Archaeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives [electronic resource] / edited by William S. Hanson, Ioana A. Oltean.

Major international historical archives of declassified military reconnaissance photographs and satellite images, combined with a range of national collections of vertical photographs, offer considerable potential for archaeological and historical landscape research. They provide a unique insight into the character of the landscape as it was over half a century or more ago, before the destructive impact of intensive land use and development. Millions of such images are held in archives around the world, yet their research potential goes largely untapped.   Archaeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives draws attention to the existence and scope of these historical photographs to encourage their use in archaeological and landscape research. Not only do they provide a high-quality photographic record of the pre-modern landscape, but they also offer the prospect of the better survival of archaeological remains surviving as earthworks or cropmarks. These sources of imagery also provide an opportunity to examine areas of Europe and beyond whose skies are still not open to archaeological aerial reconnaissance.   Featured in the coverage: The archaeological potential of The Aerial Reconnaissance Archives in Edinburgh and the archive of declassified intelligence satellite photographs of the United States Geological Survey. First World War aerial photography and medieval landscapes. Second World War and post-war aerial photography in multi-period archaeological research in Britain, Hungary, Italy, Jordan, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain and Uruguay The archaeological exploitation of declassified US satellite photography in Armenia and Syria. The integration of historical aerial and satellite photography for archaeological landscape research in Cambodia and Romania.   By describing this massive resource, providing examples of its application to archaeological/landscape questions, and offering advice on access, Archaeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives demonstrates its huge potential and encourages its further use, stimulating a new approach to archaeological survey and the study of landscape evolution among archaeologists, historians, social scientists, preservationists, and cultural heritage specialists.