node for rail transportation to Moldavia where the front line had moved by early 1944 It was an important Danube harbour and ship-maintenance centre and a vital part of the Galaţi-Nămoloasa-Focşani defence line an extensive system of forti fi cations built by the Romanian army at the end of the nineteenth century which was rehabilitated and operational in the Second World

Fig 93 Contemporary hand-annotated request for an enlargement of the areas of strategic inter-est at Constanţa Romania the large oil storage facilities the railway terminal and the harbour (MAPRW sortie 60PR460 frame 4017 Licensor NCAPaerialrcahmsgovuk)

1559 A Lost Archaeological Landscape on the Lower Danube Roman Limes hellip

War (see below) However it was Galaţirsquos small defensive air fi eld that constituted the most likely target for the reconnaissance fl ight of 31 May which produced the photographs under study here The 15th Air Force attack which eventually followed on 6 June at the same time as the D-Day operations in Normandy were under way targeted the air fi eld with its 104 B-17s and 42 P-51s which had arrived via Ukraine (Carter and Mueller 1991 247 Stout 2003 145ndash146) The same reconnaissance sortie provided intelligence for a separate attack on the 11th June on the oil instal-lations by the sea terminal at Constanţa (Fig 93 ) (Carter and Mueller 1991 251) which have provided equally important information for the reconstruction and analysis of the archaeological landscape in southern Dobrogea (see Chap 18 by Oltean and Hanson this volume with earlier bibliography) It is to be expected therefore that coverage of other areas in the general vicinity of strategic targets in Romania or elsewhere should be found in the archive

Another factor which needs to be considered when estimating the overall quan-tity and likely chronological distribution of the USAAFRAF imagery of Romania is that this was acquired with great dif fi culty as operations in the region started to take place Given the distance of the targets from the bases in the Mediterranean fl ying over Romania was dif fi cult for the Allies until 1944 indeed the massive attack on Ploieşti of 1 August 1943 under the operation entitled lsquoTidal Waversquo was a landmark in military aviation history because of the numerous technical perils (over and above that of enemy fi re) faced as a result of the long fl ight at low altitude from Benghazi over the occupied Balkans Few aircraft returned to base without dif fi culty if at all (Stout 2003 ) The situation improved in the spring of 1944 after the establishment of new aerial bases in Italy and after the cooperation agreements with the USSR allowed bases in the Ukraine to be used by lsquoshuttlersquo missions (Operation Frantic June to September 1944)

In contrast German aerial imagery of Romania consulted as part of this research programme re fl ects different strategic needs and possibilities from those of the British and American armies German interest in strategic objectives in Romania was manifested quite early on with the important railway node at Simeria in west-ern Transylvania photographed as early as 7 June 1939 (GX mosaic no 14331) a few months before the invasion of Poland had started Similar photographs contin-ued to be made in the country throughout the war even though Romania was Germanyrsquos ally between October 1940 and August 1944 some of which provide valuable archaeological information (eg Medgidia see Chap 18 by Oltean and Hanson this volume and Fig 187 ) However extensive block coverages which document in detail the topography land use and transport facilities were also made Such an example is that of the entire region of southern Dobrogea extending well into north Bulgaria along the Danube made by the Luftwaffe in April 1944 over a number of separate sorties At fi rst sight this may come as a surprise given that at the time both Romania and Bulgaria were allies of the Axis But apart from the data already mentioned the coverage documents an extensive network of defensive trenches built in the fi rst decades of the twentieth century as a result of the divergent positions of Romania and Bulgaria over the status of Dobrogea in the Balkan War (1912ndash1913) and in the First World War With the area to the south of the existing modern boundary lost to Bulgaria in September 1940 the defences were renovated

156 IA Oltean

Fig 94 Upper 1944 aerial photograph (MAPRW sortie 60PR460 frame 3051 Licensor NCAPaerialrcahmsgovuk) of Galaţi indicating the presence of archaeological features of Roman medieval and early 20th century date lost under post-war development as transcribed ( lower )

1579 A Lost Archaeological Landscape on the Lower Danube Roman Limes hellip

to ensure their usability if needed In the spring of 1944 political developments in the Balkans raised the possibility of Bulgarian capitulation in March 1944 (see BBSU 1998 18) This eventuality alongside the generally fragile basis of Romanian loyalty towards the Axis were potentially signi fi cant threats to the vital supply of Romanian oil resources to the German battle lines Thus the intelligence-gathering interest here is unequivocally aimed at providing the German army with the most up-to-date information for an eventual defence on the ground of the crucial system for the transport of oil in the area of the Lower Danube and across Dobrogea to Constanţa on the Black Sea in the eventuality of an attack from the south Alongside strategic information however the photo coverage also provides a huge amount of archaeological information which has enabled the fi rst large-scale archaeological landscape reconstruction work ever to be performed in Romania (see Chap 18 by Oltean and Hanson this volume) As this dataset also covers a good part of the north of Bulgaria it is easy to envisage its potential importance for reconstructing the ancient landscape also in that country where aerial archaeology has yet to be intro-duced (see Chap 1 by Hanson and Oltean this volume) Moreover given the spatial and chronological scale of German military operations and strategic interests in the Second World War similar material of great archaeological potential would no doubt have been produced for other regions in occupied territories allied countries and possibly even neutral countries (see also Going 2002 )

93 Transcription and Mapping Issues

The vertical aerial photographs taken on 31 May 1944 provide incomplete cover-age of the area surrounding Galaţi to the west and the north particularly in relation to the area later affected by the construction of the steel factory (Fig 92 ) Moreover as noted above the photographs were acquired with different priorities in terms of timing compared to those favoured by archaeological photo-interpreters The best time for cropmark formation in the area of Galaţi is from early-mid June to early-mid July so the photographic coverage was taken slightly too early in the growing season to best reveal buried archaeological remains through cropmarks But else-where even imagery taken earlier in the season was able to reveal larger extant or soil-marked archaeological features such as ancient roads linear defensive systems and tumular cemeteries (see Chap 18 by Oltean and Hanson this volume) In the area around Galaţi a combination of extant features and early cropmarks perhaps occurring as differential germination give suf fi cient information to document a wide range of modern forti fi cations from the First and the Second World Wars along with a number of ancient fortlets roads and fi eld systems (Fig 94 ) Virtually all of them are new to the archaeological record and thus required immediate map-ping and interpretation

However there are a number of problems which can affect the process of tran-scription and mapping of archaeological information from Second World War imag-ery onto modern maps Physical and chemical deterioration of the photographs and fi lms due to poor archival conditions may create additional problems Stains and

158 IA Oltean

scratches can add false lsquofeaturesrsquo (spots or lines) while breakage fading prints or chemical decomposition of fi lms can all affect severely the clarity of the images at our disposal across whole landscapes or in more con fi ned locations It is therefore recommended that at least once during the process the archaeological photo-inter-preter should have access to the original photographs rather than the scanned copies which can be purchased Furthermore the original use of the photographic material by photo-interpreters and archivists during the war sometimes resulted in annota-tions being added to the original prints and fi lms These vary from occasional frame numbers or schematic interpretations (eg Fig 187a) to more extensive handwrit-ten or stamped texts which although themselves a source of historical information may result in additional obstruction to the visibility of archaeological features (Fig 93 ) The printed photographs of Galaţi luckily survived quite well with only occasional horizontal scratches and fi ngerprints transferred from the original fi lm onto the photographs

When dealing with aerial photographic material accumulated during the Second World War it is not always easy for the archaeological photo-interpreter to identify the places recorded Given the scarcity of fi nding aids surviving from the war period and the development of the landscape over the last 65 years it is often dif fi cult to relate the historical photographs to modern maps and imagery The task of identify-ing control points is easier when individual datasets cover larger landscapes such as higher altitude photographs and block coverage over extensive areas (such as the Luftwaffe coverage of southern Dobrogea) but can be dif fi cult or even impossible when the coverage of one particular area is limited and the details observable on the ground are too generic or have since suffered radical transformation The dif fi culty of fi nding control points also affects the accuracy of the geo-referencing of the pho-tographs and the transfer of archaeological information onto site plans and area maps The general wartime destruction and the post-war development in and around Galaţi mean that numerous possible control points have disappeared (particularly in the area now covered by the steel factory and new post-war residential areas) or have suffered transformations (such as road-widening or new buildings replacing older ones) This may cause location errors for transcribed features which are occa-sionally higher than is usually achievable but since this problem relates primarily to areas where such transformations have erased all earlier traces of human activity the importance of recovering these lost sites at all far supersedes concerns over the level of imprecision

94 The Archaeological Landscape of Galaţi Lost Features and Their Signi fi cance in Wider Context

The photographs studied here provided the basis for mapping a large number of features which at the date of photography had gone out of use and which may have been built at various dates from late prehistory onwards The large majority of these are likely to be of ancient date probably late pre-Roman and Roman These include some 200 funerary barrows (tumuli) 6 linear features probably indicating ancient

1599 A Lost Archaeological Landscape on the Lower Danube Roman Limes hellip

roads and 16 rectangular or square enclosures Among the latter the remains of the fortlet at Galaţi-Dunărea are clearly visible as at least partially extant where it is not overlain by modern cultivation located on the edge of the higher ground overlook-ing the con fl uence of the Siret and Danube with good visual contact with both the fortlet at Bărboşi nearby and with the forts bordering the Danube in Dobrogea The aerial photographs provide further details about the fortlet at Galaţi-Dunărea to aug-ment those obtained by excavation undertaken in 2004 noted above (Ţentea and Oltean 2009 ) Given the better preserved state of the site a rampart some 6ndash7 m wide can be seen enclosing an area approximately 26 by 30 m somewhat less than estimated from the recent excavations The surrounding ditch also appears wider up to 11 m beyond which was an outer bank some 12 m wide created by the upcast from the ditch providing an additional defensive obstacle Thus the fortlet can be seen to have been more extensive overall than is apparent from the recent excava-tions occupying an area across its defences of some 89 by 85 m Slightly wider marks at the corners of the rampart may perhaps indicate the original provision of towers Despite its better state of preservation in 1944 no buildings or subdivisions could be identi fi ed in the interior but such detail is rarely obtained from this type of imagery especially if the internal buildings were of timber (which may well have been the case here)

The aerial photographs also provide considerable additional data con fi rming that there is signi fi cant evidence of further associated activity in the immediate vicinity with as many as 54 larger agglomerations of circular and sub-circular negative crop-marks probably barrows of Roman date clustered within 500ndash600 m of the fortlet (mainly to the north and north-west) This indicates the presence of one the largest concentrations of funerary activity and by implication of occupation so far recorded in the area As elsewhere on the Lower Danube tumuli have been previously docu-mented around Galaţi but again as elsewhere a full appreciation of the phenome-non is only now beginning to be grasped with the recent application of aerial remote sensing facilitating the identi fi cation and mapping of thousands of such monuments (see eg Chap 18 by Oltean and Hanson this volume with earlier bibliography) The historical photographs allowed the recovery of a further 229 barrows (out of 883 recorded in total in the wider region from additional aerial and satellite imag-ery) helping to reveal the character and structure of the settlement pattern and the use of space behind and beyond the Galaţi limes (Fig 95 ) Most of these barrows have been destroyed by subsequent development which unfortunately does not allow more precise chronological and cultural interpretation to be undertaken Lines of communications articulating movement through the landscape also constitute new additions to the archaeological record with 6 road lines and 3 more alignments of tumuli probably also re fl ecting routeways identi fi ed in the areas affected by development Important access routes have been recovered leading to the north along Lake Brateş and the Danube east of Galaţi-Dunărea linking this with a civil-ian settlement which according to the national gazetteer (RAN -7510501 httprancimecroselaspOmod=1ampnr=8ampids=708 ) was located under the modern town Other roads to the north-east of the Bărboşi fortlet would have ensured its connection to sites north of modern Galaţi Funerary barrows emerged along at least two of these roads while other alignments on elevated positions border topographic

160 IA Oltean

features (eg along Lake Brateş and Lake Cătuşa or overlooking deeper valleys cutting through the higher plateau at the Siret-Danube-Prut con fl uence)

On the basis of experience further south in Dobrogea (Chap 18 by Oltean and Hanson this volume) the presence of ancient funerary barrows and access routes in the area was anticipated even though their number and complexity exceeded these expectations However the most important and entirely unexpected discovery was the identi fi cation on the aerial photographs of a further 15 rectangular enclosures of broadly similar dimensions (see examples on Fig 94 ) Based on the transcriptions alone it is dif fi cult to interpret all of them as forti fi cations even though this possi-bility should not be entirely dismissed However two of them located some 28 km

0 5 km Dan

L Malin

aL Brates

L C

atu

Siret

WWII coverage

archaeological features

Fig 95 Distribution of ancient archaeological remains recovered from the air in the area of Galaţi ( A ndash Bărboşi-Tirighina B ndash Galaţi-Dunărea)

1619 A Lost Archaeological Landscape on the Lower Danube Roman Limes hellip

apart to the NW of Galaţi-Dunărea one measuring 73 by 76 m and the other 98 by 99 m across their defences were provided with a surrounding ditch in front of the rampart and are likely to have been Roman fortlets Another probable fortlet was located further to the NE in the northern area of the modern town Most of the enclo-sures however do not display an outer ditch indeed in four cases internal ditches may have been present thus considerably reducing the occupied area Though there would still have been suf fi cient space to accommodate a watchtower the military nature of the remaining examples de fi ned only by a surrounding bank is less obvi-ous so they might instead represent settlement or funerary enclosures Recent sur-veys (including aerial reconnaissance in 2008) in the area con fi rmed the presence of additional such enclosures at least one of them producing scattered Roman material during fi eld walking

The archaeological interpretation and mapping of archived RAF photographic material from the Second World War helped both to reconstruct the lost archaeo-logical landscape of the area and to bring more light on the complex structure of this sector of the Roman Danubian limes The installations around the modern town of Galaţi would have included at least four or fi ve small forti fi cations (fortlets) along with a number of watchtowers Although the line of the limes itself remains surpris-ingly clear of any known forts or towers control extended as far as 65 km beyond the line of the Danube within the territory enclosed by the Traian-Tuluceşti vallum Based on these observations it is dif fi cult to estimate the full extent and potential ef fi ciency of Roman garrisoning of the area but these installations were suf fi cient at least to facilitate the control and surveillance of the territory and provide vital communication links to military bases across the Danube

Additional features observed on the 1944 aerial photographs also include some fi ve rectangular enclosures and various fi eld boundaries of uncertain date along with smaller enclosures and internal features which could relate to late medieval or early modern occupation the latter overlooking a small inlet on the left bank of the Danube used as a harbour until later in the nineteenth century but now dried out (Dragomir 1996 667) (Fig 94 ) Extensive information is also provided on part of the nineteenth- to twentieth-century defensive works particularly on and around the so-called Focşani-Nămoloasa-Galaţi line (Fig 96 (3)) Now destroyed by develop-ment and agriculture and partly visible as cropmarks this defensive system for heavy artillery was originally built in 1888ndash1893 by the Romanian army based on German plans It was intended to defend the core of the country against eventual invasion from the north-east by Russia but eventually ended up being used to stop the advance of enemy troops into Moldavia from the opposite direction during the First World War in 1916 when all of the southern part of Romania (then an ally of the Entente Powers) was occupied by German Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian troops (Georgescu 2007 95ndash96 Stevenson 2004 113ndash114 171ndash173) Earlier maps such as the Austro-Hungarian maps of the area (eg the 3rd Military Mapping Survey of Austria-Hungary Sheet 46-45 Galaţi General Map of Central Europe scale 1200000 1901) describe these forti fi cations as consisting essentially of two forti fi ed lines with 27 casemates on their northern side The 1944 aerial photographs help us to reconstruct the complexity of the Galaţi forti fi cations which would have included over 50 casemates built along three separate forti fi ed lines (Fig 96 )

162 IA Oltean

Fig 96 ( 1 ) Eastern end of the Focşani-Nămoloasa-Galaţi forti fi cations in 1944 (MAPRW sortie 60PR460 frame 3055 Licensor NCAPaerialrcahmsgovuk) indicating that the use of some of the earlier casemates from 1918 has been changed as at A (on map 3 ) The casemate at B (on inset 2 and map 3 ) was still visible as cropmark in 2008

1639 A Lost Archaeological Landscape on the Lower Danube Roman Limes hellip

They provide signi fi cant additional information on the location and plan of 23 casemates on their network of communications (roads) and information on further defensive trenches in various locations At least one such set fragmentarily recov-ered and now completely disappeared underneath the modern town appears to be a consistent barrier system extended between the Danube and Lake Cătuşa (see Fig 94 ) Of uncertain date it undoubtedly preceded the late nineteenth-century forti fi cations Additionally the photographs allow identi fi cation of the features in use during the First World War and the extent of their reuse and adaptation during the Second World War providing ultimately excellent information for analysing probably for the fi rst time the development of the major con fl icts of the twentieth century on the ground in this area

95 Conclusions

The photographic imagery acquired during the Second World War to gather strate-gic information is important in its own right as a document of that developing con fl ict However the above discussion highlights the considerable contribution that even a very small amount of such imagery can make to reconstructing the development of the archaeological landscape in a particular area over a very long period In the case discussed here the utilisation of vertical photography from the Second World War has enabled the identi fi cation and recognition of a large number of archaeological features of diverse character and date in an area now permanently and irreversibly damaged by modern urban and industrial expansion

The discoveries discussed above clearly indicate that the system of Roman sur-veillance and control of the left bank of the Danube in this area was far more com-plex than previously estimated and through the positioning of fortlets at a signi fi cant distance behind the linear earthworks re fl ects a strategic approach different from those documented elsewhere along the Roman limes These sites now constitute the basis for a thorough reassessment of the Roman landscape of Galaţi and its sur-roundings through an intensive programme of survey on the ground and from the air (the latter involving the author) under the aegis of the STRATEG programme of the National Museum in Bucharest ( httpwwwstrategorgro ) The main research pri-ority now is to date the few elements still surviving in order to inform interpreta-tions of strategic networking and communication with Roman bases across the Danube in Dobrogea and to better understand the wider defensive strategy employed along the Lower Danube Roman limes

The new information from historical photographs may contribute in the future to the successful scheduling of the Roman limes in Romania as part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site In a similar fashion the imagery could help the development of studies of more recent archaeological remains from this area such as modern con fl icts which are currently not covered by Romanian archaeolo-gists Finally the present study will hopefully encourage more archaeologists to use similar early aerial photographs in their work whether from TARA or elsewhere

164 IA Oltean

Acknowledgments I am grateful to Sean Goddard (Exeter) for help with the illustrations and to Ovidiu Ţentea (Bucharest) and the STRATEG programme for facilitating further aerial research and providing ground truthing information in the area of Galaţi

Bibliography

British Bombing Survey Unit (1998) The Strategic Air War against Germany 1939ndash1945 Report of the British Bombing Survey Unit LondonPortland Frank Cass

Carter K C amp Mueller R (1991) US Army Air Forces in World War II Combat chronology 1941ndash1945 Washington DC Center for Air Force History

Croitoru C (2007) Some fortuitous funerary discoveries at Bărboşi Galaţi County Istros 14 53ndash59

Dragomir I T (1996) Monogra fi a arheologică a Moldovei de Sud 1 Danubius 16 (Special edition) Galaţi Muzeul Judeţean de Istorie

Georgescu M (2007) Dimensiunile reformei armatei romacircne icircntre Războiul de Independenţă şi intrarea icircn Primul Război Mondial In P Oţu (Ed) Reforma militară şi societatea icircn Romacircnia de la Carol I la a doua con fl agraţie mondială (pp 77ndash100) Occasional Papers of MAPN 6(8) Bucharest Editura Militara

Going C J (2002) A neglected asset German aerial photography of the Second World War period In R H Bewley amp W Raczkowski (Eds) Aerial archaeology ndash Developing future practice (Nato science series pp 23ndash30) Amsterdam Ios Press

Jensen J H amp Rosegger G (1978) Transferring technology to a peripheral economy The case of Lower Danube transport development 1856ndash1928 Technology and Culture 19 (4) 675ndash702

McCloskey J F (1987) US operations research in World War II Operations Research 35 (6) 910ndash925

Meilinger P S (2007) A history of effects-based air operations Journal of Military History 71 139ndash178

Schaffer R (1985) Wings of judgement American bombing in World War II New YorkOxford Oxford University Press

Sicircrbu V amp Croitoru C (2007) Bărboşi ndash 170 ans de reacutecherches archeacuteologiques Istros 14 13ndash25

