Abstract Infrared thermography, or thermal imaging, has been used as a remote sensing technique to determine whether subsurface features such as walls or pits generate a heat differentiation from the surrounding earth. To date, this form of remote sensing has been notoriously difficult to perform due to cost, low‐resolution thermal cameras and an inability to provide a stable aerial photographic platform. Furthermore, thermal fluctuations produced by archaeological remains are highly volatile, and are dependent on a multitude of variables such as soil moisture, particle size, and the construction materials of features. These issues have restricted the use of infrared thermography within archaeology. Yet, with the rapid development and adoption of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the last decade as well as developments in thermographic technology, thermal imaging is now affordable and can be attached with relative ease to a multitude of UAVs. This paper reviews a new, low‐cost, FLIR Systems thermal camera made specifically for UAVs, which were successfully employed at the Ancient Methone Archaeological Project, Pieria, Greece. By utilizing the FLIR Vue Pro, along with a DJI Phantom 2, aerial thermography was performed at the site at a cost far below that proposed by previous studies, with results also equalling or exceeding those methodologies. In combination with high resolution aerial photogrammetry, this methodology has helped to clarify previous archaeological investigations at the site, as well as revealing significant rectilinear subsurface remains.

Abstract This paper reports the outcome of the RPAS‐based prospection of four prehistoric and early historic sites on Mainland, Rousay and South Ronaldsay Islands of the Orkney archipelago (Northern Scotland). Application of RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) improved the effectiveness and accuracy of the mapping of the archaeological landscape, comparing to the ground‐base survey. The paper presents the workflow used to obtain the low altitude images using RPAS and photogrammetric pipeline applied to create ortophotomaps and digital elevation models. Then the interpretation of mapped remnants at the sites of Brough of Deerness, Burrian, Hashwick and Burwick is discussed. Beside reporting the new datasets for the Orkney the author is clarifying the problem of surveying “the inhospitable” landscapes ‐ the areas that for different reasons might be difficult to access by survey using ground‐based methods. Therefore Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems are advocated as a solution in such challenging conditions.

Abstract In September 2010, an exceptionally large cooking‐pit site was discovered by means of geophysical prospection at Lunde in Vestfold County, Norway. The site contains in excess of 1000 cooking‐pits and is, to date, one of the largest of its kind discovered in Scandinavia. Features known as cooking‐pits are ubiquitous on Northern European archaeological sites. Despite research spanning decades, however, the true function and role of this rather non‐descript feature type is still debated. Using the results from geophysical prospection, soil analysis, ground‐truthing and excavation, this article aims to better understand this phenomenon by evaluating the physical properties revealed from the data, and setting this exceptional site in a wider cultural‐historical context. The wider, landscape context is accessible from the large‐scale, high‐resolution, landscape archaeological prospection case‐study approach conducted by Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (LBI ArchPro). The results suggest that the multi‐method approach is essential in such cases, as it is able to challenge the assumptions of the blanket interpretations often applied, and put the site in a cultural and environmental context.

No abstract is available for this article.

