High resolution satellite ortho-images for archaeological research: different methods and experiences in the Near and Middle East

Abstract. The paper concerns the very significant contribu-tion of satellite ortho-images to archaeological research. The unavailability of cartography, updated or in adequate scale, is a recurring problem for archaeological research operating in urban and territorial contexts, and in the last years in-teresting experiences have been carried out with the use of satellite ortho-images; they can provide constant support to field work, both excavations and surveys, and to the man-agement of data in archaeological GIS. As an example of this, the paper shows the results achieved by three research projects carried out by CNR-IBAM in the Near and Mid-dle East, the Hierapolis of Phrygia Survey Project, the Tell Tuqan Survey Project and the Iraq Virtual Museum Project in which base-maps and cartographies satellite ortho-images have been widely used. In these projects, the use of very high resolution satellite images was necessary because large scale and updated cartographies and aerial photos are not avail-able. In the examples shown, satellite ortho-images have different uses, often linked to the possibility or not of an accurate ortho-rectification, with the possibility of the col-lection of Ground Control Points and with the availability of high resolution DEMs. These images were used to create space-maps for the field work, as well as to realize and update archaeological maps and cartographies finalized to archaeo-logical research. In the cases study presented, WorldView-1, QuickBird-2 and Ikonos-2 images, also stereo-pairs, were used