Stevenson D (2004) 1914ndash1918 The history of the First World War London Allen Lane Stout J A (2003) Fortress Ploesti The campaign to destroy Hitlerrsquos Oil Havertown Casemate Ţentea O (2007) The Roman Necropolis at Bărboşi ndash Several remarks Istros 14 217ndash225 Ţentea O amp Oltean I A (2009) The Lower Danube Roman limes at Galaţi (Romania) Recent

results from excavation and aerial photographic interpretation In Aacute Morillo N Hanel amp E Martiacuten (Eds) Limes XX XX Congreso Internacional De Estudios Sobre La Frontera Romana ndash XXth International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies Leoacuten (Espantildea) Septiembre 2006 (pp 1515ndash1523) Madrid Ediciones Polifemo

Turnock D (1974) An economic geography of Romania London Bell amp Sons Werrell K P (1986) The strategic bombing of Germany in World War II Costs and accomplish-

ments Journal of American History 73 (3) 702ndash713

165WS Hanson and IA Oltean (eds) Archaeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives DOI 101007978-1-4614-4505-0_10 copy Springer Science+Business Media LLC 2013

Abstract Because many countries of Eastern Europe were forced to join the communist totalitarianism of the Soviet Empire when aerial reconnaissance was relegated to the category of military secrets they were unable to follow the develop-ments in archaeological aerial reconnaissance experienced in Western Europe in the period after the Second World War This chapter outlines some of the dif fi culties archaeologists experienced in acquiring aerial photographs in Eastern Europe traces the development of aerial archaeology there and provides examples of the value of historical imagery taken for purposes other than archaeology which could be accessed Examples from Hungary mainly from the Roman period serve as a particular case study

101 Introduction

The invention and use of Zeppelins and airplanes was one of the major advances of the late nineteenth century ful fi lling a many-thousand-year-old dream of mankind Until then more distant view observations could be made only from mountain peaks hills and higher elevations The invention of fl ying machines meant that such observations could now be made from any desired location and from any altitude Maps of various regions and towns formerly drawn only from imagination could now be based on personal experience With the spread of photography the number of pictures taken from higher elevations increased and photographs made from bal-loons the antecedents of real aerial photographs appeared at the end of the nine-teenth century As often happens in the case of major inventions the pioneering work in this fi eld was done by the military The advantages of aerial reconnaissance

Zs Visy () Department of Archaeology University of Peacutecs Roacutekus utca 2 Peacutecs Hungary 7624 e-mail visyzsoltptehu

Chapter 10 The Value and Signi fi cance of Historical Air Photographs for Archaeological Research Some Examples from Central and Eastern Europe

Zsolt Visy

166 Zs Visy

and the military potential of recording observations on a photograph were quickly realised during the First World War Most pictures were taken at an altitude of about 3000 m and it was at this time that overlapping photographs were fi rst made that also allowed the production of mosaic maps 1

Observation from a high altitude and the accompanying photographs opened new perspectives for scienti fi c research The specialists of this new method soon determined the optimal conditions for its application and worked out when from what altitude and at what time of day the best results could be obtained They soon realised that many features that remained undetected on the ground became visible from the air and also that phenomena that appeared as random features on the ground formed a coherent pattern if viewed from above revealing a number of points that could never otherwise have been detected

A number of partially or totally buried remains and other relics of bygone ages could be identi fi ed in this way Aerial photography was thus one of the positive accomplishments of the First World War many pilots fi ghting in the war were the fi rst to observe and register archaeological remains After returning to civil life they began to organise systematic aerial reconnaissance documentation and evaluation of archaeological features The pioneers of aerial archaeology elaborated the methods of this discipline in the 1920s and 1930s In addition to work in Europe they were also interested in the exploration of buried ruins in the desert areas of Africa and the Near East The doyens of the fi eld Theodor Wiegand Antoine Poidebard and later Osbert Guy Stanhope Crawford were joined by Aureacutel Stein who in 1938 at the age of 76 began the aerial exploration of the Roman limes and other archaeological monuments in Iraq where he succeeded in identifying several military sites

102 Aerial Archaeology in Central Europe Before and After the Second World War 2

The beginnings of aerial archaeology in the countries of Central Europe go back to the period after the First World War and followed a course similar to that in other European countries The new method had been developed during the war and many pilots were ready to apply their knowledge for science and for archaeology They were the fi rst who noticed and photographed archaeological remains from the air (eg Boumlhm 1939 Mencl 1937 Taf 1 Ondrouch 1941 Radnai 1939 1940 ) Some archaeologists adopted the methodology and started to evaluate aerial photographs (Radnoacuteti 1945 )

1 The McMaster University collection contains almost 600 examples of First World War aerial photographs ( httplibrarymcmastercamapsww1homehtm ) See also Chap 5 by Stichelbaut et al Chap 6 by Pollard and Barton this volume 2 Based on Visy 1997a

16710 The Value and Signi fi cance of Historical Air Photographshellip

The Second World War led to the rapid development of the method and technology of aerial observation and investigation and an immense number of aerial photo-graphs were taken for military purposes A signi fi cant number of these pictures also contain archaeological features and the potential of this material has still not been fully exhausted On the other hand because these countries were forced to join the communist totalitarianism of the Soviet Empire this material also represents the end of active aerial archaeology in their territory Thereafter there followed a long caesura in the aerial archaeology of many countries of Europe The most dif fi cult situation developed in the German Democratic Republic but the regulations for observations made from aircraft were almost the same in Czechoslovakia Hungary and in the other socialist countries under Soviet control These strong and restrictive regulations were in force exactly in that 40-year period when aerial archaeology was undergoing rapid development and came into general use in Western Europe

The strict regulations introduced in the name of the vigilance allowed the inves-tigation of existing aerial photographs only in speci fi c circ*mstances One needed special permission from the ministry which was given only for a speci fi c territory within a given time It was not allowed to make notes or to use a map while working with the aerial photographs and of course it was forbidden to make any kind of copies A copy could be requested but in these cases it was made from the print not the negative so that it often showed the notes and signs of the military cartographers who had used the vertical photographs for correcting military maps The copy could be given only to an institute which owned a safe for keeping maps and other politi-cally lsquodangerousrsquo material It did not mean that these pictures could be published because they retained their categorisation as secret documents Only an institute could ask for this category to be changed to the designation lsquofreersquo to allow publica-tion Two identical pictures had to be forwarded to the authorities and if permission was given one went to the press while the other was retained for later control

Another and more complicated issue was how to organise archaeological fl ights For a long time this could not even be mentioned because anybody who wanted to make observations from the air could became suspicious politically This privilege available to the military forces was extended only slowly in the late 1960s as aerial observation was more widely used for economic purposes At the same time the door was opened slightly for the archaeologists also but the high costs made it almost impossible to undertake such work The main problem lay however in the methodology which it was necessary to apply As was standard practice for carto-graphic or economic fl ights archaeologists were required to specify in advance the exact location to be photographed as well as its interpretation That meant that the only archaeological sites which were allowed to be photographed were those previ-ously identi fi ed rather than any unexplored ones As a result therefore it was almost impossible to undertake any real aerial archaeological investigation Only by extending the speci fi ed territory around identi fi ed archaeological sites was there a slight possibility to search for new sites in its vicinity Accordingly the investiga-tion of existing aerial photographs and the careful examination of earlier fl ights were of considerable importance for increasing the number of the known sites or at least those suspected of having some archaeological relevance The biggest problem

168 Zs Visy

was that one could not choose the optimal time for archaeological fl ights although this is the most important precondition to ensure a successful outcome Permission to fl y was given with 1ndash3 months notice and it speci fi ed the exact day or days on which the photographs were to be taken As a result it was often the case that the conditions were totally wrong for archaeological investigation but having been given permission it was necessary to undertake the fl ight and hope that something would be found even under unfavourable conditions Under such conditions aerial archaeology could not become a successful discovery technique (Sedlaacutecek and Vencl 1975 Plesl 1983 )

Furthermore the opportunity to fl y in socialist countries became available again only in the 1960s Scientists had learnt about the new method of aerial archaeology being practised in Western countries which had achieved signi fi cant results One of the fi rst steps in this process was the presentation of a French aerial archaeological exhibition in Prague in 1967 (Haacutesek 1968 )

After the Second World War the fi rst intentional aerial archaeological fl ight in Moravia was organised in 1949 It was made by J Pouliacutek over the rich Langobardian kingrsquos grave in Zuran at Podoli ( Pouliacutek 1995 ) Successful research fl ights were made in Moravia also over the Slavic forti fi ed sites at Mikulcice Pohansko bei Breclav and Sady bei Uherskeacute Hradište at the end of the 1950s and soon after over the grave of the Bell-Beaker culture at Prosimerice (Pernicka 1961 ) and later at some other sites (Pavelcik 1976 Cerny 1978 ) In 1972ndash1973 a radio-controlled model plane was used to document the important archaeological site in Tešetice-Kyjovice These investigations continued to contribute to interdisciplinary results until the middle of the 1980s (Baacutelek et al 1986 )

Change also occurred slowly in the Slovakian region The excavations at Nitriansky Hraacutedok (Šurany) in 1967 (Tocik and Vladaacuter 1971 383 Abb 16) in Biacutena (Habovštiak 1985 181) and the earthwork at Stary Tekov in 1963 (Visy 1997a 24 fi g 2) were investigated and documented through aerial photography The Slavic earthwork at Majcichov was also identi fi ed by this method in 1967 and the lsquoRoman Stationrsquo at Ciacutefer-Paacutec also documented from the air in 1972 (Visy 1997a 25 fi g 4) Beginning in 1978 a series of aerial photographs were taken both in Czechoslovakia and Hungary in the territory of the planned dam on the Danube at Gabcikovo-Nagymaros The fi rst pictures were taken without any permission but no punish-ment followed It is a pity however that most of the photographs were taken under conditions which were unfavourable for the recovery of archaeological information It should be noted that after the democratic change in these countries the construc-tion work on this huge dam has been stopped

Aerial archaeology in Hungary began more or less simultaneously with interna-tional experiments in this fi eld In 1938 Loacuteraacutend Radnai published a paper in which he described the archaeological uses of aerial photography and the basic require-ments for successful observation The fi rst aerial photographs were published in Archaeologiai Eacutertesiacutető 2 years later In his discussion of these photographs Radnai convincingly proved his point and demonstrated that aerial photography could be successfully applied under Hungarian conditions too

16910 The Value and Signi fi cance of Historical Air Photographshellip

Archaeologists soon became acquainted with this important new research technique A few years later Aladaacuter Radnoacuteti ( 1945 ) published high quality photo-graphs that could be evaluated archaeologically in his study of the Dacian limes along the ridge of the Meszes mountains Wartime conditions greatly contributed to advances in archaeological aerial photography but they also brought a number of restrictions While planned reconnaissance fl ights could rarely be made there were no objections to the archaeological analysis of the high number of excellent aerial photographs made by the army Saacutendor Neoacutegraacutedy spent long years studying these photographs He accumulated an impressive collection of aerial photographs pub-lishing a part of his collection at the last possible moment before the clamp down ( 1950 ) Indeed it is pure chance that he was allowed to publish many aerial photo-graphs in Hungary for thereafter it was restricted for more than two decades His photographs were taken during the Second World War and earlier We can only hypothesise what else there may have been in his collection that never became gen-erally accessible because of the changes in the political climate The all-pervasive atmosphere of suspicion characterising the communist system did not allow the complex mapping of Hungaryrsquos territory and aerial reconnaissance was relegated to the category of military secrets

Thereafter in Hungary the National Museum was allowed to make a series of photographs of the archaeological investigations and of the immediate area around the second dam on the Tisza (Patay 1968 1971 ) and also the Archaeological Institute of the Academy obtained some aerial photographs for its topographical work The Savaria Museum at Szombathely succeeded in making a series of aerial photographs of the county of Vas A theoretical work was also published on the subject providing a context for the topographical works in Hungary (Eoumlry and Szaboacute 1972 ) The fi rst opportunity to present aerial photographs to an international audi-ence came in 1976 at the XIth International Congress of Frontier Studies in Dunauacutejvaacuteros The material for this exhibition was made up of earlier aerial photo-graphs from the Institute of the Military History and the Budapest Cartographical Institute assembled by the current author and focussed on the remains of the Roman frontier of Pannonia ( Ripa Pannonica ) in Hungary (Visy 1978 1981 2003a ) The fi rst paper about the methods and history of the aerial archaeology in the region was written by B Erdeacutelyi ( 1982 )

In these decades almost the only possibility to apply the principles of aerial archaeology was the interpretation of photographs made for different purposes at dif-ferent times They could be investigated according to the strict rules referred to above The bulk of these photographs were vertical and topographical ones sometimes made from a great height Their scale varied between 15000 and 120000 so they could be used only within certain limits Apart from the military photographs a great number of civil photographs made for economic meteorological or other purposes were taken in the 1970s and 1980s while pictures taken in order to better understand settlements and their environment enriched the material The scale of the latter was often about 12000 which is better for archaeological interpretation than the small-scale photogrammetric coverage On the other hand it could be demonstrated that a

170 Zs Visy

great number of such photographs preserved archaeological features and archaeolo-gists could make use of them and identify many archaeological sites

The political thaw in the 1970s at last made possible the application of aerial photography for purposes other than military reconnaissance but obviously still with strict observance of the regulations Aerial photography for archaeological research could at last begin although the photographs made during this period often had little scienti fi c value since they were not always made at the optimal time and under optimal conditions but only when the fl ight was permitted It then became possible systematically to study the photographs made for topographic or economic purposes on which archaeological features could be clearly made out Most impor-tant among these was a series from the early 1940s that showed the entire Hungarian section of the Danube and other territories A number of features that now lie con-cealed under buildings and factories built subsequently or have been destroyed by intensive cultivation are still visible on these photographs The Roman legionary fortress at Brigetio was clearly visible in 1940 entirely free of modern buildings (Fig 101 ) However an oil re fi nery was built there in 1942 which was bombed in 1944

Fig 101 The Roman legionary fortress at Brigetio indicated by the large black arrow on a verti-cal aerial photograph taken in 1940 (Hungarian Institute for Military History 69396) The semicir-cular earthen structure in the SE corner of the fortress is a bastion of the huge Komaacuterom forti fi cation built in the 1880s

17110 The Value and Signi fi cance of Historical Air Photographshellip

Both the craters of the bombardments and the rebuilt re fi nery are visible on a photograph made in 1951 (Fig 102 ) In the 1950s and early 1960s some parts in the rear front of the fortress remained undeveloped but soon thereafter both the southern sector of the fortress and that of the surrounding canabae (military settle-ment) were covered by new industrial buildings Similarly the well-preserved plat-form of the Roman auxiliary fort of Azaum was clearly visible in 1940 but now tailings (red mud waste products) from an aluminium factory cover the site completely (Fig 103 ) The plateau at Szaacutezhalombatta is full of Iron Age tumuli In 1955 they were clearly visible but now only a few of them survive Near Kulcs the Roman limes road was readily visible from the air in 1940 (Fig 104 ) but in 1949 a major road was built on top of it removing all traces The situation is the same in Dunauacutejvaacuteros This territory was ploughed land in 1940 but in 1950 a new town and the iron works were built and now almost the whole area is built over (Fig 105 )

The photographs made in the 1950s and later also contained much useful infor-mation and their study can still yield new data since the careful inspection of these photographs can lead to new discoveries The restrictions on aerial photography were gradually lifted fi rst by easing the strict regulations and after the political changes by declassifying certain maps and photograph types The earlier strict reg-ulations allowed only photography of already known archaeological sites meaning that archaeological reconnaissance fl ights aimed at discovering and documenting

Fig 102 The Roman legionary fortress at Brigetio indicated by the large white arrow on a vertical aerial photograph taken in 1951 (Hungarian Institute for Military History 22924)

172 Zs Visy

Fig 103 ( a ) The extant platform of the Roman auxiliary fort of Azaum clearly visible in the centre of a vertical aerial photograph taken in 1940 (Hungarian Institute for Military History 69397) ( b ) The site of the fort on Google Earth ( copy 2011 Google Earth copy 2011 Map LinkTele Atlas copy 2011 Geoeye)

new archaeological features and remains were not permitted The new regulations allow fl ights over larger areas and the unrestricted photography of assumed and identi fi ed features Thus the current Hungarian system more or less conforms to the regulations in most European countries

17310 The Value and Signi fi cance of Historical Air Photographshellip

It is evident that only the active practice of the aerial archaeology brings high quality results However during the work on earlier historical photographs in cen-tral and eastern European countries it has become apparent that such photographs are potentially of great value not only because they preserve older remains and features but also because much archaeological information has been destroyed since they were taken It is easy to understand how much damage agriculture has caused in the fi elds only through the application of deep ploughing Archaeological features which are highly sensitive to agricultural activity can often be identi fi ed in old photographs much better than in more recent ones Archaeological remains have been damaged through other human activity as well Building development covers much larger areas now than 50 or 80 years ago settlements are twice or three times bigger and these newly built-up areas are no longer suitable for aerial

Fig 104 The Roman limes road near Kulcs ( arrowed ) on vertical aerial photograph taken in 1940 (Hungarian Institute for Military History 69425)

174 Zs Visy

Fig 105 The Roman limes road in Dunapentele in the area now covered by Dunauacutejvaacuteros ( a ) on a vertical aerial photograph as published by L Radnai in 1940 from the ensemble of the Hungarian Institute for Military History and ( b ) on Google Earth ( copy 2011 Google Earth copy 2011 Tele Atlas copy 2011 Geoeye copy 2011 PPWK)

17510 The Value and Signi fi cance of Historical Air Photographshellip

archaeology Again in such cases historical photographs can often reveal archaeological remains much more clearly

Older photographs contribute much archaeological information The excavations of the aeneolithic forti fi ed settlement in Stehelcemes-hom*olka could be photo-graphed in 1963 (Visy 1997a 25 Fig 5) In another picture made at Klucov Kolin district the remains of prehistoric and early medieval walls could be seen which are hardly visible today (Visy 1997a 26 Fig 6) A systematic investigation was made in the different institutes in Hungary which preserve aerial photographs of the area of the Ripa Pannonica in the 1970s and 1980s (Visy 2003a ) and about

Fig 106 The limes road in Ercsi on a vertical aerial photograph taken in 1940 (Hungarian Institute for Military History 69422) The Roman road line is still partly used today while other parts are visible as tracks or cropmarks in the fi eld

176 Zs Visy

200 photographs out of more than a 1000 were found which contained some archaeological features Apart from Roman forts watch towers and other military buildings the most striking result was that lines of the limes road tens of kilometres long could be identi fi ed (Fig 106 )

Bibliography

Baacutelek M Hašek V Meriacutensky Z amp Segeth K (1986) Metodicky priacutenos kombinace leteckeacute prospekce a geofyzikaacutelniacutech metod pri archeologickeacutem vyzkumu na Morave Archeologickeacute rozhledy 38 550ndash574

Boumlhm J (1939) Leteckaacute fotogra fi e ve sluzbaacutech archeologie Zpraacutevy pamaacutetkoveacute peacutece 3 63ndash65 Cerny E (1978) Typy zaniklych stredovekych vesn(ickych siacutedlištrsquo na Drahanskeacute vrchovine z

historicko-geogra fi ckeacuteho hlediska Archaeologica Historica 3 31ndash40 Eoumlry K amp Szaboacute I E (1972) Aerial photo interpretation for regional fi eld research in archaeo-

logical topography Bratislava Geodeacuteziai eacutes Kartograacute fi ai Egyesuumllet Koumlzlemeacutenyei Erdeacutelyi B (1982) Reacutegeacuteszeti leacutegifeacutenykeacutepezeacutes eacutes leacutegifeacutenykeacutep-eacutertelmezeacutes Hermann O Muacutezeum

Eacutevkoumlnyve 21 81ndash88 Habovštiak A (1985) Stredovekaacute dedina na Slovensku Bratislava Obzor Haacutesek I (1968) Archeologie z letadla Archaeologickeacute rozhledy 20 94ndash95 Mencl V (1937) Stredovekaacute architektuacutera na Slovensku Praha-Prešov Československaacute gra fi ckaacute

uacutenie Neoacutegraacutedy S (1950) A leacutegifeacutenykeacutep eacutes az archeoloacutegiai kutataacutesok Teacuterkeacutepeacuteszeti Koumlzloumlny 7 283ndash332 Ondrouch V (1941) Riacutemska stanica v Stupave a riacutemske stavebneacute stopy v Pajštuacutene (pp 1ndash2)

Bratislava Historica Slovaca Patay P (1968) Recheacuterches drsquoarcheacuteologie aeacuterienne en Hongrie Budapest Geodeacuteziai eacutes

