干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

This paper focuses on the assessment of the capability of VHR satellite images to provide useful information that can facilitate exploration of the landscape and permit the detection of buried archaeological remains. The investigations were performed on three archaeological areas in the south of Italy. The selected test sites are related to some medieval abandoned villages located in the Basilicata Region (Southern Italy). They were founded in the early Middle Ages and disappeared during the Middle Ages as was common throughout Europe during that age, thus, the phenomenon of deserted villages has become a very popular and relevant historical and archaeological topic.

Results from our investigations showed that landscape archaeology especially benefits from satellite data because such data can place local field studies within a regional context. The main finding of our analysis is that the use of VHR satellite images can be very successful in discovering new sites, obtaining spatial characterization of archaeological buried settlements, and monitoring protected monuments.