Abstract Knowledge of the position of archaeological remains in the surface relief provides important basic information for archaeological survey design and interpretation. Geomorphological processes in (pre)history may have resulted in a modification of the local relief around archaeological sites, especially in areas that are prone to sediment erosion and relocation, such as sheet sand and dune landscapes. In this study, we reconstructed and analysed the palaeorelief of an archaeological excavation site in an inland dune area in southern Brandenburg, Germany. The remains of two Mesolithic sites were documented in the archaeological excavations and found to be associated with a buried soil horizon. To gather information on the relief of the buried soil surface, we used a combination of sedimentological and pedological profile descriptions along archaeological survey trenches and geophysical prospection with ground penetrating radar supplemented with microdrone photography and photogrammetry, global positioning system (GPS) surveys, and analysis of LiDAR‐based elevation models. A digital elevation model of the buried surface was generated and analysed using a geographical information system (GIS). A comparison of the palaeosurface model with the recent surface elevation model shows that sand remobilization resulted in a considerable reshaping of the relief. Further, an analysis of the buried surface model shows that the relief position of the two archaeological sites in the study area was considerably more prominent in relation to the corresponding buried soil surface than in relation to the recent surface morphology. The results affirm the significance of Holocene sediment relocation for the local surface morphology and the importance of considering such relief modifications in archaeological surveys. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract The results of a Ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) survey were compared with the archaeological excavation outcomes of a twelfth century abbey site (Badia Pozzeveri). The goal was to associate the types of reflections recorded in GPR profiles and high‐amplitude features visible in amplitude maps with unearthed archaeological features. GPR profiles crossing the walls evidenced axes of hyperbolic point source reflections and short planar reflections respectively generated by the stones forming the lateral sides/upper corners and the top of the structure. Moreover, the stones in the core of the wall caused small hyperbolic point source reflections with interfering axes, which produced a chaotic reflection profile. The resampling and gridding of these reflections collectively generated high‐amplitude linear features in the amplitude maps. The presence in the graves of bones generates small hyperbolic point source reflections with interfering axes in the GPR profile, with a consequently chaotic reflection profile. Moreover, the existence of lythic slabs topping and/or siding the graves generates short planar reflections and axes of hyperbolic point source reflections. The resampling and gridding of these types of reflections generates in the amplitude map features that cannot be locally distinguished from those caused by the local aggregation of sediments with no archaeological relevance. The GPR profiles crossing trenches and pit‐kiln showed dipping reflectors unconformably resting on a basal planar reflector. Disconformity marks the onset of trench and pit‐kiln decommissioning with the infilling of clayey silty layers and anthropogenic remains. These features in the amplitude maps correspond to medium to high‐amplitude areas.The results show that types of reflection can be associated to specific elements of archaeological structure for a detailed interpretation of a complex subsurface setting. Furthermore, it is evidenced that the interpretation of GPR profiles must be considered an indispensable pre‐requisite for a full comprehension of amplitude maps. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract Fluxgate 3‐axis magnetometers are seldom used on archaeological sites due to their lack of precision. Nonetheless, they offer light weight, low power consumption and the ability of compensation of the magnetization of the prospecting device. This study proposes to use calibration and compensation processes developed for space research and aerial measurement to build a multi‐sensor and georeferenced device to assess deep and shallow objects for large‐scale archaeological investigations in Qasr 'Allam, in a context of heavy sedimentary coverage and uneven surface. The use of the device on the site in combination with potential field transformations of the signal such as the double reduction to the pole and the vertical derivative reveal a vast irrigation system as well as a large religious facility. A comparison with gradiometric measurements shows a resolution as good at least for shallow sources. The precise positioning allows targeted excavations that validate the geophysical interpretations and offer new archaeological information. These discoveries give enough proof to the local authorities to define the area to be protected from the threatening progression of agricultural fields. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract Archaeological remains are very often buried under uneven soil of agricultural fields crossed by rather parallel furrows and ridges. Consequently, ploughing in a magnetic survey might produce a repetitive, quite regular, linear noise in the data, which could impede optimal recovery of the archaeological magnetic anomalies; depending on the acquisition line orientation, this noise may show as an oblique, vertical or horizontal pattern in the magnetic maps.Several studies have tested and verified methods for oblique ploughing minimization, but, to our knowledge, no procedures regarding the vertical and horizontal types of noise have been published.The present research proposes a procedure to filter each type of ploughing effect through an algorithm working in the wavenumber domain. The procedure produces images with a considerable reduction of the noise in any direction, resulting in enhanced visibility and readability of the archaeological anomalies. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Short Reports provide a means for the rapid circulation of information on activities such as recent fieldwork

Abstract This paper presents ground penetrating radar (GPR) results joined with and back‐upped by endoscopic tests performed in two churches. The aim of this work is to show how the endoscopic tests can help the interpretation of the achieved GPR images, and this will be shown with respect to two case histories in southern Italy. The usefulness of the endoscopic tests depends on the kind of targets, but is expected to be particularly useful in cases of buried cavities, where information about the volume and the possible past use of the cavity can be retrieved. In the examined cases, the endoscopic tests allowed the presence of three cavities to be established, helping also in the interpretation of their possible nature and use, even if the endoscopic probe was not gyroscopic nor equipped with a laser for the precise measure of the distances. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.