Kartograacute fi ai Egyesuumllet Kiadvaacutenya Patay P (1971) Neue Ergebnisse der Luftbildinterpretation in der ungarischen archaumlologischen

Forschung Internationales Archiv fuumlr Photogrammetrie 18 519ndash529 Pavelciacutek J (1976) Leteckaacute archeologie v severomoravskeacutem kraji Vlasivedneacute listy 3 (1) 17ndash18 Pernicka R M (1961) Eine unikate Grabanlage der Glockenbecherkultur bei Prosimerice

Suumldwest-Maumlhren Sborniacutek praci fi lozo fi ckeacute fakulty Brnenskeacute univerzity E 6 9ndash54 Plesl E (1983) K vyuzitiacute leteckych snimku pro potreby archeologie v Cechaacutech Geofyzika a

archeologie 48 239ndash242 Pouliacutek J (1995) Zuraacuten in der Geschichte Mitteleuropas Slovenskaacute archeoloacutegia 43 27ndash109 Radnai L (1939) Leacutegi feacutenykeacutepezeacutes a reacutegeacuteszeti kutataacutes szolgaacutelataacuteban Magyar Fotogrammetriai

Taacutersasaacuteg Eacutevkoumlnyve 1938ndash1939 141ndash142 Radnai L (1940) Uacutejabb archaeologiai nyomok Dunapentele koumlrnyeacutekeacuten Archaeol Eacutertesiacutető 3rd

Ser 1 62ndash65 Radnoacuteti A (1945) A daacuteciai limes a Meszesen Archaeol Eacutertesiacutető 3rd Ser 5 137ndash151 Sedlaacutecek Z amp Vencl S (1975) Zpraacuteva o leteckeacutem sniacutemkovaacuteniacute na Koliacutenku Archeologickeacute

rozhledy 27 151ndash158 Tocik A amp Vladaacuter J (1971) Prehlrsquoad baacutedania vyvoja Slovenska v dobe bronzovej Slovenskaacute

archeoloacutegia 19 (2) 365ndash416 Visy Zs (1978) Pannoniai limes-szakaszok leacutegifeacutenykeacutepeken Archaeol Eacutertesiacutető 105 235ndash259 Visy Zs (1981) Pannonische Limesstrecken auf Luftaufnahmen Antike Welt 12 (4) 39ndash52 Visy Zs (1997a) Stand und Entwicklung der archaumlologischen Luftprospektionen in der DDR der

Tschechoslowakei und Ungarn in den Jahren 1945 bis 1990 In J Oexle (Ed) Aus der Luft ndash Bilder unserer Geschichte Luftbildarchaumlologie in Zentraleuropa (pp 23ndash27) Dresden Landesamt fuumlr Archaumlologie Sachsen mit Landesmuseum fuumlr Vorgeschichte

Visy Zs (2003a) The ripa Pannonica in Hungary Budapest Akadeacutemiai Kiadoacute

17710 The Value and Signi fi cance of Historical Air Photographshellip

Additional Bibliography for Historic Aerial Photography in Central and Eastern Europe

Bewley R Braasch O amp Palmer R (1996) An aerial archaeology training week 15ndash22 June 1996 held near Sioacutefok Lake Balaton Hungary Antiquity 70 745ndash750

Erdeacutelyi B (1998) Reacutegeacuteszeti ceacuteluacute leacutegifeacutenykeacutepezeacutes Panniculus B3 37ndash50 Erdeacutelyi B amp Saacutegi K (1984) A magyarorszaacutegi reacutegeacuteszeti leacutegifeacutenykeacutepezeacutes toumlrteacutenete eacutes a Szent

Gyoumlrgy-hegyi kolostorrom Veszpreacutem Megyei Muacutezeumok Koumlzlemeacutenyei 17 272ndash280 Gojda M (2011) Remote sensing for the integrated study and management of sites and monu-

ments ndash A Central European perspective and Czech case study In D C Cowley (Ed) Remote sensing for archaeological heritage management (EAC Occasional Paper No 5 pp 215ndash227) Budapest Archaeolingua

Kis Papp L (1982) Fotogrammetria az eacutepiacuteteacuteszetben eacutes a reacutegeacuteszetben Hermann O Muacutezeum Eacutevkoumlnyve 21 89ndash100

Visy Zs (1988) Der pannonische Limes in Ungarn Budapest Theiss Visy Zs (1990) Leacutegifelveacuteteleken meg fi gyelt halom-siacuterok a Dunaacutentuacutelon In S Palaacutegyi (Ed)

Noricum-pannoniai halomsiacuterok Vaacuterpalota 1988 (pp 23ndash45) Budapest Veszpreacutem Visy Zs (1995) Luftbildarchaumlologie am roumlmischen Limes in Ungarn In J Kunow (Ed)

Luftbildarchaumlologie in Ost- und Mitteleuropa Forschungen zur Archaumlologie im Land Brandenburg 3 (pp 213ndash218) Potsdam Brandenburgisches Landesamt fuumlr Denkmalp fl ege

Visy Zs (1997b) Erdwaumllle und Burgen in Transdanubien Ungarn In J Oexle (Ed) Aus der Luft ndash Bilder unserer Geschichte Luftbildarchaumlologie in Zentraleuropa (pp 77ndash81) Dresden Landesamt fuumlr Archaumlologie Sachsen mit Landesmuseum fuumlr Vorgeschichte

Visy Zs (2003b) Aerial archaeology in Hungary In Zs Visy (Ed) Hungarian archaeology at the turn of the millennium (pp 25ndash28) Budapest Ministry of National Cultural Heritage

179WS Hanson and IA Oltean (eds) Archaeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives DOI 101007978-1-4614-4505-0_11 copy Springer Science+Business Media LLC 2013

Abstract This chapter seeks to illustrate the largely underestimated potential for the use of available historical aerial photographs in archaeological research projects conducted in the Iberian Peninsula The richest Spanish and Portuguese aerial pho-tographic archives are described before presenting two different examples of their use from the Atlantic seaboard While the fi rst case study takes a wide perspective on a Galician landscape the second is a more local analysis from the Sado Estuary Though both are preliminary assessments they are intended to encourage the direc-tors of research projects in the Iberian Peninsula to take an interest in these useful aerial photographic archives even though they were compiled without any archaeo-logical purpose in mind

111 Introduction

In this brief chapter we want to illustrate and emphasise the interesting and compre-hensive possibilities of the use of available aerial photographs in archaeological research projects in the Iberian Peninsula even when they were not taken for

I Fumadoacute Ortega () Escuela Espantildeola de Historia y Arqueologiacutea en Roma ndash Spanish Research Council Via di Torre Argentina 18 00186 Rome Italy e-mail ifumadoortegagmailcom

J C Saacutenchez-Pardo Fundacioacuten Espantildeola para la Ciencia y Tecnologiacutea Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacioacuten Madrid Spain e-mail jsp1980hotmailcom

Chapter 11 Archaeology from Aerial Archives in Spain and Portugal Two Examples from the Atlantic Seaboard

Ivaacuten Fumadoacute Ortega and Joseacute Carlos Saacutenchez-Pardo

180 I Fumadoacute Ortega and JC Saacutenchez-Pardo

archaeological purposes This is not of course a new or unknown topic either in Portugal or Spain but the reality is that insuf fi cient attention has been paid to it and the results until now have been very limited

The presence in Spain of archives containing aerial photographs taken for pur-poses other than archaeology was partly summarised in a paper given in Rome in 2006 (Saacutenchez-Pardo and Fumadoacute Ortega 2006 ) The main fi les are those from the so-called American fl ight also known as Flight A (1945ndash1946) and Flight B (1956ndash1957) These are particularly useful because they were made before the extensive transformations resulting from the uncontrolled growth in the 1960s and 1970s which contrasts with other European countries where agricultural changes started earlier but they have been hardly studied in depth for archaeological purposes The main photographic archives are the Centro Nacional de Informacioacuten Geograacute fi ca ( httpwwwcnigignes ) the Instituto Geograacute fi co Nacional ( httpwwwignes ) and the Centro Cartograacute fi co y Fotograacute fi co del Ejeacutercito del Aire ( httpwwwejercit-odelairees ) The oldest archive was that from the Compantildeiacutea Espantildeola de Trabajos Fotogrameacutetricos Aeacutereos (CEFTA) which was established in 1927 Unfortunately the company was closed in the 1990s and their holdings were sold off to different administrative and local of fi ces (Fernaacutendez Garciacutea 2000 20) 1 Several companies have carried out similar works through the twentieth century although many of them have already disappeared also

Archives of aerial photographs available in Portugal include those from the Instituto Geograacute fi co do Exeacutercito ( httpwwwigeoept ) and part of the Esquadra 401 from Base Aeacuterea Nordm1 de la Forccedila Aeacuterea Portuguesa located in Granja do Marquecircs (Sintra) Partial fl ights can be seen in several Cacircmaras Municipaes do Concelho or in geography departments in some universities (Oporto Coimbra Lisbon) which include the Portuguese part of the American fl ight (1958ndash1960) 2 More complete and accessible coverage is located in the Instituto Geograacute fi co Portuguecircs ( httpwwwigeopt ) where there are aerial photographs from several regional and even local fl ights across the entire country The pictures were taken

1 The photographs from the Asturias were bought by the Departamento de Geografiacutea de la Universidad de Oviedo those from Catalonia by the Institut Geogragrave fi c de Catalunya those from the Basque Country by the Departamento de Ordenacioacuten del Territorio Vivienda y Medio Ambiente del Gobierno Autonoacutemico Vasco those from Valencia by the Conselleriacutea de Cultura Educacioacute i Ciegravencia de la Generalitat Valenciana those from Murcia by the Consejeriacutea de Poliacutetica Territorial Obras Puacuteblicas del Gobierno Autonoacutemico de Murcia those from the Canary Islands by the Consejeriacutea de Poliacutetica Territorial del Gobierno Insular those from Extremadura by the Consejeriacutea de Medio Ambiente Urbanismo y Turismo de la Junta de Extremadura 2 Ivaacuten Fumadoacute had the opportunity to join the Fototeca del Departamento de Geogra fi a da Universidade de Lisboa where they have the entire lsquoAmerican fl ightrsquo I would like to thank the kindness of its staff Internet site httpwww fl ulptdep_geo

18111 Archaeology from Aerial Archives in Spain and Portugalhellip

from the very end of Second World War until the present day with scales that vary between 17500 and 125000 Finally the urban area of Lisbon has received more attention and there are several records housed in the headquarters of the Aacuterea Metropolitana de Lisboa ( httpwwwamlpt )

In our previous paper (Saacutenchez Pardo and Fumadoacute Ortega 2006 ) our goal was to underline that the usual role of aerial photographs in Spanish research projects is far removed from the complexity involved in a complete survey project Frequently research groups use such photographs only in an illustrative way as no more than a collection of beautiful pictures More recently some scholars have made more use of the potential that this material offers even though at a reduced level These works try to reach a better understanding of historical processes that occur in the landscape (Arintildeo Gil et al 2004 ) to study well-known sites in a different way (Penedo Cobo 2006 Liz Guiral and Celis Saacutenchez 2007 ) or to discover new archaeological sites (Belloacuten Ruiz et al 2009 ) That these surveys extend across a wide chronological range from Iberian to medieval times is an extremely positive development

The situation in Portugal is very similar Though territorial and landscape studies have seen particular development (Alarcatildeo 1998 2002 ) use of this kind of graphic material was even lower than in Spain The pioneer methodological works from Farinha dos Santos ( 1965 ) were praiseworthy but without much impact With the exception of some speci fi c studies (Gil Mantas 1985 1996 2003 ) Portuguese archaeology is still not fully aware of the signi fi cance and potential that aerial pho-tography can provide It is true that the management of the archaeological heritage is now helped by a new and powerful GIS framework Endoveacutelico (Bugalhatildeo et al 2002 ) created by the Instituto Portuguecircs de Arqueologia as an instrument for the detection preservation and management of archaeological remains which would be an example for Spanish institutions even though the Portuguese government does not seem to appreciate it enough (Burgalhatildeo 2002 ) But it seems that aerial data have not been much explored not even in the most recent papers and articles on archaeological cartography (Oliveira et al 2001 Correia 2005 ) or new GIS applica-tions (Strutt 2000 Langley 2006 Rua 2007 ) In the meantime the Instituto Geograacute fi co Portuguecircs with the largest air photography archive in Portugal is trying to make it more accessible through its website and its helpful staff

Our goal in this chapter is to encourage new scienti fi c research projects with both archaeological and historical approaches that appreciate the huge source of infor-mation which can be provided by aerial photography even when not made origi-nally with any archaeological purpose By way of encouragement we have provided a few examples of its potential in Spain and Portugal speci fi cally on the Atlantic coast focusing on just a few of the most attractive aspects In the fi rst part we will use the American fl ight in a diachronic landscape study of northwest Spain In the second we will try to identify new archaeological sites through the systematic study of images captured in historical Portuguese fl ights in the 1940s and 1950s choosing some areas of high occupational density with a wide chronological range of historical remains (Fig 111 )

182 I Fumadoacute Ortega and JC Saacutenchez-Pardo

112 Archaeology Through the American Flight in Spain The Case of As Marintildeas Coruntildeesas (A Coruntildea Galicia)

One of the fi rst and most complete aerial photographic coverages of quality of Spain was the so-called American fl ight or Flight B conducted between the years 1956 and 1957 by the US Air Force Flight A from 1946 has more problems with visibil-ity because of altitude and cloud cover and its application is more limited (Pellicer Corellano 1998 7) The photographs from these fl ights were handed over to the Spanish Air Force as part of the negotiations between the Franco regime and the USA and the current copyright owner is the Centro Cartograacute fi co y Fotograacute fi co del Ejeacutercito del Aire (CECAF) The collection consists of a series of black and white vertical stereoscopic aerial photographs with an average scale of 133000 (Pellicer Corellano 1998 7)

These photographs are exceptional and extremely valuable documents for visualising the Spanish countryside before the major changes and transformations that it has suffered over the past 50 years offering a large amount of interesting

Fig 111 Map of general location of the study areas in relation to south-western Europe and Iberian Peninsula

18311 Archaeology from Aerial Archives in Spain and Portugalhellip

information that would now be impossible to recover However despite this potential these photographs have barely been used in an extensive or even mini-mally systematic way in archaeological research with their use often limited to the analysis or the mere illustration of chosen cases This is partly due to the limi-tations of these photographs for archaeological purposes since they were taken from too high an altitude and not always under favourable conditions for the study of crop or soilmarks

However we believe that the photographs of the American fl ight still have enor-mous potential for archaeological research as we will try to illustrate below Although these photographs cannot show smaller or less pronounced marks on the ground it is possible to see other larger archaeological sites many of which have now disappeared Moreover we must remember that the value of these photographs for archaeology is not limited to the recognition of speci fi c sites but re fl ects the structure of an intact landscape that symbolises the result of a long historical devel-opment whose elements (and inter-relationships) can sometimes be traced back many centuries

By way of example focusing on the whole landscape over time we would like to demonstrate the potential of the photographs of the American fl ight of 1956ndash1957 for archaeological research in Spain using a speci fi c territorial study on the Spanish Atlantic coast the area known as As Marintildeas Coruntildeesas (northwest of Galicia) in the vicinity of the city of A Coruntildea (Fig 111 ) This area roughly bounded by the estuaries (riacuteas) of A Coruntildea and Betanzos and de fi ned by the inland valleys of the rivers Mero and Mandeo has a natural and cultural coherence that makes it suit-able for historical study of its territorial organisation (Saacutenchez Pardo 2008 46ndash50) It is also as is generally the case across all the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula an area where industrialisation and modernisation of the countryside took place later that in the rest of Spain so in 1957 the countryside still maintained as it does in part even today all its traditional characteristics

Clearly we cannot here conduct a comprehensive study of this area using these aerial photographs but merely seek to show some representative cases of archaeo-logical information regarding different historical and cultural phases that we can identify In order to do so we have fi rst georeferenced all the photographs of this area in a geographical information system (GIS) that we created containing all the relevant archaeological 3 documentary and toponymic information Recent aerial photographs from 2003 to 2007 have also been consulted in order to compare the results Unfortunately given our limited resources it has not been possible to verify most of the data in the fi eld so we must emphasise the need to check hypotheses and ideas by future fi eldwork

3 Most of the archaeological information used here has been taken from the Inventario del Servicio de Arqueologiacutea de la Direccioacuten Xeral de Patrimonio de la Xunta de Galicia

184 I Fumadoacute Ortega and JC Saacutenchez-Pardo

1121 The Hillfort Culture (Cultura Castrentildea)

To begin we will focus on the lsquocastrosrsquo one of the most visible and recognisable archaeological remains in the Galician countryside The lsquocastrosrsquo or hillforts are settlements forti fi ed by natural or arti fi cial defences which are characteristic of (but not exclusive to) the Iron Age and early centuries of the Roman period in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula (Gonzaacutelez Ruibal 2007 632ndash637) Despite the many differences between them such as their different chronologies locations and main economic activities their elevated and forti fi ed position and the actual abandon-ment of many of them after the Roman conquest make them relatively easy to iden-tify on aerial photographs at least in comparison with other archaeological sites Indeed they are one of the best recognisable elements in aerial images taken from a high altitude such as the American fl ight photographs These allow us to acquire much interesting information about the hillforts much of which could not currently be obtained due to changes in the Galician countryside in the last 50 years We will illustrate this with some brief case studies of the Iron Age hillforts in the area of As Marintildeas Coruntildeesas

Firstly this series of signi fi cant aerial photographs allows us to obtain some details about hillforts that have either disappeared or been irreparably damaged by the extensive recent changes in the rural landscape by house construction or by the general urbanisation of the countryside especially in the periphery of A Coruntildea Although we will probably never know the precise characteristics and chronology of these destroyed hillforts aerial photographs from the American fl ight allow us to obtain at least some information about their size and shape 4

One example Castro de Ans in Paleo parish (Carral muncipality) is clearly vis-ible in the American fl ight aerial photography but has now disappeared as a result of the expansion of the town of Carral The photograph shows that it was a small oval-shaped hillfort approximately 65 by 45 m in diameter Similarly Castro de Lorbeacute (Dexo parish Oleiros municipality) which has now completely disappeared as a result of the construction of a residential area is easily distinguished as an oval-shaped concentration of trees in the middle of the crops In other cases the hillforts have been totally or partially destroyed because of recent changes in the organisa-tion of the fi elds especially the concentration of plots or in the management of the traditional Galician countryside because of changes in the economic activities and ways of life of its inhabitants An example of this phenomenon could be the Castro de Gosende (Tabeaio Carral) which is impossible to identify as a result of current changes to the plots in this area but whose shape can be distinguished in an American

4 Dimensions provided in this chapter are always approximate taken from the visible elements on the aerial photographs In the case of hillforts these elements usually correspond to the course of the walls and ramparts their dimensions expressed in metres for the maximum diameter across each principal axis These measurements have been provided only in the clearest cases but we would emphasise that they are still estimates awaiting veri fi cation by fi eldwork where possible

18511 Archaeology from Aerial Archives in Spain and Portugalhellip

fl ight photograph (Fig 112 ) Similarly the Castro de Bordelle (Sarandoacutens Abegondo) is now unrecognisable from the air and seems to have been damaged by the creation of forest roads but the photographs of 1957 allow us to identify its perimeter which indicates an oval shape approximately 115 by 83 m

Secondly the photographs allow us to study evidence of any hillforts that although not destroyed are now unrecognisable because of the signi fi cant increase in forest cover Indeed one of the major changes in the Galician countryside in the past 50 years has not been so much its destruction as its desertion with consequent growth of vegetation and forest Thus the hillfort of Castro de Reboredo (Ouces Bergondo) is now covered by trees and other vegetation that make it impossible to identify However in the American fl ight photograph it can be seen very clearly especially the course of its walls and different ramparts indicating that it is one of the largest hillforts in this area (Fig 113 ) Another example is the Castro de Abegondo (Abegondo Abegondo) which is easily recognisable in the photographs as an oval shape of approximately 125 by 85 m The same applies to the hillforts of Carnoedo (Carnoedo Sada) with dimensions of 114 by 89 m Armental (Praviacuteo Cambre) Callobre (Cuiacutentildea Oza dos Rios) Bergondo (Bergondo Bergondo) and Castro da Torre (Quembre Carral) whose name and location could also indicate that it was a medieval or modern tower

Fig 112 Iron Age hillfort of Castro de Gonsende (Carral municipality) American fl ight photo-graph lsquoSerie Brsquo image 41676 Centro Cartograacute fi co y Fotograacute fi co del EA MINISDEF

186 I Fumadoacute Ortega and JC Saacutenchez-Pardo

Thirdly in some cases the photographs also help to support previous hypotheses about the possible existence of a hillfort at a particular place based on an indicative name but otherwise archaeologically unproven At Castromaacuten (Dexo Oleiros) for example there is no known physical evidence of the existence of a hillfort other than its name and neither current nor recent aerial images are helpful However an oval enclosure can be seen in this area in an American fl ight photograph that could well be that hillfort Also the aerial photograph of 1957 shows some signi fi cant marks that may help us to demonstrate the existence of a hillfort nearby at O Castro (Dorneda Oleiros) But such indications can be con fi rmed or rejected only by future archaeological research

Finally the photographs might allow us in some cases to locate evidence of potential hillforts which are currently unknown or unpublished although of course it would be necessary to con fi rm them through archaeological fi eldwork There are usually traces in areas that have suffered major changes in recent decades One example might be at Castros in the southwest part of Vilarraso parish (Aranga municipality) where the signi fi cant place name Rego dos castros is also found As far as we are aware no archaeological site has ever been identi fi ed or proposed here and the current aerial photographs do not show any signi fi cant evidence However a photograph from the American fl ight shows an oval shape approximately 115 by 85 m in diameter It is not possible to undertake archaeological veri fi cation as this evidence has been destroyed by the construction of a small reservoir Nearby at A Gulpilleira (Curtis Curtis) an oval-shaped enclosure measuring 81 by 71 m was

Fig 113 Iron Age hillfort of Castro de Reboredo (Bergondo municipality) with Castro Eiroas visible in woodland to the south American fl ight photograph lsquoSerie Brsquo image 41631 Centro Cartograacute fi co y Fotograacute fi co del EA MINISDEF

18711 Archaeology from Aerial Archives in Spain and Portugalhellip

also evident in an American fl ight image From its appearance and location on a small hill by a river it could possibly be a hillfort not previously catalogued (Fig 114 ) Little is visible today because of vegetation growth in the area Another possible example located in the southwest of Cantildeaacutes parish (Carral) is oval-shaped and about 94 by 70 m in diameter It is situated in an area (Monte Lourido) where Roman mining activities have been veri fi ed archaeologically but is no longer recog-nisable because of the growth of vegetation This may be a hillfort which was exploiting local mineral resources although its identi fi cation requires veri fi cation by archaeological fi eldwork

1122 Medieval and Modern Fortresses

The American fl ight images can also be of great interest in the study of towers castles and any kind of military forti fi cations characteristic of the medieval and modern centuries We fi nd a considerable density of place names in the study area referring to forti fi cations (tower castle etc) for many of which there is no archaeo-logical veri fi cation Speci fi cally we have identi fi ed 62 place names of this type of which only 20 correspond to known archaeological sites leaving 42 possible cases of interest to be pursued There is also the potential to study the problem of the relationship between medieval forti fi cations and protohistoric hillforts in Galicia as

Fig 114 A possible Iron Age hillfort at A Gulpilleira (Curtis municipality) American fl ight lsquoSerie Brsquo image 41824 Centro Cartograacute fi co y Fotograacute fi co del EA MINISDEF

188 I Fumadoacute Ortega and JC Saacutenchez-Pardo

well as whether there is any archaeological difference between the place names lsquoCastillorsquo and lsquoCastrorsquo Accordingly we offer below some suggestions about pos-sible medieval- and modern-period forti fi cations in As Marintildeas Coruntildeesas combin-ing the study of place names with evidence from the American fl ight photographs

A fi rst example is O Castelo in the northern part of Rodeiro parish (Oza dos Rios) which is probably the same place as Castrelo named in a document dating to the year AD 1118 from the monastery of Sobrado de los Monjes (Loscertales de Garciacutea de Valdeavellano 1976 172ndash175) This would indicate that this hypothetical fortress is probably earlier in date than the twelfth century There is nothing of signi fi cance evident on current aerial photographs but in those of 1957 we can see a well-de fi ned oval-shaped enclosure approximately 61 by 49 m in diameter that could be the remains of a fortress Unfortunately these remains have recently been destroyed to build a small reservoir

Another example might be O Castelo in the southeast of Paleo parish (Carral) In the American fl ight photographs it is possible to distinguish an oval feature which is still visible on recent aerial photographs about 83 by 58 m in diameter This feature partly de fi ned by a row of trees could possibly represent the remains of a medieval or modern forti fi cation

Finally Torre das Arcas near to the town of Cambre (Cambre Cambre) has seen major urban expansion in recent decades which prevents the observation of any signi fi cant remains However the American fl ight clearly shows a dark oval outline possibly a cropmark of an enclosure about 27 by 15 m in diameter (Fig 115 )

Fig 115 Possible remains of a medieval or modern fortress in lsquoTorre das Arcasrsquo (Cambre munici-pality) American fl ight lsquoSerie Brsquo image 41634 Centro Cartograacute fi co y fotograacute fi co del EA MINISDEF

18911 Archaeology from Aerial Archives in Spain and Portugalhellip

This may be the remains of a fortress but fi eldwork is required to con fi rm this although this may be dif fi cult to carry out because signi fi cant areas of land have been taken for the construction of houses since the taking of the photograph

1123 The Structure of the Traditional Landscape

To conclude this short review of the value of the American fl ight for archaeological purposes in any territorial study we would like to mention brie fl y a different but important potential use of these images In addition to their use for fi nding ancient archaeological remains we must not forget their wider importance as a record of the contemporary traditional rural landscape such as the structure of traditional vil-lages the organisation of the crops and the fi elds and the network of roads linking the different villages These elements of the landscape can provide valuable histori-cal information as they can often be traced back several centuries but at the time of the photography had not yet undergone the many changes arising from countryside industrialisation and urbanisation In the case of the American fl ight in Galicia this phenomenon is particularly signi fi cant Several authors have emphasised the con-siderable historical continuity in the basic structure of the Galician traditional rural landscape since at least the Middle Ages (Bouhier 2001 1219ndash1224 Criado Boado and Ballesteros Arias 2002 463) At the time of the American fl ight in 1957 this structure remained virtually intact providing clues to the history of our study area

The village of Meangos (Meangos Abegondo) is a good example of a typical traditional rural village in Galicia which is mentioned in a document of the year AD 942 from the Monastery of Sobrado de los Monjes (Loscertales de Garciacutea de Valdeavellano 1976 160ndash163) (Fig 116 ) The photograph from the American fl ight re fl ects the village structure before the transformations which it has under-gone in recent decades It reveals several small groups of houses located in a little valley at the foot of a hill distributed in clusters around several roads and sur-rounded by fi eld plots The village church is located away from the houses further up the hill but it functions as the main element of unity and cohesion for the com-munity while on the top of the hill there is a protohistoric hillfort which may be considered the forerunner of the current village Thus we have here all the key ele-ments that de fi ne the historical development of the Galician countryside in the past two millennia the hillfort the open village the roads and the church The study of their spatial relationships considered in detail elsewhere (Bouhier 2001 Saacutenchez Pardo 2008 Criado Boado and Ballesteros Arias 2002 Fernaacutendez Mier 1999 ) can give us some clues about their formation and evolution the gradual replacement of hillforts by settlements in lower areas for cultural reasons such as the emulation of Roman models for economic reasons such as proximity to farmlands or for social reasons such as the progressive disappearance of Iron Age social organisation as a result of Romanisation the introduction of the church in a place with previous sacred connotations during the medieval period and the gradual dispersion of set-tlements in order to better exploit the fertile soils Although this village still retains

190 I Fumadoacute Ortega and JC Saacutenchez-Pardo

much of its traditional structure there are several elements that have changed or disappeared as a result of transformations in the organisation of crops and of land the construction of new houses the desertion of farmlands and the modi fi cation and asphalting of roads Thus the aerial photographs of the American fl ight should be seen as a key element in the archaeological study of the landscape

113 Aerial Photographs from Yesterday Archaeology of Tomorrow

1131 Geographical and Historical Context

The second part of this chapter focuses on a probable new site that is not currently recorded in the Portuguese Endoveacutelico GIS database (see above) In our opinion the photographs illustrated here justify both a ground survey and a thoughtful revision of the Instituto Geograacute fi co Portuguecircs aerial fi les The area of interest is located in the Portuguese Middle-South Atlantic coast in the region of the Sado Estuary between Setuacutebal and the Baixo Alentejo region The site focus is a 51 m high mound (Fig 117 ) immediately to the south of the Ribeira de Satildeo Martinho in the last western foothills of the gentle chain named the Serrinha (187 m high) This mountain range is well known because of the exploitation of its rich mineral resources since the Late Bronze and Iron Ages

Fig 116 Structure of a Galician traditional rural village at Meangos (Abegondo municipality) American fl ight photograph lsquoSerie Brsquo image 41816 Centro Cartograacute fi co y fotograacute fi co del EA MINISDEF

19111 Archaeology from Aerial Archives in Spain and Portugalhellip

The Ribeira de Satildeo Martinho is an ancient branch of the River Sado from the Cenozoic Era Like others in the vicinity it is now an area of alluvial sediment fi lled with detritus material mostly sand and clay partly used for agriculture These fi rst hills form a geological frontier between two kinds of soils the alluvial ones saturated but deep and the podozoic ones acid and shallow with a large amount of added organic material that has slowly mineralised and covered by degraded forest The area photographed has not seen any agricultural work in recent decades and preserves a typical Mediterranean low forest landscape (Dos Santos Castanheira 2005 )

In terms of potential human presence the area was hugely rich in resources for hunting fi shing and seafood gathering Thus in the whole of the Baixo Alentejo region human groups were located near the coastline without occupying the inte-rior The great biological productivity that the Sado Estuary offers resulted in a signi fi cant delay in the transformation of economic systems and the adoption of Neolithic techniques of farming and cattle raising were delayed here Hence seden-tism and the construction of architectural structures large enough to leave signi fi cant archaeological evidence did not take place until the beginning of the third millen-nium BC in the interior and a little later in the Estuary zone Nevertheless Alentejo has remarkable megalithic structures from the fi fth millennium BC During the nineteenth to thirteenth centuries BC the region saw a large demographic increase with new settlements some of them forti fi ed of rectangular huts and associated necropolises containing monumental tombs and tumuli with several burials in each Over succeeding centuries the social hierarchy process increased its rhythm in par-allel with intensive control over the territory This social development during the Bronze Age was stronger on the Alentejo coast and in the Sado Estuary because of its abundant mineral resources (Tavares da Silva and Soares 2006 )

Fig 117 Location of sites south of Ribeira de Satildeo Martinho (Sado Estuary) Part of a vertical photograph taken by the Forccedila Aeacuterea Portuguesa superimposed on the military map of the Instituto Geograacute fi co do Exeacutercito

192 I Fumadoacute Ortega and JC Saacutenchez-Pardo

These economic and social factors explain the arrival of Phoenician merchants on the Iberian Atlantic coast at the beginning of the fi rst millennium BC In this context some new shipyards mercantile centres and settlements established both by the Phoenician and indigenous population were founded during the seventh to sixth centuries BC and facilitated the stimulation of cultural technological and commercial exchange These processes speeded up the social strati fi cation process and state forma-tion development which had been embryonic since the Bronze Age (Arruda 2002 )

There are two important archaeological sites from the Iron Age in the vicinity of the area shown in Fig 117 the Phoenician establishment-sanctuary of Abul (Mayet and Tavares da Silva 2000 Tavares da Silva 2005 ) 5 located just 11 km to the south-west and the well-known indigenous settlement at Alcaacutecer do Sal established in the Late Bronze Age and continuously occupied from Roman times until the present (Tavares da Silva et al 1981 ) located some 13 km to the southeast The site at Abul has a singular relevance because after its fi rst establishment as an exchange and production centre it became the main sanctuary and then the major channel of transmission of Eastern Mediterranean culture into the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula In Roman times lacking any cult function Abul was transformed into an important amphora production site ( fi rst to third centuries AD) thanks to the high quality clays of the Sado Estuary

Unlike other regions in Roman Lusitania rural landscapes in Baixo Alentejo did not see a spread of small settlements (of 2 ha or less) The population was gathered around bigger villas which were able to control land holdings of between 200 and 400 ha Middle-sized urban settlements such as vici or civitates were usual as well Thus small settlements in this area are usually explained as pre-Roman habitats potentially surviving into the Early Middle Ages (Alarcatildeo 1998 ) However in the Late Roman period Baixo Alentejo experienced further concentration of property and in the Islamic and Middle Ages occupation of the entire area declined During the repopulation after the Reconquista powerful entities such as military orders lords and the monarchy controlled large areas of land in order to structure the territory and once again that process favoured the concentration of settlers (Beirante 1993 )

Only in the last two centuries did Baixo Alentejo and the Sado Estuary again show demographic growth but obviously with different settlement patterns mainly concentrated in the urban centres such as Alcaacutecer do Sal and Setuacutebal In recent decades this expansion has stopped and an internal migration to Lisbon and its met-ropolitan area is taking place In parallel it is important to stress that only over recent decades has the Portuguese landscape begun to suffer a strong transformation pro-cess as is apparent from our photographs with the construction of the new motor-way This suburban and infrastructural development adds further value to the aerial photographs that were taken just before such landscape alteration processes began

5 Though the archaeologists did use aerial photographs in this research project they focused on a very limited area around their sites excluding the study of the surrounding region (Mayet and Tavares da Silva 2000 245ndash259 and pls 32ndash37)

19311 Archaeology from Aerial Archives in Spain and Portugalhellip

1132 Air Photo Interpretation

Turning to the speci fi c examples in more detail in Fig 117 we can see on the mili-tary map no 467 of the Instituto Geograacute fi co do Exeacutercito a branch of the Sado Estuary at a scale 125000 onto which we have recti fi ed 6 and superimposed part of a vertical photograph taken at an approximate scale of 18000 by the Forccedila Aeacuterea Portuguesa in 1949 in a fl ight made for cartographic purposes The area involved is today crossed by the A2-IP1 motorway (marked on the map) that links Lisbon with the southern coast of the Algarve In the middle of the photograph we can see the low mound referred to in the previous section and towards the top a stretch of the Ribeira de Satildeo Martinho Running down the centre of the fi rst enlargement (Fig 118 ) we can see a stream bed that separates two slight mounds The more westerly on the left has various remains on its top both earthworks and surface structures the latter indicating some walls with parallel and perpendicular align-ments The site is elliptical in shape some 55 m long and 20 m wide Some linear cropmarks extend away from the hilltop in three directions probably ancient links to the site from northeast southwest and southeast The latter two would fi t with the main routes towards Abul and Alcaacutecer do Sal respectively In the lower part of Fig 118 two further cropmarks are visible The fi rst de fi nes a perfect circle approximately 45 m in diameter the second indicates the presence of a small rectangular structure with dimensions of approximately 3 by 5 m The second enlargement (Fig 119 ) shows a large compact group of irregular rounded crop-marks each with a diameter of a metre or two as far as it is possible to calculate on the basis of the scale of the image

The obvious interpretation of the large circular structure is as a tumulus However most tumuli excavated in the south of the Iberian Peninsula have smaller dimen-sions little more than 20 m in diameter as in Sete fi lla (Aubet Semmler 1982 ) Carmona (Fernaacutendez Cantos and Amores Carredano 2000 ) Caacutestulo Cerrillo Blanco (Ruiacutez 2008 779ndash782) or even smaller However there are also large tumuli on the north Atlantic coast of Morocco in Arcila (Gozalbes Cavrioto 2006 ) and in other necropolises in south Portugal such as Mealha Nova (Arruda 2001 244 Fig 9) which seem to have similar large circular structures of some 40 or 50 m in diameter It is usual in Iberian Late Bronze or Iron Age contexts to fi nd several simple tombs associated with tumular burials Without further fi eldwork it is impossible to con fi rm the identi fi cation of the features recorded in Figs 117 118 and 119 but the probable tumulus and the group of small cropmarks nearby suggest a typical funerary landscape next to the settlement on the hilltop

The above features are not easily explained as modern human activity nor do they fi t with the demographic dynamics of the Sado Estuary and Baixo Alentejo either in medieval times or in the Roman period (Alarcatildeo 2002 ) However this

6 Recti fi cation of photograph 402 from the roll 4914 from the Instituto Geograacute fi co Portuguecircs was undertaken using AirPhoto3

194 I Fumadoacute Ortega and JC Saacutenchez-Pardo

Fig 119 Detail of the smaller area south of Ribeira de Satildeo Martinho (Sado Estuary) indicated on Fig 117

Fig 118 Detail of the larger area south of Ribeira de Satildeo Martinho (Sado Estuary) indicated on Fig 117

19511 Archaeology from Aerial Archives in Spain and Portugalhellip

territory shows strong demographic and economic growth during the Late Bronze II (ninth to seventh centuries BC) and the Orientalising period (seventh to fi fth centu-ries BC) with a multiplication of small groups of habitats in the landscape of mid- and southern Portugal (Schubart 1975 Pellicer Catalaacuten 2000 Tavares da Silva 2005 ) Thus the remains might reasonably be interpreted as a modest-sized settle-ment complex perhaps of pre-Roman origin

114 Conclusions

In conclusion these two examples one from Spain and one from Portugal illustrate just a small part of the huge number of ways in which the analysis of aerial photog-raphy from historical archives can be useful for major archaeological projects These documents offer diachronic information of great value about a landscape that has suffered heavy transformations in recent decades They can be very useful not only for the detection of unrecorded remains but also support the study of the his-torical structure of rural landscapes With our contribution we hope to encourage the directors of research projects in the Iberian Peninsula to take an interest in these aerial photographic archives that have not yet been suf fi ciently explored

Acknowledgments We would like to thank Brais Xoseacute Curraacutes Refojos for his valuable help in relation to Roman mining activities and Jorge Pardo Vicente and Javier Martiacutenez Jimenez for all their valuable help in the translation of this chapter

Bibliography

Alarcatildeo J (1998) A paisagem rural romana e alto-medieval em Portugal Conimbriga 37 89ndash119

Alarcatildeo J (2002) O dominio romano em Portugal Sintra Europa-America Arintildeo Gil E Gurt Esparraguera J M amp Palet Martiacutenez J M (2004) El pasado presente arque-

ologiacutea de los paisajes en la Hispania romana Salamanca Universidad de Salamanca Arruda A M (2001) A Idade do Ferro poacutes-orietalizante no Baixo Alentejo Revista Portuguesa

de Arqueologia 4 (2) 207ndash291 Arruda A M (2002) Los fenicios en Portugal Fenicios y mundo indiacutegena en el centro y sur de

Portugal (siglos VIII-VI aC) Cuadernos de Arqueologiacutea Mediterraacutenea 5ndash6 Barcelona Carrera Edicioacute

Aubet Semmler M E (1982) Los enterramientos bajo tuacutemulo de Sete fi lla (Sevilla) Huelva Arqueoloacutegica 6 49ndash70

Beirante M Acirc (1993) A lsquoReconquistarsquo cristatilde In J Serratildeo amp A H de Oliveira Marques (Eds) Nova Histoacuteria de Portugal Tomo II ndash Portugal das invasotildees germacircnicas agrave lsquoReconquistarsquo (pp 253ndash363) Lisbon Presenccedila

Belloacuten Ruiz J P Goacutemez F Saacutenchez A Wintildea L Ruiz A Molinos M Gutieacuterrez L Mozas F Rueda C Garciacutea M A Martiacutenez A L ampLozano G (2009) Baeligcula Anaacutelisis arque-oloacutegico del escenario de una batalla de la Segunda Guerra Puacutenica In Aacute Morillo N Hanel amp E Martiacuten (Eds) Limes XX XX Congreso Internacional De Estudios Sobre La Frontera Romana ndash XXth International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies Leoacuten (Espantildea) Septiembre 2006 (pp 253ndash265) Madrid Ediciones Polifemo

196 I Fumadoacute Ortega and JC Saacutenchez-Pardo

Bouhier A (2001) Galicia Ensaio xeograacute fi co de anaacutelisis e interpretacioacuten de un vello complexo agrario Santiago de Compostela Conselleriacutea de Agricultura Ganderiacutea e Poliacutetica Agroalimentaria

Bugalhatildeo J Lucena A Braganccedila F Neto F Sousa M J Gomes S Pinto da Costa J Caldeira N Viralhadas P amp Fraga T (2002) Endoveacutelico Sistema de Gestatildeo e Informaccedilatildeo Arqueoloacutegica Revista portuguesa de Arqueologia 5 277ndash283

Burgalhatildeo J (2002) Instituto Portuguecircs de Arqueologia em processo de extinccedilatildeo Al-Madam 11 45ndash48

Correia M (2005) Novos dados para a Carta Arqueoloacutegica do Concelho do Alcochete Al-Madam 13 130ndash132

Criado Boado F amp Ballesteros Arias P (2002) La Arqueologiacutea rural contribucioacuten al estudio de la geacutenesis y evolucioacuten del paisaje tradicional In I Congreso de Ingenieria Civil Territorio y Medio Ambiente Volumen I (pp 461ndash479) Madrid Colegio de Ingenieros de Caminos Canales y Puertos

Dos Santos Castanheira A (Ed) (2005) Atlas de Portugal Lisbon Instituto Geograacute fi co Portuguecircs

Farinha Dos Santos M (1965) Aplicaccedilatildeo da Fotogra fi a Aeacuterea no levantamento de Cartas Arqueoloacutegicas Arquivo de Beja 22 5ndash9

Fernaacutendez Cantos A amp Amores Carredano F (2000) La necroacutepolis de la Cruz del Negro (Carmona Sevilla) In C Aranegui Gascoacute (Ed) Argantonio rey de Tartessos (pp 157ndash164) Sevilla El Monte

Fernaacutendez Garciacutea F (2000) Introduccioacuten a la fotointerpretacioacuten Barcelona Ariel Fernaacutendez Mier M (1999) Geacutenesis del territorio en la Edad Media Arqueologiacutea del paisaje y

evolucioacuten histoacuterica en la montantildea asturiana Oviedo Universidad de Oviedo Gil Mantas V (1985) Arqueologia Urbana e fotogra fi a Aeacuterea Contributo para o Estudo do

Urbanismo Antigo de Santareacutem Eacutevora e Faro I Encontro Nacional de Arqueologia Urbana Trabalhos de Arqueologia 3 13ndash26

Gil Mantas V (1996) Teledetecccedilatildeo cidade e territorio Pax Iulia Arquivo de Beja 3 (1) 5ndash30 Gil Mantas V (2003) Indiacutecios de um Campo Romano na Cava do Viriato Al-Madam 12

40ndash42 Gonzaacutelez Ruibal A (2007) Galaicos Poder y comunidad en el Noroeste de la Peniacutensula Ibeacuterica

(1200 a C-50 d C) A Coruntildea Museo arqueoloacutexico e histoacuterico provincial de A Coruntildea Gozalbes Cavrioto E (2006) El monumento protohistoacuterico de Mezora (Arcila Marruecos)

Archivo de Prehistoria Levantina 26 323ndash348 Langley M M (2006) Est in agris a spatial anaacutelisis of Roman villae in the region of Monforte

Alto Alentejo Portugal Revista portuguesa de Arqueologia 9 317ndash328 Liz Guiral J amp Celis Saacutenchez J (2007) Topografiacutea antigua de la ciudad de Lancia (Villasabariego

Leoacuten Espantildea) Zephyrus 60 241ndash263 Loscertales de Garciacutea de Valdeavellano P (1976) Tumbos del monasterio de Sobrado de los

Monjes Madrid Direccioacuten General del Patrimonio Artiacutestico y Cultural Mayet P amp Tavares Da Silva C (2000) Lrsquoeacutetablissem*nt pheacutenicien drsquoAbul (Portugal) Comptoir

et sanctuaire Paris de Boccard Oliveira A C Silva A R Estecircveatildeo F amp Deus M M (2001) Carta Arqueoloacutegica do municipio

de Loures Loures Cacircmara Municipal de Loures Pellicer Catalaacuten M (2000) El proceso orientalizante en el occidente ibeacuterico Huelva arqueoloacutegica

16 89ndash134 Pellicer Corellano F (1998) Introduccioacuten a la fotografiacutea aeacuterea Zaragoza Azara Editores Penedo Cobo E (2006) El yacimiento visigodo de Buzanca 2 Zona arqueoloacutegica 8 (2)

594ndash602 Rua H (2007) Os sistemas de informaccedilatildeo geograacute fi ca na pesquisa arqueoloacutegica um modelo predi-

tivo na detecccedilatildeo de uillae em meio rural Revista portuguesa de Arqueologia 10 259ndash274 Ruiacutez A (2008) Iberos In F Gracia Alonso (Ed) De Iberia a Hispania (pp 733ndash844) Barcelona

Ariel

19711 Archaeology from Aerial Archives in Spain and Portugalhellip

Saacutenchez Pardo J C (2008) Territorio y poblamiento en Galicia entre la Antiguumledad y la Plena Edad Media Unpublished PhD thesis Universidad de Santiago de Compostela

Saacutenchez Pardo J C amp Fumadoacute Ortega I (2006) Aerial Archaeology in Spain Historiography and expectations In S Campana amp M Forte (Eds) From space to place 2nd International Conference on Remote Sensing in Archaeology Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop CNR Rome Italy December 4ndash7 2006 (pp 65ndash72) British Archaeological Reports S1568 Oxford Archaeopress

Schubart H (1975) Die Kultur der Bronzezeit im Suumldwesten der Iberischen Halbinsel Madrider Forschungen 9 Berlin W de Gruyter

Strutt K (2000) Use of a GIS for regional archaeological analysis Application of computer-based techniques to Iron Age and Roman settlement distribution in North-West Portugal In G Fincham G Harrison R Holland amp L Revell (Eds) TRAC 1999 Ninth proceedings of the theoretical roman archaeology conference (pp 118ndash141) Oxford Oxbow

Tavares Da Silva C (2005) A presenccedila feniacutecia e o processo de orientalizaccedilatildeo nos estuarios do Tejo e Sado In F J Jimeacutenez Aacutevila amp S Celestino Peacuterez (Eds) III Simposio Internacional de Arqueologiacutea de Meacuterida Protohistoria del Mediterraacuteneo Occidental (pp 749ndash765) Meacuterida Instituto de Arqueologiacutea de Meacuterida

Tavares Da Silva C amp Soares J (2006) Setuacutebal e Alentejo Litoral Tomar Arkeos Tavares Da Silva C Soares J Beiratildeo C M M Ferrer Dias A amp Coelho Soares A (1981)

Excavaccedilotildees arqueoloacutegicas no Castelo do Alcaacutecer do Sal (campanha de 1979) Setuacutebal Arqueoloacutegica 6ndash7 (1980ndash1981) 149ndash218

199WS Hanson and IA Oltean (eds) Archaeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives DOI 101007978-1-4614-4505-0_12 copy Springer Science+Business Media LLC 2013

Abstract This chapter examines the use of air photography during the Soviet Period and the utilisation of this imagery for archaeological research A detailed case study is provided on the Southern Ural Mountains region of Russia where archaeologists focusing on the Middle to Late Bronze Age (2100ndash1500 BC) have utilised black-and-white air photography to identify numerous archaeological sites ranging from the Bronze Age to the medieval period In recent years the integration of air photography geophysical prospection and stratigraphic excavation has pro-duced important insights into the spatial characteristics and diachronic phasing of prehistoric settlement and cemetery patterning These successful research pro-grammes provide a valuable model for similar fi eld programmes being conducted throughout the territories of the Russian Federation and other regions of the world

121 Introduction

The twentieth century was an extremely dynamic period in Russiarsquos history as it included not only the creation and collapse of the Soviet Union and the First and Second World Wars but also the attainment of immense tracts of new territory in the

N S Batanina Historical-Cultural Reserve Arkaim Chelyabinsk Russia e-mail someone2005pisemnet

B K Hanks () Department of Anthropology University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA USA e-mail bkh5pittedu

Chapter 12 Soviet Period Air Photography and Archaeology of the Bronze Age in the Southern Urals of Russia

Natalrsquoya S Batanina and Bryan K Hanks

200 NS Batanina and BK Hanks

northern Eurasian region This period of expansion and colonisation included the extension of settlement into new environmental zones a substantial increase in livestock grazing mineral exploitation construction of hydroelectric dams and an emphasis on intensi fi ed agricultural production Such activities impacted on the environment of these new territories and in some cases substantially in fl uenced prehistoric archaeological sites Fortunately during every decade in the second half of the twentieth century the Soviet Union carried out systematic black-and-white aerial photography within its territorial boundaries The photographs produced dur-ing this time have become a valuable historical resource for archaeological research as they recorded sites either no longer extant or less well preserved as a result of developments during the second half of the twentieth century Today many scholars in regions of the former Soviet Union utilise this archival aerial photography within their archaeological research programmes

122 Early Soviet Period Remote Sensing

The fi rst aerial photographs in Russia were made in 1918 near the city of Tver for the preparation of topographic maps Starting in 1925 during the early years of the USSR further data was collected through the special aerial photography depart-ment of the Geographical Society In the fi rst 10ndash12 years the data obtained were used primarily for topographic mapping as aerial photography provided an ef fi cient means of surveying In 1929 the Leningrad Academy of Sciences formed the Research Institute of Geodesy and Cartography in 1930 this institute was reor-ganised into the Research Institute for Aerial Photography (Komarov 1969 ) During the 1930sndash1950s the reorganisation of this institute was repeated numerous times and ultimately transferred to Moscow By the mid-twentieth century the scope of aerial photography was greatly increased and various new techniques were devel-oped for deciphering aerial data In addition to mapping aerial photography was used to inventory forests to provide for land management and reclamation to obtain important data for hydrological projects for mineral prospection and in designing roads and surveying for pipeline construction As a result aerial reconnaissance and photography played a signi fi cant role in the new economic policies of the USSR

Aerial photography was fi rst used for archaeological research in the Soviet Union in the 1930sndash1940s in the Chorasmia oasis region of central Asia In this period SP Tolstov led a highly successful archaeological-ethnographic programme of research along the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers and large-scale aerial photog-raphy was utilised Subsequent aerial surveys especially those from 1946 to 1973 that were undertaken speci fi cally for archaeological purposes produced excellent results and over 200 archaeological sites were identi fi ed These included settle-ments necropolises and ancient irrigation systems NI Igonin and VV Andrianov

20112 Soviet Period Air Photography and Archaeology of the Bronze Agehellip

made additional re fi nements to the methods of aerial photography during this time such as in the use of scale the time of year and day that the photographs were taken the best use of lighting etc (Igonin 1969 Andrianov 1965 ) Experience gained from these experts was used with appropriate amendments for the landscape zone in the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (eg Bilyarsk settlement) (Khalikov and Igonin 1974 ) Starting in 1960 in Ukraine KV Shishkin contributed importantly to the development of air photography and produced detailed studies of archaeological monuments in the lower Dnieper River region and in the area around the ancient Greek city of Olbia (Shishkin 1966 ) As a result a number of new archaeological sites were identi fi ed and ancient roadways and systems of land use were documented

While it is clear that the use of aerial photographic data played a signi fi cant role in the development of archaeological research during the Soviet Period access to the vast archives of historical imagery from this era is still largely restricted by gov-ernment agencies and not widely available for public or academic use Nevertheless in recent years several projects and their subsequent publications have utilised and disseminated this important imagery and highlighted its utility for the detection identi fi cation and interpretation of archaeological sites In some cases completely new categories of monuments have been discovered such as the Middle Bronze Age lsquoCountry of Townsrsquo ( strana gorodov ) in the steppe zone of the south-eastern Ural Mountains (Zdanovich and Batanina 2002 2007 ) A total of 22 nucleated forti fi ed settlements linked to this development were discovered through the analy-sis of Soviet Period air photography coupled with archaeological reconnaissance and excavation (Fig 121 ) This regional settlement pattern has been linked to the emergence of the Sintashta culture and has received increasing international interest since the 1990s (Gening et al 1992 ) As many scholars have suggested the appear-ance of this unique settlement form in the central steppe region of Eurasia may be linked to more intensive copper mining bronze metal production and regional trade (Anthony 2007 Hanks 2009 Hanks and Linduff 2009 Zdanovich and Zdanovich 2002 ) In addition the excavation of Sintashta cemeteries has produced the earliest-dated spoke-wheeled chariot technology in the world (Anthony and Vinogradov 1995 Anthony 2007 Hanks et al 2007 ) Chariot technology coupled with clear evidence of settlement forti fi cation strongly suggests that the role of warfare was a crucial element driving socio-technological developments during the Middle to Late Bronze Age in this region (2100ndash1500 BC)

The remainder of this chapter is devoted to a discussion of Soviet Period aerial photographs utilised in this region that were applied in collaboration with archaeo-logical reconnaissance and excavation Although initially conducted as part of a programme of rescue archaeology in response to plans for dam construction several research programmes were continued and have contributed importantly to the devel-opment of archaeological remote sensing in the Russian Federation and have led to improved understanding of late prehistoric archaeology

202 NS Batanina and BK Hanks

Ural M

Caspian Sea

0 40 km

W E

4 5 67

161514

1217

2019

A B C D0 20 km

Fig 121 Map A ndash south-eastern Ural Mountains region of the Russian Federation Map B ndash dis-tribution of Middle Bronze Age Sintashta forti fi ed settlements ( 1 ndash Stepnoye 2 ndash Chernorechrsquoye 3 ndash Parizh 4 ndash Bakhta 5 ndash Ustrsquoye 6 ndash Kizil-Mayak 7 ndash Chekatai 8 ndash Isinei 9 ndash Rodniki 10 ndash Kuisak 11 ndash Sarym-Sakly 12 ndash Kizilrsquoskoye 13 ndash Arkaim 14 ndash Konoplyanka 15 ndash Zhurumbai 16 ndash Kamennyi Ambar (Olrsquogino) 17 ndash Kamysty 18 ndash Sintashta 19 ndash Sintashta II (Levoberezhnaya) 20 ndash Andreevskoye 21 ndash Bersuat 22 ndash Alandskoye) Map C ndash bounded area denotes the adminis-trative district of Kizilrsquoskoe in the Chelyabinsk Oblastrsquo of the Russian Federation Archaeological sites noted on map are as follows A ndash Middle Bronze Age Sintashta Period forti fi ed settlements B ndash unforti fi ed Late Bronze (possible Middle Bronze Age) settlements C ndash kurgansburial com-plexes D ndash Bronze Age copper mine Vorovskaya Yama (Map C adapted and redrawn from Zdanovich et al 2003 )

20312 Soviet Period Air Photography and Archaeology of the Bronze Agehellip

123 Late Soviet Period Remote Sensing and Archaeological Research

The steppe and forest-steppe ecological zones of the Southern Ural Mountains region of Russia were extensively photographed from 1954 to 1999 Air photo-graphs were taken primarily during the months of April through November when the earthrsquos surface was free of snow cover (Fig 125 ) The scale of the photographs ranged from 110000 to 150000 which provided a wide range of imagery that has been used for a number of different objectives For example aerial photographs were intensively used for geological prospecting during the last half of the twentieth century and the Soviet government formed a national geological survey organisa-tion that worked systematically with aerial photographic data for this purpose

A pioneering scholar involved in early remote sensing research in the Southern Urals was Iya M Batanina (1935ndash2011) She was a member of the Geological Faculty at Ural State University (located in Yekaterinburg Russia) and was involved in focused geological surveys in the Urals region Over the years she worked with several geological institutions and specialised in the development of remote sensing methods for geological surveying and the prospection of mineral resources By 1990 and at the age of 55 Iya Batanina brought her extensive knowledge into the fi eld of archaeology which gave her the opportunity to assist regional archaeolo-gists with the identi fi cation and interpretation of numerous anthropogenic features and sites discernable through aerial photography

A strong interest in the use of aerial photography for archaeological research in the Southern Urals had developed already by 1986 This was stimulated by regional administrative plans to construct a dam on the Bolrsquoshaya Karaganka River which is situated in the southern zone of the Chelyabinsk Oblastrsquo (administrative region) Archaeological research that had commenced in 1969 in this area under the direc-tion of VF Gening had uncovered a series of archaeological sites dating from the Mesolithic through the medieval period along the Sintashta River and its tributaries Continuing research during the 1970s and early 1980s brought to light the epony-mous settlement-cemetery complex of Sintashta and a completely new category of forti fi ed Bronze Age settlement with associated cemeteries (more recently labelled lsquoThe Country of Townsrsquo) (Fig 122 ) In 1986 plans for the construction of a dam in the region resulted in intensive emergency archaeological surveys within the catch-ment of the proposed reservoir This included collaboration with specialists such as Iya Batanina and the incorporation of detailed aerial photographic analysis These efforts led to the discovery and identi fi cation of a second forti fi ed Sintashta period settlement known today as Arkaim Increasing debate over the destruction of these important heritage sites attracted worldwide attention and plans for the construc-tion of the dam were eventually overturned in 1991 (see overviews in Shnirelman 1999 Zdanovich 1999 ) Shortly thereafter a commission was enacted to protect the heritage of Arkaim its environs and the other known forti fi ed Sintashta period set-tlements (Arkaim Museum and Reserve httpwwwarkaim-centerru )

Successful collaboration between geologists and archaeologists in the microre-gion around Arkaim continued from 1990 to 1995 and a total of 71 archaeological

204 NS Batanina and BK Hanks

Fig 122 Upper ndash portion of an August 17th 1974 Soviet Period aerial photograph of the Middle Bronze Age forti fi ed settlement of Sarym-Sakly (scale 1 cmndash22 m) lower ndash aerial photographic interpretation by Iya Batanina (Redrawn by B Hanks)

20512 Soviet Period Air Photography and Archaeology of the Bronze Agehellip

sites from different periods were identi fi ed This research became a further proving ground for the development of a methodology for archaeological reconnaissance that was guided by the interpretation of aerial photography Numerous ground surveys and stratigraphic excavations were employed to ground truth anthropogenic features identi fi ed through Soviet Period aerial imagery

These important discoveries in the last two decades of the twentieth century brought to light the fi rst known forti fi ed settlements in the Southern Urals and a host of additional prehistoric and historic archaeological sites (Fig 121 ) The successful remote sensing methods that were developed during the 1990s in connection with Arkaim were applied to other districts within the Chelyabinsk Oblastrsquo and in 2004 the fi rst archaeological atlas of identi fi ed sites was published This atlas focused on the territory within the contemporary administrative district of Kizilrsquoskoe (Russian Federation) and details the spatial distribution classi fi cation and description of 789 archaeological sites (including settlements cemeteries and singular ritual andor mortuary monuments) (Figs 121 Map C 123 126 and 127 ) Two additional atlas publications are in preparation for the Nagaybakskiy and Kartalinsky districts both of which are situated in the Chelyabinsk Oblastrsquo

124 Key Methods Integrating Air Photography and Archaeological Interpretation

In general the archaeological interpretation of aerial photographs in the Southern Urals region has pursued two main objectives (1) the search for new sites the map-ping of these sites and subsequent ground survey and exploration and (2) to provide a detailed study of the monuments through stereoscopic analysis and the use of computer programmes for geographic information systems processing and archiving In the Chelyabinsk Oblastrsquo archaeologists have available to them aerial archives from the years 1954 1956 1960 1970 1983ndash1988 and 1999 Not all of this imag-ery is useful for purposes related to the remote sensing of archaeological sites As experience has shown the most successful images from the steppe and forest-steppe zones of the Southern Urals are those taken in the spring (during the early growing season) and autumn (after harvest) and at times that are early or late in the day Long shadows which are formed from the oblique angle of the sun (shadow sites) stress relief irregularities and create the maximum stereoscopic effect The optimal scale for aerial imagery is typically in the range of 110000ndash135000

Finer scale imagery does not help in the detection of additional archaeological monuments but does help in the study of the larger identi fi ed settlements (Figs 122 123 and 126 ) The fi ner scale imagery is also useful for the analysis of landscape zones and the possible effects of anthropogenic activities Crucial factors that also affect the usefulness of older imagery are the weather at the time the photographs were captured and the print quality of the photographs themselves ndash as even a slight haze disguises many of the fi ner details of the earthrsquos surface and the topographical details of prehistoric monuments

206 NS Batanina and BK Hanks

All aerial photographic imagery produced during the Soviet Period is classi fi ed as lsquocon fi dentialrsquo Since the early 1990s and the decline and subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union the degree of secrecy of the imagery has changed and it is now classi fi ed as lsquoFor Of fi cial Use Onlyrsquo In order to purchase such imagery a special permit is required Nevertheless it is possible in most cases to publish portions of air photographs produced during this time and today more regional archaeologists are making use of these opportunities

As noted above the steppe and forest-steppe landscapes during the second half of the twentieth century underwent a substantial transformation because of Soviet poli-cies for economic development These activities strongly in fl uenced the preserva-tion of archaeological monuments Numerous sites especially late prehistoric settlements and mortuary features which were located along major rivers their tributaries and in fl at arable land were affected by agricultural activities (ploughing and cultivation) and the construction of dams General knowledge about the exis-tence of these monuments would not be possible without the use of archived aerial imagery ndash especially those produced during the 1950s before the later surge of Soviet Period economic development Furthermore the aerial record produced during the 1950s has proven to be the best suited for archaeological reconnaissance and the majority of research being done in the Southern Urals today relies on this older imagery With such imagery it is possible to establish not only the presence of archaeological sites but also their general spatial characterisation (the Russian terminology for this is planigraphy) which is very important for Bronze Age studies The ideal situation for aerial photographic study is when several sets of photographs are available from different years Depending on the angle of light captured in the photographs the imagery can vividly highlight various elements of the microrelief especially the multiphase settlement constructions linked to the Sintashta culture development In Fig 123 for example three different photographs taken in 1956 1967 and 1969 show substantial variation in what they reveal in the rectangular forti fi cation site of Stepnoye Analysis of the internal structure of the monument for each of the photographs has produced quite different results that allowed for a more complete characterisation of the monument and its possible phasing

1241 Aerial Photographic Analysis of Bronze Age Settlements and Cemeteries

The geographical territory where the Sintashta culture has been identi fi ed and the forti fi ed settlement pattern distinguished is bounded on the west by the relatively low relief of the Ural Mountains range It is bounded in the east by the West Siberian lowlands to the north by the steppe and forest-steppe ecological boundary and in the south by the Orenburg steppes (approximately 450 km times 120 km) Twenty-two 1

1 The 22nd forti fi ed settlement named Kizil-Mayak was identi fi ed very recently (Batanina and Batanina 2009 )

20712 Soviet Period Air Photography and Archaeology of the Bronze Agehellip

identi fi ed settlements dating to the Sintashta Middle Bronze Age (2100ndash1700 BC) have been tentatively labelled the lsquoCountry of Townsrsquo and all are found within the Sintashta cultural region (Zdanovich and Zdanovich 2002 ) They have been charac-terised as lsquotownsrsquo because of the systematic planning and organisation of the enclosed zones of habitation Some scholars have considered this a clear lsquoproto-ur-banrsquo development while others have debated what the settlements actually re fl ect in terms of demographic aggregation and other lsquourbanrsquo trends (see various viewpoints in Jones-Bley and Zdanovich 2002 Hanks and Linduff 2009 ) Some of the settle-ments have upwards of 60 rectangular house units (Fig 124 ) contained within the forti fi ed areas and population estimates have varied widely from a few hundred

Fig 123 Upper left ndash interpretation of aerial photograph of the Middle Bronze Age Stepnoye settlement by Iya Batanina (After Zdanovich and Batanina 2007 160) upper right ndash portion of aerial photograph of Stepnoye taken on June 17th 1956 (Area of aerial photographic interpreta-tion denoted by white-dotted line) lower left ndash portion of aerial photograph of Stepnoye taken on September 25th 1967 lower right ndash portion of aerial photograph of Stepnoye taken on September 25th 1969

0 606 m

0 509 m 0 532 m

Ui River

208 NS Batanina and BK Hanks

occupants to over 1000 for each of the settlements (Koryakova and Epimakhov 2007 72 Kohl 2007 14 Epimakhov 1996 ) Some scholars such as Phil Kohl have compared these sites to late prehistoric nucleated settlements in the Near East and elements of urbanism there and suggested that Sintashta forti fi ed sites may be better characterised as lsquovillagesrsquo rather than lsquotownsrsquo (Kohl 2007 122 see also12ndash14) While scholars continue to debate the social political and economic reasons for the appearance of these sites aerial photographic analysis has provided the basic foun-dation for their identi fi cation in the landscape their regional distribution and the nature of construction phasing

IM Batanina and NV Levit can be credited with the identi fi cation of 19 of the 22 settlements through their detailed analysis of archived aerial photography pro-duced during the 1950s and 1960s The settlements of Zhurumbai Sintashta 2 Kamysty and Konoplyanka were only identi fi able through air photography as ground survey alone failed to recognise associated topographical relief connected with forti fi cation features and domestic structure depressions Sintashta settlements are generally located on the fi rst terrace above the fl oodplain of the rivers and seem strategically placed in the landscape to take advantage of natural barriers for defence such as small hills and the rivers Air photography primarily highlights the forti fi cation features whereby ramparts and ditches have a clear structure and appear as bright white and dark grey in the imagery (Figs 122 123 and 124 ) The inter-nal space in the monuments is quite patterned and can often be discerned through air photographs Sintashta settlements that are round or oval in overall shape typically have dwellings that are arranged radially and adjoin on one end of the defensive

Fig 124 Left ndash a portion of a 1978 Soviet Period aerial photograph of the Middle Bronze Age forti fi ed settlement of Arkaim (After Zdanovich and Batanina 2007 26) right ndash plan of Arkaim indicating area of excavation and unexcavated areas interpreted through geophysics data (Adapted from Zdanovich and Zdanovich 2002 256)

20912 Soviet Period Air Photography and Archaeology of the Bronze Agehellip

ramparts In most cases the central part of the settlement was undeveloped and probably acted as a central courtyard (Fig 124 )

Most of the forti fi ed settlements are multilayered stratigraphically and when excavated reveal construction and habitation features connected with the Middle to Late Bronze Age (2100ndash1500 BC) Detailed aerial photographic analysis of these multilayered forti fi ed settlements such as Isiney Stepnoye Ustrsquoye and Rodniki makes it possible to discern the diachronic nature of their construction phases The earliest phases are circular or oval with later phases becoming more rectangular or square By the end of the Late Bronze Age (approximately 1200 BC) occupation at these sites and others within the region had ceased to emphasise forti fi cation Several of the Sintashta settlements also appear to have periods of inactivity followed by later phases of reoccupation These subsequent occupations frequently disturbed the earlier stratigraphic levels but in most cases conformed to the use of the internal space of the earlier forti fi ed site (Fig 128 )

One of the important methods developed by IM Batanina and NV Levit through their joint research on Sintashta settlements was the utilisation of different-dated aerial photographs to track the changing nature and destruction of the sites (Batanina 1995 Batanina and Ivanova 1995 ) For example the topographical height of the defensive walls of the Arkaim forti fi ed settlement was estimated to be 12 m in 1954 By 1988 however the relief of the walls was only approximately 07 m The erosion of the forti fi cation features was likely accelerated by the grazing of livestock over the site during the height of the Soviet Period which led to the drastic de fl ation of the monument relief (Zdanovich and Batanina 2007 45)

Unforti fi ed settlements of the Late and Final Bronze Age (1700ndash1200 BC) also show evidence of diachronic occupation and multilayered stratigraphy (Figs 125 and 126 ) The more speci fi c dating of these monuments and their archaeological culture af fi liation can only be determined after excavation (Zdanovich and Lyubchanskii 2004 ) Unforti fi ed Late and Final Bronze Age settlements can be identi fi ed in aerial photographs by dark spots related to house depressions and stereoscopically by their negative microrelief Identi fi ed unforti fi ed settlements typically occupy a niche in the landscape and are located on the fi rst terrace of the rivers at a height of 25ndash50 m above the waterrsquos edge The disposition of these settlements depends largely on the size and shape of the terraced areas which are often quite narrow These settlements are usually constructed in one two or three rows of house structures and can stretch along the river from 100 to 200 m or more (Fig 125 ) Settlements situated on less spatially restricted terraces comprise house depressions that are located more unevenly and form compact groups such as the site of Peschanka-5 (Fig 126 )

It is also important to note that Bronze Age forti fi ed and unforti fi ed settlements that have been affected by agricultural cultivation often show signs of ashy soils that are visible as bright white spots within the darker background of arable soils around the sites (Fig 123 ) These features are connected with midden deposits that were formed in most cases near the external perimeter of the enclosed settlements during their occupations A good example of this is the Sintashta period settlement of Stepnoye which clearly reveals three discrete areas of ashy soil and midden formation

210 NS Batanina and BK Hanks

Fig 125 Upper ndash portion of a July 3rd 1956 Soviet Period aerial photograph of the unforti fi ed settlement of Cherkasy II (scale 1 cmndash102 m) Several Bronze Age house feature depressions are discernable within the dotted area Lower ndash portion of a June 14th 1974 Soviet Period aerial pho-tograph showing a series of Bronze Age cemetery barrows (kurgans) within the dotted line from site No 717 in the Chelyabinskaya Oblastrsquo (scale 1 cmndash29 m)

21112 Soviet Period Air Photography and Archaeology of the Bronze Agehellip

near the north perimeter of this enclosure Recent excavations at this site have revealed that these midden deposits were formed at a depth of up to 1 m and are primarily composed of ashy soil with mixed artefacts such as faunal remains metallurgical slag lithics ceramic sherds and other materials connected with Bronze Age occupation of the settlement

The analysis of Soviet Period air photographs has also proven extremely effec-tive for the identi fi cation of single and grouped Bronze Age kurgans (funerary bar-rows) Bronze Age burial mounds are usually located along the river terraces and on the gentle slopes of hills at a further distance from the river courses Barrows from both the Bronze and Iron Ages typically form a chain or a compact group of fea-tures and Bronze Age barrows are frequently located in association with settle-ments (Figs 123 125 and 127 ) The main identifying features of the barrows are direct indicators such as geometric shape microrelief of the mounds colour differ-entiation of the surface soils and the overall spatial nature of grouped barrows or

Fig 126 A portion of a September 5th 1956 Soviet Period aerial photograph of the unforti fi ed Bronze Age settlement of Peschanka-5 House feature depressions of the settlement are visible within the black-dotted circle (Scale 1 cmndash80 m)

212 NS Batanina and BK Hanks

cemeteries Indirect signs of these monuments include variation in vegetation and surface shadows cast by the barrows that allow for the topographical relief of the monuments to be seen through stereoscopic analysis Bronze Age barrows are rounded or slightly elongated in shape and their sizes range from 8 to 10 m in diam-eter for the smaller constructions and 20ndash30 m for larger barrows Barrows that are located in non-arable locations are identi fi ed as mounds through stereoscopic analy-sis Barrows that have been strongly affected by ploughing in arable locations are identi fi ed by strong contrasts in soils whereby the mounds appear as bright spots surrounded by darker soils that are connected with contemporaneous ditch con-structions or modern arable soils

Fig 127 Upper left ndash portion of a July 2nd 1956 Soviet Period aerial photograph of a Kurgan lsquos usamirsquo (scale 125000) with illustration interpretation on the right (1 ndash central mound feature 2 ndash curvilinear lsquowhiskersrsquo with terminal features) lower ndash portion of a May 30th 1976 Soviet Period aerial photograph of the Solenyi Dol cemetery showing lsquo dumb-bell rsquo-shaped (gantelevidnymi) barrow features (Bredinskiy region scale 112500 after Zdanovich et al 2003 43)

21312 Soviet Period Air Photography and Archaeology of the Bronze Agehellip

1242 Recent Archaeological Research Programmes

Archaeological research programmes focusing on Middle Bronze Age settlements and cemeteries in the Chelyabinsk Oblastrsquo have continued since the earlier phases of research that began in the 1980s and 1990s International projects including exca-vation and remote sensing have been underway at the Sintashta forti fi ed sites of Stepnoye and Kamennyi Ambar since 2007 and Ustrsquoye since 2011 In addition a radiocarbon dating project focused speci fi cally on the dating of Middle Late and Final Bronze Age sites within the larger south-eastern Urals region was undertaken from 2005 to 2007 and was subsequently published in both Russian and English (Epimakhov et al 2005 Hanks et al 2007 ) This programme of study produced a total of 40 AMS calibrated dates from 16 Bronze Age settlements and cemeteries spanning a time period of 2140ndash880 cal BC and has provided an important absolute chronology for key transitions in settlement and mortuary patterning

The use of geophysical prospection has also been employed with increasing fre-quency within the Southern Urals region Both international and Russian teams have undertaken this research using a variety of techniques that include proton mag-netometry fl uxgate gradiometry electrical resistivity caesium magnetometry and ground penetrating radar To date however very little of this research has been published This is important as the combination of aerial photographic analysis with geophysical prospection offers an extremely effective approach to the identi fi cation and interpretation of settlement and mortuary feature patterning Additional publications will likely be forthcoming in the near future given the state of international research being undertaken in the Sintashta settlement region

The publication of geophysical surveys conducted at the Sintashta period settle-ments of Kamennyi Ambar and Stepnoye in 2005 and in 2008 respectively has made it possible to compare the results with previous aerial photographic interpreta-tions of the sites (Merrony et al 2009 ) In 2005 a fl uxgate gradiometer survey (Geoscan FM 18) was employed over the enclosed area of the Kamennyi Ambar forti fi ed settlement A sampling interval of 10 m was chosen as a result of time and budgetary constraints with the objective of providing a complete survey of the entire enclosed area As a result of this rather coarse sampling procedure (with only 400 data points for each 400 m 2 block) the visualisation of the subsurface features was not highly detailed Nevertheless a total area of 48400 m 2 was completed in a few days and easily de fi ned key characteristics of the site (Fig 128 ) These included forti fi cation ditches probable construction phases and several highly magnetic anomalies interpreted as high-temperature features such as hearths kilns andor metallurgical furnaces Several linear features were also present that probably relate to domestic architecture and the division of internal space within the enclosed area

The geophysical survey at Kamennyi Ambar provided interesting results when compared with earlier interpretations of the settlement through aerial photographic analysis (Fig 128 ) Occupation of the Kamennyi Ambar settlement occurred in both the Middle Bronze Age and Late Bronze Age phases ndash with the ditch phasing visible in the gradiometry survey probably connected with the earlier phase(s) of

214 NS Batanina and BK Hanks

construction at the site The Soviet Period aerial photography and aerial photographic analysis of the site (Fig 128 ) also provide evidence for Late Bronze Age occupation wherein several large oval-shaped house depressions are visible across the surface of the site These features were not discernable through the geophysical survey and it is likely that these later occupation features disturbed earlier and stratigraphically lower phases of occupation In combination the aerial photographic analysis and geophysical prospection have provided an important foundation of spatial information for future excavation programmes at the site A large-scale Russian-German collaborative project has been operating at this site since 2007 and information stemming from the excavations there will provide an excellent opportunity to compare aerial photographic geophysical and excavation data as publications from the project are forthcoming

In 2008 both a fl uxgate gradiometry survey (Geoscan FM256) of 19000 m 2 and an electrical resistivity survey (Geoscan RM12) of 26400 m 2 were undertaken over

Fig 128 Upper left ndash portion of a June 2nd 1954 Soviet Period aerial photograph of the Kamennyi Ambar (Olrsquogino) forti fi ed settlement (Zdanovich and Batanina 2007 98) upper right ndash adaptation of aerial photographic interpretation by Iya Batanina with detail of Middle and Late Bronze Age phases (Zdanovich and Batanina 2007 99) lower left ndash greyscale plot of fl uxgate gradiometer survey (Merrony et al 2009 425) lower right ndash interpretation of phases of Stepnoye settlement based on geophysical data 1 2 ndash primary ditch phases 3 ndash secondary ditch phase extension 4 ndash strong magnetic anomalies possible kilns or metallurgical furnaces 5 ndash features possibly con-nected with entrance 6 ndash geological anomaly possible drainage ditch

modern track

Late Bronze AgeDwelling Depressions

Middle Bronze AgeSintashta Fortification

Karagaily-Ayat River

0 80 m

21512 Soviet Period Air Photography and Archaeology of the Bronze Agehellip

the Sintashta settlement of Stepnoye Figures 123 and 129 provide an important comparison between the aerial photographic analysis of this site and the geophysical results from the electrical resistivity survey Interestingly the detailed fl uxgate gra-diometry survey (64 points taken per 10 m) provided very poor results and it was impossible to discern any magnetic anomalies that appeared related to either the aerial photographic interpretation or prehistoric features clearly visible on the sur-face including forti fi cation banks ditches and house depressions (see Merrony et al 2009 426ndash427 for extended discussion and associated imagery) The soils at Stepnoye vary markedly from those encountered at the site of Kamennyi Ambar and consist of coarser sandy material that has very low magnetic susceptibility In response to this a second geophysical survey was conducted over the site utilising electrical resistivity The greyscale plot from this survey detailed in Fig 129 com-pares very well to the aerial photographic analysis of the site and interpretations regarding the chronological phasing there Several key features are discernable in the greyscale plot and have been interpreted as relating to modern agricultural activities

Fig 129 Upper left ndash redrawn and adapted aerial photographic interpretation of Stepnoye forti fi ed settlement from Zdanovich and Batanina 2007 160 denoting key construction characteristics (Prepared by D Pitman) upper right ndash greyscale plot of electrical resistivity survey of Stepnoye settlement (Prepared by C Merrony) lower left ndash interpretation of modern-day features from geo-physical plot (Prepared by C Merrony) lower right ndash interpretation of phases of Stepnoye settle-ment based on geophysical data (Prepared by C Merrony)

50 m0

Dam

House unitdepression

Late Wall

River channel

Ditch

Early Wall

216 NS Batanina and BK Hanks

as well as prehistoric construction and occupation of the settlement Variation in the sharpness of the image relates to the soil becoming drier as the survey expanded across the area after a period of intensive rain Figure 129 (lower right image) also details the interpretation of the site phasing based on the geophysics results This contrasts with the aerial photographic interpretation somewhat in that a circular or oval initial phase was situated east of the centre of the rectangular settlement In addition the geophysics survey produced features extending further to the east of the settlement than what was identi fi ed in the aerial photographic analysis Again aerial photographic analysis and geophysical prospection in combination provide very complementary forms of information and excellent spatial data for future targeted excavation of features and phases As a result of the poor results with fl uxgate gradi-ometry at Stepnoye no hearth andor furnace features were distinguishable The geophysics results (both gradiometry and resistivity) also failed to identify any aspect of the ashy soilmidden deposits on the northern perimeter of the settlement enclosure which are clearly visible in the Soviet aerial photographic imagery (Fig 123 upper-right image) An international project comprising Russian American and British teams has been excavating at the Stepnoye settlement since 2007 and forthcoming archaeological evidence from this site will provide an inter-esting comparison of aerial photographic analysis geophysical prospection and stratigraphic excavation (Hanks and Doonan 2009 )

125 Conclusion and Future Trends in Remote Sensing

The1990s in the Southern Urals witnessed tremendous progress in the decipherment of aerial images for archaeological research This led to an improved understanding of the spatial and diachronic nature of human occupation in the region (approxi-mately 3500 BC to AD 1000) and shifting patterns of settlement and ritual monu-ment construction Unfortunately sites of the Palaeolithic to Neolithic are largely hidden from aerial photography as they lie buried under substantial horizons of sediment It is also impossible to identify many of the megalithic monuments (pri-marily dating to the late Iron Age and medieval period) within the region because of their diminutive size Nevertheless aerial photography has proven itself indispens-able for the detection of such unique monuments as the complex stone barrows known as kurgan lsquos usamirsquo (barrows with a lsquomoustachersquo) and burial mounds with a lsquodumb-bellrsquo shape Such features are visible through aerial photography because they are predominantly comprised of surface constructions with stone mounds and linear and curvilinear stone arrays (Fig 127 )

Currently archaeological mapping based on the interpretation of aerial photo-graphs has covered nearly 10000 km 2 in the steppe and forest-steppe ecological zones of the Southern Urals and more than 1000 monuments have been identi fi ed Nearly all the forti fi ed settlements connected with the Sintashta lsquoCountry of Townsrsquo development discussed above were located through aerial photography In addition with the exception of a few dozen previously known kurgan lsquos usamirsquo monuments lsquodumb-bell-shapedrsquo mounds and unforti fi ed settlements of the Late

21712 Soviet Period Air Photography and Archaeology of the Bronze Agehellip

Bronze Age the identi fi cation of archaeological monuments in the Southern Urals was made by IM Batanina and NV Levit

The initial efforts made by Batanina Levit and regional archaeologists in the 1980s and 1990s led to the development of important aerial photographic methods and the construction of a large database of identi fi ed archaeological sites The use of aerial remote sensing and ground-based geophysical prospection as reviewed for the Southern Ural Mountains region of Russia is proving to be a powerful multidisciplinary approach to the further identi fi cation and interpretation of late prehistoric monuments

The use of historical aerial photography reviewed in this chapter has provided an important foundation for contemporary and future archaeological research However the use of newly available satellite imagery combined with historical air photogra-phy is rapidly developing among scholars in regions of the former Soviet Union The use of satellite imagery for archaeological purposes has until very recently been hampered by a lack of good-resolution imagery As the availability of higher spatial resolution satellite data improves it is sure to become more widely used by archaeologists Several scholars such as GE Afanasrsquoev MR Korobov and GP Garbuzov have contributed importantly to the integration of these methods in the past decade (Garbuzov 2003 Afanasrsquoev 2004 ) and multispectral satellite data is also being drawn upon (Antimonov 2010 ) Experimentation in the use of satellite imagery was done initially to compare with the results of aerial photography analy-sis However the emphasis is now shifting increasingly to the use of both modern and archival satellite imagery ndash including data produced in Russia such as the declassi fi ed military KFA-1000 imagery from the lsquoResurs-F1rsquo satellite deployed in the 1970s and commercially available foreign satellite imagery (Landsat IRS SPOT etc) In Russia one of the current leaders in this fi eld is the Archaeology Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences which established in 2002 a focus on archaeological-geological information systems One of the important achievements from this has been the organisation of an annual round-table conference (since 2003) on lsquoArchaeology and Geoinformaticsrsquo which is dedicated speci fi cally to the development and re fi nements of remote sensing methods in archaeology The annual meetings produce a number of important presentations and articles with additional data made available on CD-ROM media These meetings provide an important opportunity for archaeologists to come together with specialists in remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) to discuss the re fi nement of methods and interpretation of remote sensing and GIS data

These recent trends in the use of available satellite data within archaeological research re fl ect the important historical role that remote sensing has had in Russia and in the territories of the former Soviet Union Nearly a century has passed since the fi rst air photographs were taken in 1918 in Tver Russia for topographical map-ping The further development of remote sensing methods and their integration within archaeological research are sure to remain a dynamic fi eld in the years ahead As more archaeological projects begin to make use of these important methods additional discoveries are sure to be made that will add to our existing knowledge about prehistoric life ways and long-term diachronic social change in this important region of Eurasia

218 NS Batanina and BK Hanks

Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank the editors of this volume for their sincere patience in the preparation of our paper We also owe a debt of gratitude to our numerous fi eld colleagues in Russia United States China England and Slovenia A special word of thanks is owed to our colleagues Dmitri Zdanovich Elena Kupriyanova Andrei Epimakhov Roger Doonan Derek Pitman and Colin Merrony for their assistance with the geophysical surveys at Stepnoye and Kamennyi Ambar The geophysical prospection data reviewed for the settlements of Stepnoye and Kamennyi Ambar was achieved through fi eld projects funded by the National Science Foundation (BCS 0726279) and the University of Pittsburgh and is gratefully acknowledged We are also grateful to Chelyabinsk State University for permission to reproduce portions of the Soviet Period air photography that appear in this chapter All opinions and errors in this chapter are the sole responsibility of the authors

Bibliography

Afanasrsquoev G E (2004) Osnovnyye napravleniya primeneniya GIS ndash DZ-tekhnoligiy v arkhe-ologii Arkheologiya i geoinformatika Vyp 2 (Electronic resourse) Moscow CD-ROM

Andrianov B V (1965) Deshifrirovaniye aerfotosnimkov pri izuchenii drevnikh orositelrsquonikh sistem In B A Kolchin (Ed) Arkheologiya i estestvennye nauki (pp 261ndash266) Moscow Nauka

Anthony D (2007) The Horse the wheel and language How Bronze Age riders from the Eurasian Steppes shaped the modern world Princeton Princeton University Press

Anthony D amp Vinogradov N (1995) Birth of the Chariot Archaeology 48 36ndash41 Antimonov N P (2010) Obnaruzheniye arkheologicheskikh pogrebennykh obrsquoyektov na

mulrsquotispektralrsquonykh kosmicheskikh snimkakh s pomoshchrsquoyu spetsializerovannoi programmy ldquoImage Media Center 50rdquo Geomatics 3 67ndash71

Batanina I M (1995) Otchot Arkheologicheskaya karta zapovednikaldquoArkaimrdquo Chelyabinsk [unpublished report on fi le at the Historical-Cultural Reserve Arkaim Chelyabinsk Russia]

Batanina I M amp Batanina N S (2009) Kizil-Mayak ndash novoe ukreplennoe poselenie epokhi bronzi v Uzhnom Zauralrsquoye In U B Ashimov K M Baypakov A A Tukachev M I Netiaga A A Pleshakov amp Z S Samashev (Eds) Materiali mezhdunarodnoy nauchnoy konferensii Margulanovskie chtenia (pp 18ndash22) Petropavlovsk North-Kazakhstan State University

Batanina I M amp Ivanova N O (1995) Arkheologicheskaya karta zapovednika Arkaimi Istoriya izucheniya arkheologicheskikh pamyatnikov In G B Zdanovich amp N O Ivanova (Eds) Arkaim issledovaniya poiski otkrytiya (pp 129ndash195) Chelyabinsk Kamenniy Poias

Epimakhov A V (1996) Demogra fi cheskiye aspekty sotsiologicheskikh rekonstruktsiye (po materialam sintashtinsko-petrovskikh pamyatnikov) In V Ivanov (Ed) XIII Urailskoe arheologicheskoye soveshchaniye (pp 58ndash60) Ufa Vostochnyi Universitet

Epimakhov A Hanks B amp Renfrew A C (2005) Radiouglerodnaya Kronologiya Pamyatnikov Bronzovogo Veka Zauralrsquoya Rossiiskaya Arkheologiya 4 92ndash102

Garbuzov G P (2003) Arkheologicheskiye issledovaniya i distantsionnoye zondirovaniye zemli iz kosmosa Rossiiskaya Arkheologiya 2 45ndash55

Gening V F Zdanovich G amp Gening V (1992) Sintashta (Vol 1) Chelyabinsk Uzhno-Uralskoe knizhnoe izdatelstvo

Hanks B (2009) Modeling early metallurgical production and societal organization in the Bronze Age of North Central Eurasia In B Hanks amp K Linduff (Eds) Social complexity in prehis-toric Eurasia Monuments metals and mobility (pp 146ndash167) Cambridge Cambridge University Press

Hanks B amp Doonan R (2009) From scale to practice A new agenda for the study of early met-allurgy on the Eurasian Steppe Journal of World Prehistory 22 329ndash356

Hanks B amp Linduff K (Eds) (2009) Social complexity in prehistoric Eurasia Monuments metals and mobility Cambridge Cambridge University Press

21912 Soviet Period Air Photography and Archaeology of the Bronze Agehellip

Hanks B Epimakhov A amp Renfrew A C (2007) Towards a re fi ned chronology of the Bronze Age of the Southern Urals Russia Antiquity 81 333ndash367

Igonin N I (1969) Issledovaniye arkheologicheskikh pamyatnikov po materialam krupno-masshtabnoi aerofotosrsquoyomki In S P Tolstov amp A V Vinogradov (Eds) Istoriya arkhe-ologiya i entogra fi ya Srednei Azi (pp 257ndash267) Moskva Nauka

Jones-Bley K amp Zdanovich D B (2002) Complex societies of Central Eurasia from the 3rd to the 1st Millennium BC Regional speci fi cs in light of global models (Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph series 45) Washington DC Institute for the Study of Man

Khalikov A Kh amp Igonin N I (1974) Aerofotosrsquoemka krupnykh arkheologicheskikh obrsquoyektov Vestnik Rossiysko Akademii Nauk 7 67ndash72

Kohl P (2007) The making of Bronze Age Eurasia Cambridge Cambridge University Press Komarov V V (1969) Itogi i perspektivy rasvitiya aerometdov v SSSR In G G Samoylovich

(Ed) Doklady komissii aerosrsquoemki i fotogrammetrii (pp 3ndash17) Leningrad Geogra fi cheskoye Obshchestvo SSR

Koryakova L N amp Epimakhov A V (2007) The Urals and Western Siberia in the Bronze and Iron Ages Cambridge Cambridge University Press

Merrony C Hanks B amp Doonan R (2009) Seeking the process The application of geophysical survey on some early mining and metalworking sites In T K Kienlin amp B W Roberts (Eds) Metals and societies Studies in honour of Barbara S Ottaway (Universitaumltsforschungen zur praumlhistorischen Archaumlologie pp 421ndash430) Bonn Habelt

Shishkin K V (1966) Primeneniye aerofotosrsquoemki dlya issledovaniya arkheologicheskikh pamyatnikov Sovetskaya Arkheologiya 3 116ndash121

Shnirelman V (1999) Passions about Arkaim Russian nationalism the Aryans and the politics of archaeology Inner Asia 1 267ndash282

Zdanovich G (1999) Arkaim Archaeological park An cultural-ecological reserve in Russia In G Panel-Philippe amp G Stone-Peter (Eds) The constructed past Experimental archeology education and the public (pp 283ndash291) London Routledge

Zdanovich G B amp Batanina I M (2002) Planography of the forti fi ed centers of the Middle Bronze Age in the Southern Trans-Urals according to Aerial Photography Data In K Jones-Bley amp D G Zdanovich (Eds) Complex Societies of Central Eurasia from the Third to the First Millennia BC Regional speci fi cs in the light of global models (Chelyabinsk State University Chelyabinsk Russian FederationJournal of IndondashEuropean Studies Monograph series pp 121ndash147) Washington DC Institute for the Study of Man

Zdanovich G B amp Batanina I M (2007) Arkaim ndash Strana Gorodov Chelyabinsk Krokus Zdanovich S Ya amp Lyubchanskii I E (2004) Istoricheskii ocherk Karaganskoi doliny drevnostrsquo

srednevokovrsquoye Arkaim po Stranitsam Drevnei istorii Yuzhnogo Urala Chelyabinsk Zdanovich G B amp Zdanovich D G (2002) The lsquoCountry of Townsrsquo of Southern Trans-Urals

and some aspects of Steppe Assimilation in the Bronze Age In K Boyle A C Renfrew amp M Levine (Eds) Ancient interactions East and West in Eurasia (pp 249ndash263) Cambridge McDonald Institute Monographs

Zdanovich G Batanina I Levit N amp Batanin S (2003) Arkheologicheskii Atlas Chelyabinskoi Oblasti Vyp 1 Steprsquo-Lesosteprsquo Kizilrsquoskii Raion Chelyabinsk Uralskoye knishnoye isdatelstvo

221WS Hanson and IA Oltean (eds) Archaeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives DOI 101007978-1-4614-4505-0_13 copy Springer Science+Business Media LLC 2013

Abstract Hundreds of thousands of aerial photographs of Middle Eastern countries have been taken since the beginning of the First World War The majority has been destroyed but tens of thousands survive in archives in several countries Identi fi cation of and research on these collections has grown rapidly in recent years Although the potential value of these lsquohistoricalrsquo photographs has long been known the rapid and dramatic development in Middle Eastern countries affecting archaeological sites and landscapes has accelerated the need for such records This chapter surveys the present state of our knowledge of historical archive aerial photography illustrates its use through speci fi c examples and sets out a programme for increasing access to the lsquoarchiversquo and opening it up to researchers through a web-based collection

Abbreviations and Web Addresses

Aerial Photos of Israel 1917ndash1919 University of Haifa Library Digital Media Center httpdigitoolhaifaacilRPJYB6P3BY5JNLXPARVQK44EA4A2VRGIV5XBCE6EAN6Y2NYGEKE-02684func=collections-resultampcollection_id=1280

APAAME Aerial Photographic Archive for Archaeology in the Middle East httpwww fl ickrcomphotosAPAAMEcollections

HAS Hunting Aerial Survey of Jordan 1953

R Bewley () Honorary Visiting Professor at the Institute of Archaeology UCL London SW1W 8NR UK e-mail bobbewleybtinternetcom

D Kennedy Classics and Ancient History The University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway Crawley WA 6009 Australia e-mail davidkennedyuwaeduau

Chapter 13 Historical Aerial Imagery in Jordan and the Wider Middle East

Robert Bewley and David Kennedy

222 R Bewley and D Kennedy

JADIS The Jordanian Archaeological Data Information System (Palumbo 1994) MEGA-J Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities httpwwwmegajordanorg TNA The National Archives Kew UK httpwwwnationalarchivesgovuk

131 Introduction

We know from work in European countries (Bewley 1997 Bewley and Rączkowksi 2002 Cowley et al 2010 ) that access to and interpretation of historical aerial photo-graphs is fundamentally important for undertaking research into landscape archaeol-ogy If such archives can be made accessible there is a further requirement to build up the necessary interpretative skills fi nding an archive is only the beginning and one component of what may be a long but fruitful journey in understanding our past

Historical aerial imagery exists for probably every country in the Middle East Most commonly it is held in the country in question but for many regions of the developing world including most of the Middle East the situation is more complex much early imagery was taken and is still held by the former colonial power Moreover not only is such historical imagery split between at least two countries but it has often become scattered and lost from sight and held in both public and private hands The fundamental problems for would-be researchers are determining what is archived in which country gaining access and fi nding out what was taken when and for what purpose Only then can one turn to the question lsquoIn what ways and to what extent are these old photographs of research value to archaeologistsrsquo

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the impact and value of the historical imagery available for Jordan in particular but also as we expand our horizons to some extent for the wider Middle East (Fig 131 ) Details of what exists for Jordan have been accumulating and more is continually coming to light (cf Kennedy 1982 1985 1997 2002a 2004 Kennedy and Bewley 2010 ) The situation more widely in the region is highly varied and far less developed (below) with the sole exception of Israel In the wider Middle East despite impressive pioneering work between the World Wars (below) even access to current or recent aerial photographs is often highly restricted or forbidden Unsurprisingly therefore in an environment where neither indigenous nor foreign archaeologists give much thought to recent imagery the potential and signi fi cance of historical imagery has yet to be fully realised This is especially true for those who are responsible for the management of archaeologi-cal resources in the region Historical aerial photographs of archaeological sites have been obtained in the past by departments of antiquities in various Middle Eastern countries but they seem often unknown to researchers and seldom to be utilised except as lsquointerestingrsquo illustrations in reports with little to explain their contribution This is a missed opportunity There is an increasing number of researchers whose study and understanding of the regionrsquos past will be enhanced by access to historical aerial imagery Indeed as the entire region has undergone urban as well as agricultural development with breath-taking rapidity in the last half cen-tury old photographs have become yet more important as records of places and

22313 Historical Aerial Imagery in Jordan and the Wider Middle East

landscapes which are now utterly transformed Old aerial photographs are espe-cially valuable in a way even the best ground view can seldom be In the case of the oldest aerial photographs from the First World War they are almost a century old and are themselves now artefacts

There are hurdles to overcome the fi rst being a lack of knowledge about and also access to archives and the imagery The Internet now permits a partial solution by providing a simple platform on which historical images can be displayed exist-ing online archives linked for direct access and references provided it can be a dynamic resource constantly revised and updated Two simple examples illustrate the point First to add to known collections (Kennedy and Bewley 2010 193ndash5) recent research by Kennedy on historical imagery of the Middle East held in Britain uncovered several hundred prints at The National Archives (TNA) in Kew taken by German and British aerial photographers over Palestine Transjordan and Iraq in 1917ndash1918 and during the 1920s The ready support of TNA has allowed them all to be digitised and put on display on the Aerial Photographic Archive for Archaeology in the Middle East (APAAME) website under lsquoHistoric Aerial Photographyrsquo On the same website may be seen the second example an expanding collection of digitised aerial photographs published in books and articles long out of copyright and often forgotten (cf Kennedy 2012 )

Fig 131 Map showing places mentioned in the text (Drawn by Mat Dalton)

224 R Bewley and D Kennedy

A second hurdle is a lack of training in landscape archaeology (including air photo interpretation) in the local universities in the region This is changing but very slowly We have organised two aerial archaeology workshops for professional archaeologists in the region (in 2007 and 2009) but the impetus for these has been lost for Jordan as a result of changes in its Department of Antiquities and the recent revolutions in Tunisia Egypt and Libya and the upheavals in Syria have frozen preliminary discussions in relation to those countries

Professional institutions are showing signs of changing which offers opportuni-ties for exploiting historical aerial photographs The Getty Conservation Institute initiated a major project to create online lsquoa purpose-built geographic information system (GIS) to inventory and manage archaeology sitesrsquo available in both Arabic and English for the Middle East ndash MEGA (Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities) Although intended to be trialled for Iraq the initial component has had to focus on Jordan MEGA-Jordan (= MEGA-J) provides online access to archaeo-logical records and scope for direct updating and in fi nite expansion It represents an enormous step forward relative to its predecessor The Jordanian Archaeological Data Information System (JADIS) (Palumbo 1994 ) A desideratum is to link MEGA-J to our APAAME archive of aerial photographs of Jordan which contains both photographs taken by the authors since 1997 and historical imagery which is the focus of this chapter

There is a paradox here too in that it may well be new technology and new satel-lite imagery available online which will increase an interest in and opportunity to use historical imagery The quality of Google Earth and Bing Map aerial imagery allows for much easier access to what was once a specialist domain and fi eldworkers who increasingly turn to Google Earth are drawn to thinking too about conven-tional aerial photographs A recent article (Kennedy and Bishop 2011 cf Kennedy 2011a ) on discoveries in Saudi Arabia generated huge media interest not just because of the archaeological subject matter (a variety of prehistoric sites known as lsquoThe Works of Old Menrsquo) but also because it involved remote sensing using satel-lite imagery available on the Internet and readily accessible to anyone and every-one professional and amateur anywhere in the world That research using Google Earth revealed something else as we see routinely in Jordan development and road building in even desert areas is destroying archaeological remains and making historical photographs a precious record

132 The Resource

An example of the way in which existing imagery has been used to understand past landscapes is Romersquos Desert Frontier from the Air (Kennedy and Riley 1990 cf Millar 1991 ) At that time there was no aerial reconnaissance for archaeology in the region and the research for the book was undertaken purely on the basis of available aerial photographs There were three main historical sources photographs taken and published by Poidebard ( 1934 cf Mouterde and Poidebard 1945 ) the RAF imagery

22513 Historical Aerial Imagery in Jordan and the Wider Middle East

taken at various intervals from 1918 onwards and mainly held at the Institute of Archaeology in University College London and photographs taken by the commer-cial aerial survey company Hunting The book presents over 100 photographs which are from historical sources 79 from the three mentioned above and the rest from a variety of international sources from Australia Britain France Germany Lebanon Israel and the USA Although many had been published before books such as that of Poidebard were rare book collectorsrsquo items and the photographs were seldom familiar to scholars In this instance the aerial view of scores of Roman military sites of all kinds over a wide area could be brought together reinterpreted and presented in a fresh evocative way to revive and advance scholarship

Poidebard was principally interested in Roman military structures and his archive consists overwhelmingly of low oblique photographs of sites that have been exten-sively preserved However he recorded other site types including a superb example of a Kite ndash a prehistoric animal trap (called a Kite because of the shape of the enclosures and the approaching walls) Unlike Roman forts and towns preservation of Kites has seemed less important in Syria and elsewhere They are numerous (at least 2500 are known to exist) large (up to 2ndash3 km overall in some instances) and consist of slight crudely built walls (perhaps only 50ndash100 cm high as they survive today) What that means in practice can be seen by comparing one Poidebard photograph of an especially well-preserved example with the same site on Google Earth on 1 January 2009 (Fig 132 )

It is worth noting that the publications by Poidebard (three books and a score of articles) and not just the underlying collections represent historical archives in their own right Further a fi eld such collections are rarer Steinrsquos coverage of Iraq and Transjordan is far more slender (Gregory and Kennedy 1985 ch 9) and for Iran we have Schmidt ( 1940 ) supplemented by Gersterrsquos work in the late 1970s (Gerster 2008 ) There are not even single books for most other Middle East countries ndash Iraq Saudi Arabia Yemen and Oman For Israel however we have the evocative selec-tion of old and new in Kedar ( 1999 ) and the superb online archive of imagery of all kinds including aerial photographs (Aerial Photos of Israel 1917ndash1919)

Apart from the work of Poidebard the most important historical imagery for improving our knowledge of the archaeology of the region but especially of Jordan has been the Hunting Aerial Survey (HAS) of 1953 which covered the western part of Jordan (Fig 133 ) the HAS is made up of c 4000 large vertical black and white photographs Diapositive copies of the negatives of the entire survey were provided to Kennedy in the early 1980s Subsequent systematic interpretation of the imagery and the maps created provided the estimate that there were c 25000 potential archaeological sites visible on these photographs alone (Kennedy 1997 2001b 2002a b ) By contrast at that time the of fi cial database of Jordanrsquos archaeology (JADIS) recorded only 8680 sites for the entire country but lsquoprojectedrsquo that the total for Jordan as a whole would be between 100000 and 500000 (Palumbo 1994 19) The most recent version of MEGA-J (accessed in December 2012) has increased the of fi cial database tally to 10900 (with 45373 elements associated with these sites) Aerial reconnaissance by the authors since 1997 covering all the landscape zones in Jordan has underscored how out of date the current databases are For example

226 R Bewley and D Kennedy

Fig 132 Khan Abu ash Shamat ndash 3357II Kite 1 ( a ) as recorded by Poidebard ( 1934 Pl XIV) ( b ) as seen on Google Earth on 1st June 2009 (copy 2011 Google Earth copy 2011 Geoeye copy 2011 ORION-ME Compiled by Rebecca Banks)

22713 Historical Aerial Imagery in Jordan and the Wider Middle East

MEGA-J following JADIS records 332 Kites where our aerial reconnaissance and interpretation of HAS imagery of 1953 and current Google Earth imagery has found a total of 1236

There is every reason to suppose that historical imagery of these and similar types of sites exist for all of the countries of the Middle East and their study could be equally rewarding (cf below and Fig 139 ) With the exception of Israel how-ever there has been no systematic attempt to catalogue much less draw together all the surviving photographs

Fig 133 Area covered by the Hunting Survey 1953 (Drawn by Julie Kennedy and Mat Dalton)

228 R Bewley and D Kennedy

133 Historical Background

There is little literature on the pioneers of aerial survey for archaeology in this region most of what there is concerns Syria (cf Nordiguian and Salles 2000 Denise and Nordiguian 2004 ) and Jordan (Crawford 1954 Kennedy 2012 ) Very little can yet be said about Mesopotamia (Iraq see below) and the Arabian penin-sula is a virtual closed book to this day (cf Kennedy and Bishop 2011 1285) Once again Israel is much better served (cf Gavish and Biger 1985 Gavish 1987 Kedar 1999 ) During and after the First World War (1914ndash1918) the entire region of lsquoArabiarsquo till then poorly explored and mapped became known to aerial observers from the main protagonists ndash German British Australian and Turkish and British and French in the post-war Mandates of Iraq Palestine and Transjordan and Syria and Lebanon respectively Remarkably during the war itself the Germans under-took aerial photography speci fi cally of archaeological sites in Palestine with the pioneering work of Theodor Wiegand ( 1920 ) in the Negev Thousands more sur-viving wartime aerial photographs of Palestine taken by all the combatants explic-itly include archaeological remains and landscapes which are now much changed (Kennedy 2012 )

Much less research has been done on the reconnaissance activities of the air forces in Mesopotamia despite the considerable impetus provided by equally large military operations during the First World War There too aerial photographs were fundamental for the creation of maps (Lambert 2003 passim ) and they were also taken in large numbers for immediate everyday use on the various fronts (eg Tennant 1920 200) There was no equivalent of Wiegandrsquos Denkmalschutzkommando in Palestine but there was a clear interest in the visible archaeology One person who saw the opportunities afforded by the aerial view over the rich archaeological remains of this part of the lsquocradle of civilisationrsquo was Lt Col Beazeley an engineer and surveyor He understood the signi fi cance of aerial reconnaissance and air pho-tographs not just for their military use but also their archaeological signi fi cance Although shot down on one of his aerial missions in May 1918 he survived captiv-ity and delivered two notable lectures to The Royal Geographical Society within months of the warrsquos end The published versions (Beazeley 1919 1920 ) describe the mapping of the ancient city of Samarra on the Tigris 125 km north of Baghdad (cf Northedge 1985 2005 ) His aerial surveys provided the evidence for the recognition and interpretation of the size signi fi cance and population of this immense Early Islamic city Excavation had begun before the war on parts of its extensive (57 km 2 ) and well-preserved ruins The German Air Force in Mesopotamia took many pho-tographs of the site as early as October 1917 for the use of the excavators but none was published till 1923 (Leisten 2003 27) Beazeleyrsquos is perhaps the fi rst signi fi cant use of air photographs using photogrammetry to create properly scaled maps which he then used to develop an interpretation which led to historical analysis of the signi fi cance of this (early urban) landscape (Crawford and Keiller 1928 4 cf Stein 1919 200) Beazeley published few aerial photos and overall Crawford found the results disappointing lsquohelliphe reproduced only one vertical air photograph [a mosaic]

22913 Historical Aerial Imagery in Jordan and the Wider Middle East

and it cannot be regarded as a successrsquo (Crawford 1929 498) This might seem surprising as Crawford more than most understood the need to create photomosa-ics and interpretative maps However Fig 134 is a useful comparison of both Beazeleyrsquos published photograph of the early modern town of Samarra surrounded by Early Islamic ruins it has partially obliterated and the very similar but far superior view probably taken in the same year (1918) Nevertheless these early photographs

Fig 134 Samarra ( a ) Beazeleyrsquos photograph of c1918 (Beazeley 1920 ) ( b ) similar view of c1918 (RAF 1918 II Pl 36) ( c ) Google Earth view dated 16th June 2004 (copy 2011 Google Earth copy 2011 Digital Globe Compiled by Rebecca Banks)

230 R Bewley and D Kennedy

many of which survive in published form or in archives British and German remain a precious record of Samarra in 1916ndash1918 Together with those taken in the 1920s onwards they were used to produce a marvellous plan of the entire site photogram-metrically (Northedge 1985 2005 27ndash8)

Northedge has itemised ( 2005 27) the aerial photographs available to him for the detailed plan of the entire site It is worth quoting in full as it seems likely that even lesser sites may have been covered by one or more of these or other aerial surveys

lsquo1 Two mosaics taken by the RAF in 1917 and used for creating the 6rsquo to the mile map of Samarra (Royal Geographical Society London)rsquo

2 Three rolls totalling 155 photographs taken by the RAF in October 1928 during training missions from Habbaniyya airbase and deposited in the Institute of Archaeology University College London The scale is about 18000

3 A series of vertical photographs taken by the Iraqi Air force in 1937 Prints in the Department of Antiquities Samarra

4 Three runs oriented north-south totalling 55 stereoscopic photographs taken by Hunting Aerosurveys in 1953 The scale is about 124000

5 A series of runs east-west probably taken by KLM Aerocarto Prints in the Department of Antiquities Samarra Not available to this studyrsquo

Nor is this a complete catalogue To note only the largest of several additional col-lections known to us there are 29 photographs taken between January and May 1918 by the German Air Force These are now held in Berlin at the Deutsches Archaumleologisches Institut (DAI) along with almost 1000 more from various parts of the Ottoman fronts from the Macedonian through Dardanelles to Caucasus and Mesopotamia between 1915 and 1918 including lsquoPalestinersquo

134 Pioneers

Given these early examples it is no surprise that the signi fi cance and importance of the technique of aerial photography were swiftly recognised in this region The totality was modest but the fi nancial constraints of the post-war years imposed tight limits The scale of the region meant that large parts had been inaccessible to all but a few hardy pioneers The wonder is not that so little was done but that there was a steady take-up and usage of the technique A few examples illustrate the point and bring out too the usefulness of the archives surviving from the 1920s to 1950s

Foremost were the regular surveys and publications by Antoine Poidebard in Syria beginning in May 1925 and continuing for a generation but with his great book of 1934 often regarded as the principal outcome The fl ights proved that the regionrsquos varied landscapes were well suited for the technique of aerial photography to be successful In addition much of the work of other pioneer air photographers elsewhere in the Middle East was reported in the early volumes of Antiquity no coincidence in that the editor and founder was none other than the so-called father of aerial photography for archaeology OGS Crawford

23113 Historical Aerial Imagery in Jordan and the Wider Middle East

The British maintained an interest in the region throughout the early twentieth century Crawford was fl own in Iraq in 1928 (1929) and a decade later the RAF sup-ported two seasons (1938ndash1939) of fl ying by Sir Aurel Stein in search of the Roman frontier The former resulted in a substantial collection of glass negatives still held in University of London the photographs taken by Stein have been more scattered but have largely survived (Kennedy and Bewley 2009 69ndash70 Gregory and Kennedy 1985 ch 9)

In Transjordan Sir Alexander Kennedy used aerial photography in his surveys of Petra (Kennedy 1925 vindashvii cf 1924 278ndash9) in attempting to understand the land-scape setting as well as the distribution and range of sites Petra is notoriously dif fi cult to capture from the air because of its scale and variety of structures (cf Kennedy and Bewley 2004 126ndash8) but Kennedy was able to secure the services of the RAF squadron at Amman in 1923 1 and again in 1924 to carry out a vertical sur-vey of a wide area around the city centre as well as a number of oblique views which he also used in his book The mosaic represents a very considerable achievement ndash it covers c 85 km 2 and consists of several dozen photographs For an audience familiar with ground views but unable to visualise the context and landscape this would have been revelatory But it was more than a novel view or general photomap Kennedy evidently examined closely those frames that covered the central area of the city

lsquoThe air-plane view shows also very distinctly the lines of the Roman streets and the outlines of some of the principal buildings or places and many other points quite unrecognizable on the groundrsquo (Kennedy 1924 278ndash9)

Kennedy may have had a predecessor in 1922 in Jordan (and possibly Iraq) A passing reference in Crawford and Keiller ( 1928 4) draws attention to the abstract of a lecture given in 1923 by the enigmatic Robert Alexander MacLean of the University of Rochester (NY) who reports casually ( 1923 68) lsquoThis last summer I went by aeroplane from Amman in Transjordania to visit some Roman ruins at ldquoKasr Azraqrdquo in the Syrian desertrsquo His lecture was illustrated by at least two aerial photographs Just how he managed to arrange such a fl ight may be hidden in a sub-sequent report that he lsquoserved as staff captain under General Maude [the British commanding general in Mesopotamia] being engaged particularly in intelligence and political workrsquo

Systematic work like that done for Kennedy formed the background to the much more opportunistic photography that followed The RAF was responsible for patrol-ling the Mandate of Transjordan but also creating the Cairo to Baghdad Air Mail Route (Hill 1929 ) In the course of those tasks many individual sites were photo-graphed In 1928 Crawford arrived from Iraq and subsequently carried off several hundred of the aerial photographic negatives which are now housed in London (Kennedy 2012 )

1 TNA AIR51239 lsquoMiddle East Monthly Summaries 1921ndash1924rsquo reports 14 Squadron was involved in taking photos of archaeological sites for the Palestine Government during January and February 1923

232 R Bewley and D Kennedy

135 Recent Discoveries

A recent discovery is a small archive of British aerial photographs of the region examined (by Kennedy) at The National Archive (TNA CB52 Nos 357ndash460) Studying these as well as the wartime German photographs (above) has added areas and targets which can be photographed today to gain a better understanding of the sites and the changes and threats to them (see lsquoHistoric Aerial Photographyrsquo under httpwww fl ickrcomphotosAPAAMEcollections )

Wartime fl ying against the Vichy forces in French Syria probably lies behind at least some of the aerial surveys still held by the RAF in the UK covering the border area Hunting Surveys were commissioned to undertake an aerial survey of the western part of Jordan in 1953 (HAS) ndash the same year as they undertook extensive survey work in Iraq (above) Recently some 300 of the oblique photographs taken by the Hunting pilots and crew whilst transiting from Cairo and during their stay in Jordan have come to light and require further detailed examination (they are in English Heritagersquos archive the National Monuments Record in Swindon) (Kennedy and Bewley 2010 195)

The photographs for the HAS aerial survey were a real catalyst in the creation of an aerial reconnaissance campaign in Jordan Funding would not have been forth-coming without some evidence that a campaign would be successful obtaining sup-port within Jordan was strengthened by recent research and publication of the HAS material (eg Kennedy 1997 2001b ) Indeed the early years of the current pro-gramme pre-GPS and Google Earth was guided by the interpretation of the HAS imagery prints from which were employed in- fl ight to locate sites

136 Impact and Use of Historical Imagery

Since 1997 the Aerial Archaeology in Jordan project has fl own 287 hours (on 71 fl ights) with several thousand target sites photographed However what has been the impact of the work so far using both historical and recent imagery There are two signi fi cant contributions resulting from studying the historical imagery often now com-bined with the current reconnaissance programme the fi rst is the number of new sites discovered and additional information gained about known sites the second is under-standing the scale of destruction and pressure on the landscape even in countries like Jordan and Syria (Kennedy and Bewley 2010 cf Gerster and Wartke 2003 passim )

The experience of most aerial archaeologists working in European countries is of landscapes which have been cultivated Archaeological sites are made visible as cropmarks soilmarks parchmarks or very slight remnants only visible in particular lighting and soil conditions In Jordan however the vast majority of archaeological sites are visible as stoneworks or earthworks the main requirement to photograph them is suitable lighting conditions To highlight the value and impact of combining active aerial reconnaissance with historical imagery we have selected a few exam-ples and have given references to other articles which have reported new discoveries from historical imagery

23313 Historical Aerial Imagery in Jordan and the Wider Middle East

1361 Samarra

Samarra is an immense site (above) and lies in a densely settled part of the Tigris valley arable land is at a premium Much of the ancient site has been protected but the spread of modern Samarra itself has long ago destroyed structures under the early modern walled town and now beyond its walls (Fig 134 ) Comparing an aerial photograph of an area on the west bank of the Tigris (away from the centre of the city) with the same area as recorded in a high-resolution satellite view on Google Earth in 2005 (Fig 135a b) shows that not only has much of the First World War trenching been obliterated but the clear traces of buried structures in the centre have been lost

1362 First World War Aerial Photographs

German aerial photos from the First World War have proven especially useful for the study of Roman sites In 1995 Fabian ( 1995 ) discovered a small fort on a German photograph of Beersheva for an area now totally obliterated by subsequent development The photograph is the sole record of what may be the garrison place cited in a Late Roman document (cf Kennedy 2002a 35)

More recently on a contemporary German photograph (2 April 1918) of a stretch of the Hedjaz Railway and a bridge south of Zarqa in northern Jordan it was observed that the frame included a large part of a major Roman site at Qaryat al-Hadid Zarqa That in turn enabled more recent RAF aerial photographs of 1951 and HAS photographs of 1953 to be examined and collectively exploited to give shape and character to a small Roman town and fort noted by nineteenth-century Western travellers (Kennedy 2002c ) These more recent photographs also reveal the site in the process of being destroyed and by 2000 it had been entirely overwhelmed by the spread of Zarqa

A further German photograph has recently been examined to shed light on a more recent past and to guide a fl ight in Jordan at Qalarsquoat Unayza and West Unayza Part of the Palestine Front in 1917ndash1918 was in what is now southern Jordan Both British and German aircraft operated over the triangle between Mudawarra Aqaba and Ta fi la where the forces of the Arab Revolt faced the Turkish Fourth Army The RFCRAF certainly took many photographs (Kennedy 2012 ) but these have not yet been traced Some German ones have been found including a revealing low oblique view (Fig 136 )

Unayza is best known for the small Haj Fort on the Pilgrim Road and the large reservoir nearby that sustained garrison and pilgrims alike (there is even a hint that the Haj Fort overlies an earlier possibly Roman fort) During the First World War the importance of the place lay in the railway station water supply and a recently built branch running off to the west to tap timber supplies around Shaubak The photograph (Fig 136 ) shows the railway lines station and ancient square reservoir in the fore-ground and the Haj Fort near the centre The Turkish forces had dug extensive trenches to defend the station and water supply much of this is no longer visible Equally interesting is the German annotation the white arrow is a misplaced north sign (it is

234 R Bewley and D Kennedy

in fact pointing west) but it was thought by one author to be drawing attention to a feature Coincidentally it is ndash our fl ight in October 2011 recorded the extensive traces of trenches and artillery emplacements on the hill beneath the arrow (Fig 137 ) which we had not seen on earlier fl ights in this area and had not suspected

Fig 135 Samarra area ndash Qasr el-Ashiq on the west bank of the Tigris opposite Samarra Iraq in ( a ) 1918 () ( b ) The same area on Google Earth 1st June 2005 (copy 2011 Google Earth copy 2011 Digital Globe Compiled by Mat Dalton)

23513 Historical Aerial Imagery in Jordan and the Wider Middle East

Fig 136 Unayza on 9 April 1918 in a German aerial view The arrow annotated by the Germans points to the site in Fig 137 (Bayerisches Kriegsarchiv 1234_1)

Fig 137 Unayza Turkish forti fi cations (APAAME_20111010_RHB-0198) (Photographed by Bob Bewley)

236 R Bewley and D Kennedy

1363 Early Mandate Aerial Photographs

Agricultural development has led to numerous examples of destruction as some of the earliest photographs of the Mandate period record For example the double destructive power of an olive plantation and quarrying has removed most of the evidence for the lsquolostrsquo Early Islamic village at Hibabiya Jordan Air photographs are now the only source of its existence our own reconnaissance in 1998 and 1999 could not easily locate the site using the Hunting images Even with the correct location in our GPS it took some time to recognise this transformed landscape Despite having been visited by a number of archaeologists the date and function of the site were puzzling The aerial photograph published in 1929 characterised it as a prehistoric lsquo fi shing villagersquo on the edge of a seasonal lake Artefacts found nearby seemed to support the date but the lsquovillagersquo seemed unlikely for that period As the site is totally destroyed we had to rely on the reinterpretation of the aerial photo-graph and comparison with parallels for the site Happily this was then con fi rmed by the rediscovery of pottery collected over 80 years ago which had been misinter-preted at the time We can now recognise the site as a Late RomanEarly Islamic (c late sixthearly seventh to mid-late eighth century AD) nomad settlement (Kennedy 2011b ) the structures being interpreted as houses and gardens

One of the least-known settlements in Jordan is that around the oasis at the heart of the Al-Jafr Basin c 50 km east of the Pilgrim Road and the nearest Hajj fort at Unayza (above 1362 ) Although the oasis has revealed evidence from the Roman period including Latin graf fi ti it is a much more recent construction that concerns us here Following the First World War and the creation of the British Mandate of Transjordan one of the best-known leaders of the Great Arab Revolt Auda Abu Tayi settled at the Al-Jafr oasis and used Turkish prisoners of war to build a lsquopal-acersquo It was incomplete at the time of his death in 1924 but this RAF aerial photo-graph of 1927 captures it in a rare image (Fig 138a ) By 2011 the situation had changed dramatically with the outer enclosure largely destroyed to ground level and the inner residence more than half collapsed (Fig 138b )

1364 The Hunting Aerial Survey of Jordan (1953)

The principal developments in the landscape of Jordan have occurred from the 1970s onwards Aerial photographs of 1953 are images of a world soon to be transformed

One of the RAF pilots who fi rst fl ew over the volcanic lava fi elds of the northeast (Harret al-Shaam) in the 1920s noticed large and numerous sites which he referred to as lsquoKitesrsquo (Rees 1929 395) one of several categories of site known collectively to the Bedouin as the lsquoWorks of the Old Menrsquo Ever since then archaeologists have been trying to understand the size scale date and distribution of these sites What is clear is that Kites are prehistoric perhaps as early as the seventh millennium BC (the Pre-Pottery Neolithic) To date (December 2011) our project has recorded 1236 Kite sites in the Jordanian part of this harrat and more will certainly be found

23713 Historical Aerial Imagery in Jordan and the Wider Middle East

Many however have already been damaged and some have been totally destroyed and would not have been known to us had we been reliant solely on the present aerial reconnaissance However we have extensive coverage at 125000 scale in the HAS photographs of 1953 for precisely the area west of the Azraq Oasis in which the most widespread damage and loss has occurred The detailed interpretation of the HAS photos for the Jimal area (Kennedy 1998 ) recorded 59 Kites even in an

Fig 138 Al-Jafr Castle ( a ) in 1927 (The National Archives) (APAAME_19260902_TNA_RAF14_AIR5-1157 (2)-6) ( b ) in 2011 (APAAME_20111013_DLK-0239) (Photographed by David Kennedy)

238 R Bewley and D Kennedy

area already beginning to be extensively cultivated in 1953 There has been a huge extension of cultivation as deep water sources have been tapped in the last 25 years Now almost all traces of these Kites have been lost or survive in part as sections of fi eld wall but are recognisable only as such because we have the 1953 images to guide us Figure 139 shows one example of a Kite visible in 1953 and the same area today on a high-resolution Google Earth image Without the historical imagery the overall distribution pattern of these sites would be signi fi cantly distorted

Fig 139 ( a ) Two Kites recorded on a HAS survey photograph of 1953 (APAAME_19531031_HAS_58-025) and ( b ) the same area recently on a high-resolution Google Earth image of 1st June 2009 (copy 2011 Google Earth copy 2011 Digital Globe copy 2011 ORION-ME Compiled by Rebecca Banks)

Archaeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives - [PDF Document] (2024)

References